elections
On 10 of April at 20:00, the two faces of Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen appeared on French TV screens announcing their advance to the second round of the French presidential election. The incumbent president placed first with 27.8 percent of the vote, putting him slightly ahead of the far-right leader, who scored a record high of 23.1 percent. No matter what happens between now and 24 April, one of the two candidates will be the next President of France by the end of the month.
But for this picture to be accurate, it needs to include Jean-Luc Mélenchon and the ...
read more "Not Out of the Woods Yet"
read more "Not Out of the Woods Yet"
The French left ahead of presidential elections***Version française ci-dessous***
Less than one month ahead of the first round of French presidential elections, who are the left and progressive candidates, and how do their political projects compare? And more pointedly, do any of them stand a chance?
On the left, 6 candidates are running to become president of France. Neither Christiane Taubira, François Hollande's former justice minister, nor the Trotskyist Annasse Kazib, nor Hélène Thouy, of the Animalist Party, managed to obtain the 500 signatures from elected ...
read more "Who’s Who?"
read more "Who’s Who?"
Antonio Costa’s surprise absolute majority gives free rein to the Socialist Party (PS) and forces the leftwing parties into opposition.
The Left Bloc and the Portuguese Communist Party won 9 percent of the vote after losing 350,000 votes.
Tactical voting in response to the rise of the far right, which won 12 seats on 7 percent of the vote, or blame for the early election could help explain the shift in the vote from the leftwing parties to the social democrats.
The liberals, who won over young voters in Porto and Lisbon, advocate privatisation and a ...
read more "Portugal’s leftwing on the wane"
read more "Portugal’s leftwing on the wane"
The state of local government in France***Version française ci-dessous***
35,000 municipalities and more than 500,000 local elected representatives. 500 mayoral signatures of support required for each presidential hopeful. For outside observers, these vertiginous numbers may come as a surprise. A legacy of the French Revolution, this system has undergone many reforms over the years, with the creation of multiple political and administrative layers that are often criticised for their costliness, tangle of responsibilities and questionable ...
read more "In the shadow of the presidential election"
read more "In the shadow of the presidential election"
***Version française ci-dessous***
Four months from the French presidential elections, journalist Cole Stangler untangles the messy knot of right, center, and left-wing campaigns. Who’s who among the presidential hopefuls, where are their campaigns heading, and why does a Left unity ticket currently appear so unlikely?
You don’t have to be living in France to understand there’s a lot at stake in the upcoming presidential election: The global climate crisis is deepening, the country’s role on the international stage under question, its welfare model...
read more "France’s Culture War Election"
read more "France’s Culture War Election"
Éric Zemmour, Candidate for President***Version française ci-dessous***
Whether or not he wins France's April 2022 presidential election, Éric Zemmour can already claim a major victory in having thrusted his half-baked racist views to the centre of national public debate. For his supporters, who constantly invoke Antonio Gramsci, this victorious cultural battle is undoubtedly a precursor to future electoral triumphs.
Since French politics resumed after the summer break, far-right polemicist Éric Zemmour has electrified the country's ...
read more "Something Is Rotten in the State of France"
read more "Something Is Rotten in the State of France"
The threat of a new election in the absence of an agreement on the budget hovered over the negotiations from the start, although there is no constitutional obligation to dissolve Parliament if the budget is not approved.
Socialist Prime Minister António Costa is calling an election in an attempt to secure an absolute majority by adopting French President Emmanuel Macron's strategy of pursuing centrist policies that will squeeze the left out of positions of ...
read more "Portugal’s parliamentary election can be traced back to the Socialists’ refusal to make a pact with left-wing forces"
read more "Portugal’s parliamentary election can be traced back to the Socialists’ refusal to make a pact with left-wing forces"
Germany’s new “traffic light coalition” promises a little bit of progress on crucial issues, but not much elseThe results of the recent German federal election have shifted the country’s political landscape. On 24 November, the Social Democrats (SPD), Greens, and the Free Democrats (FDP) presented their coalition agreement. There is no single dominant party-political force in the new Bundestag holding more than one third of the seats, which means no single party will be able to prevent an amendment to the Constitution.
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read more "There Will Be Change — But How Much and Where Will It Take Us?"
read more "There Will Be Change — But How Much and Where Will It Take Us?"
Analysis of the Danish Municipal ElectionsHuge windfall for the left in Denmark as the Red-Green Alliance picks up a quarter of the vote in Copenhagen. In the remainder of the country, the municipal elections show small gains for the left, while the ruling Social Democratic Party sustains heavy losses in the four biggest cities. A struggle for the far-right vote between the Danish People’s Party and the newer New Right party leaves the former with heavier losses than the gains of the latter. Overall, the Conservative People’s Party pulls the longest straw and comes out of the...
read more "Red Copenhagen"
read more "Red Copenhagen"
Interview with Eva Milsted Enoksen, Copenhagen by Andreas ThomsenAndreas Thomsen: The red- green Alliance achieved a very good result in Copenhagen with 24.6 per cent and 1st place. Can you briefly describe the political situation? What were the reasons for this success from your point of view?
Eva Milsted Enoksen: The Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten, EL) had the best election in our 32-year long history. With 24,6 % of the votes we are now by far the largest party in Copenhagen, the second largest being the Social...
read more "Danish municipal elections: Red-Green Alliance strongest party in Copenhagen"
read more "Danish municipal elections: Red-Green Alliance strongest party in Copenhagen"