The Rise of Nationalism, Populism; Fall of The European Union

[polychronopolous]

Estonia opposition wins election as far right surges




Estonia's opposition liberal Reform party won Sunday's general election, outpacing centre-left Prime Minister Juri Ratas's party and a surging far-right buoyed by a backlash from mostly rural voters in the Baltic eurozone state.

Led by former MEP Kaja Kallas, Reform garnered 28.8 percent of the vote, well ahead of Ratas's Centre party on 23 percent, with the far-right EKRE more than doubling its previous election score at 17.8 percent, according to full results on Estonia's official state elections website.

Two other parties in the race which currently govern in coalition with Ratas, the Social Democrats and conservative Isamaa, respectively took 9.8 percent and 11.4 percent of the vote.

Both could team up with Reform for a 56-seat majority in the 101-member parliament, or holding a combined 60 seats, arch-rivals Reform and Centre could govern together as they have done in the past.

"Now the real work begins to put together the government and start running the country with common sense," Kallas told public broadcaster ETV/ERR.

Insisting that the "EKRE is not a choice for us," Kallas said Reform would "keep all coalition options on the table", adding that her party has "strong differences with Centre in three areas: taxation, citizenship, and education."

As for Ratas, when asked if Centre would consider becoming a junior coalition partner, he said "of course" but declined to elaborate.

EKRE leader Mart Helme raised the idea of a Centre-EKRE-Isamaa coalition commanding a 57-seat majority, according to ETV/ERR.

Bread-and-butter issues like taxation and public spending had dominated the lacklustre campaign, along with tensions over Russian-language education for Estonia's sizeable Russian minority and the rural-urban divide.

The far-right EKRE captured support promising to slash income and excise taxes and pushing anti-immigration rhetoric.

Turnout clocked in at 63.1 percent of eligible voters, the state election commission said.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.france24.com/en/20190304-estonia-opposition-reform-party-kaja-kallas-wins-election-far-right-surges

[myt1]

Estonia opposition wins election as far right surges




Estonia's opposition liberal Reform party won Sunday's general election, outpacing centre-left Prime Minister Juri Ratas's party and a surging far-right buoyed by a backlash from mostly rural voters in the Baltic eurozone state.

Led by former MEP Kaja Kallas, Reform garnered 28.8 percent of the vote, well ahead of Ratas's Centre party on 23 percent, with the far-right EKRE more than doubling its previous election score at 17.8 percent, according to full results on Estonia's official state elections website.

Two other parties in the race which currently govern in coalition with Ratas, the Social Democrats and conservative Isamaa, respectively took 9.8 percent and 11.4 percent of the vote.

Both could team up with Reform for a 56-seat majority in the 101-member parliament, or holding a combined 60 seats, arch-rivals Reform and Centre could govern together as they have done in the past.

"Now the real work begins to put together the government and start running the country with common sense," Kallas told public broadcaster ETV/ERR.

Insisting that the "EKRE is not a choice for us," Kallas said Reform would "keep all coalition options on the table", adding that her party has "strong differences with Centre in three areas: taxation, citizenship, and education."

As for Ratas, when asked if Centre would consider becoming a junior coalition partner, he said "of course" but declined to elaborate.

EKRE leader Mart Helme raised the idea of a Centre-EKRE-Isamaa coalition commanding a 57-seat majority, according to ETV/ERR.

Bread-and-butter issues like taxation and public spending had dominated the lacklustre campaign, along with tensions over Russian-language education for Estonia's sizeable Russian minority and the rural-urban divide.

The far-right EKRE captured support promising to slash income and excise taxes and pushing anti-immigration rhetoric.

Turnout clocked in at 63.1 percent of eligible voters, the state election commission said.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.france24.com/en/20190304-estonia-opposition-reform-party-kaja-kallas-wins-election-far-right-surges

Amazing how people in other countries are literally dying and fighting to have what we have in the USA, and how many in the USA are yelling about wanting what those people have/had.   Very strange world

[polychronopolous]

Amazing how people in other countries are literally dying and fighting to have what we have in the USA, and how many in the USA are yelling about wanting what those people have/had.   Very strange world

You ever watch that guy Vee on YouTube? He recently made alot of parallels between the way Great Britain is going and the old Soviet censorship model. It's pretty startling when you think about it.

[polychronopolous]

Yellow vest protesters set life-threatening fires and clash with police in Paris




French yellow vest protesters set life-threatening fires, smashed up luxury stores and clashed with police Saturday in the 18th straight weekend of demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron. Large plumes of smoke rose above the rioting on Paris' landmark Champs-Elysees Avenue, and a mother and her child were just barely saved from a building blaze.

French police tried to contain the demonstrators with limited success.

One perilous fire targeted a bank on the ground floor of a seven-story residential building. As firetrucks rushed over, a mother and her child were rescued as the fire threatened to engulf their floor, the city's fire service told The Associated Press. Eleven people in the building, including two firefighters, sustained light injuries, as other residents were evacuated to safety.

The rioting comes at the end of a two-month national debate that Macron organized to respond to protesters' concerns about sinking living standards, stagnant wages and high unemployment.

After the weekly protests dwindled recently, protesters were hoping to breathe new life into their movement against a president who they see as favoring the elite.

The violence started Saturday when protesters threw smoke bombs and other objects at officers along the famed avenue — scene of repeated past rioting — and started pounding on the windows of a police van, prompting riot police to retreat.

Simultaneous fires were also put out from two burning newspaper kiosks, which sent black smoke high into the sky. Several protesters smiled as they posed for a photo in front of one the kiosk's charred remains.

Demonstrators also targeted symbols of the luxury industry, as shops including brands Hugo Boss and Lacoste were smashed up and pillaged, and mannequins thrown out of the broken windows. A posh eatery called Fouquet's, which is associated with politicians and celebrities, was vandalized and set on fire. A vehicle burned outside the luxury boutique Kenzo, one of many blazes on and around the Champs-Elysees.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/paris-riots-mother-child-saved-from-bank-fire-champs-elysees-avenue-today-2019-03-16/

[polychronopolous]

Far-right populists score stunning win in Dutch provincial vote



Far-right populist newcomer Forum for Democracy stunned the Dutch political establishment after winning the most votes in provincial elections, according to a preliminary count on Thursday of almost all the votes.

Strong gains made by both the Euroskeptics and the Greens in Wednesday’s election mean Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is on course to lose control of the upper house of parliament.


The big winner, though, is the Forum for Democracy party led by 36-year-old Thierry Baudet. The party holds two seats in parliament after entering politics just three years ago. It will have 13 seats in the Senate, one more than Rutte’s liberal VVD.

In a speech to supporters after the election results, Baudet said the arrogance of the elite has been punished.

“We are standing amidst the debris of what was once the greatest and most beautiful civilization the world has ever known,” he said, adding that “we are undermined by our universities, our journalists … and administrators.”

The Greens more than doubled their seats to nine, while other opposition parties, including Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party and the Socialists, lost ground, down by four and five seats respectively.

Rutte’s center-right coalition — of his liberal VVD, CDA, D66 and the small Christian Union — had a one-seat majority in the Senate before the vote, but is set to lose seven seats overall.

Voters were choosing new regional parliaments, which will determine the makeup of the new Senate. The ballots were held two days after a Turkish-born man was arrested following a shooting in Utrecht in which three people were killed.

Dutch right-wing populism, dominated for a decade by Wilders and his Freedom Party, has been transformed in the past two years by the rapid growth of the Forum for Democracy. Baudet shocked establishment parties this week by blaming the government’s migration policy for the Utrecht attack just hours after the shooting. All other parties had suspended campaigning.

“This is a combination of an honor killing and a half-terrorist motive,” Baudet told supporters at a rally, Reuters reported. The shooter’s motive is still not clear.

Forum for Democracy is projected to win 12 percent of the Dutch votes in the European Parliament election in May.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.politico.eu/article/mark-rutte-to-lose-senate-majority-after-dutch-local-elections/amp/

[illuminati]

Far-right populists score stunning win in Dutch provincial vote



Far-right populist newcomer Forum for Democracy stunned the Dutch political establishment after winning the most votes in provincial elections, according to a preliminary count on Thursday of almost all the votes.

Strong gains made by both the Euroskeptics and the Greens in Wednesday’s election mean Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is on course to lose control of the upper house of parliament.


The big winner, though, is the Forum for Democracy party led by 36-year-old Thierry Baudet. The party holds two seats in parliament after entering politics just three years ago. It will have 13 seats in the Senate, one more than Rutte’s liberal VVD.

In a speech to supporters after the election results, Baudet said the arrogance of the elite has been punished.

“We are standing amidst the debris of what was once the greatest and most beautiful civilization the world has ever known,” he said, adding that “we are undermined by our universities, our journalists … and administrators.”

The Greens more than doubled their seats to nine, while other opposition parties, including Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party and the Socialists, lost ground, down by four and five seats respectively.

Rutte’s center-right coalition — of his liberal VVD, CDA, D66 and the small Christian Union — had a one-seat majority in the Senate before the vote, but is set to lose seven seats overall.

Voters were choosing new regional parliaments, which will determine the makeup of the new Senate. The ballots were held two days after a Turkish-born man was arrested following a shooting in Utrecht in which three people were killed.

Dutch right-wing populism, dominated for a decade by Wilders and his Freedom Party, has been transformed in the past two years by the rapid growth of the Forum for Democracy. Baudet shocked establishment parties this week by blaming the government’s migration policy for the Utrecht attack just hours after the shooting. All other parties had suspended campaigning.

“This is a combination of an honor killing and a half-terrorist motive,” Baudet told supporters at a rally, Reuters reported. The shooter’s motive is still not clear.

Forum for Democracy is projected to win 12 percent of the Dutch votes in the European Parliament election in May.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.politico.eu/article/mark-rutte-to-lose-senate-majority-after-dutch-local-elections/amp/

Great News.

[illuminati]

I don't want to get ridiculous or misunderstand the issue?
I assume, most modern right wingers don't want  "Hitler led Nazi Party 2.0" running any GOV, right?

Perhaps, some thoughtful individual on the right could outline their goals and political objectives. thanks

I’d like to see more
National pride & culture heritage preserved and celebrated
Far less like Zero Cultural Enrichment from 3rd world Musli’s
And Blacks.
Illegal immigrants sent back asap
Less pandering to Queers & those with Mentally wrong wired brains that want to chop bits off
And mutilate themselves & Don’t want hear their noise
Better distribution of wealth
Royal family & all that crap gone
Better National health service
Education & defence
Long term scroungers made to do community based work for their £
The accurate and truthful reporting of news
An end to the Leftist liberal self hating & destroying ideas & MSM
End to Political Correctness

There’s a few for starters for you Howard.
I’m in the U.K.
 

[illuminati]

Believe or not I'm with ya on some of that stuff.

I'm all for a strong military and consistent immigration laws.
I do think we need a guest worker system and penalize any worker and employer that doesn't use legal workers.

BUT, I really don't care about most of the social or cultural issues.
I don't think we need ANY laws backing or banning "alternative lifestyles".

I'm for live and let live, regardless of your religion or sexuality.
Let's focus and enforce laws on crimnal acts instead.
For example, dress and talk anyway you want.
BUT if resort to violence or serious threats, you get arrested.

I tend to side with police and don't like most of police protests.
In that regard, I'd arrest agressive panhandlers on the streets.

Plus, I'm against most forms of welfare .
To me, it's simple; you don't work , you don't eat.

I think paying into social security and medicare via payroll deduction is a great thing.
Old folks need the help and we're all going to get old and can't work during our sunset years.
BUT those under 65, need to get their health care via their employer or own means. No handouts.

AGAIN, I really don't care about race ( ethnicity ), etc.
Treat everyone by the same fair standard and let the chips fall where they may.

Lastly, I think we should all promote trade between nations as the main goal.

question - what do you think of the Brexit debate going now in the UK?

I’m glad to hear you agree with some of my thoughts.
I do care about religion & ethnicity and it’s Negative effects
Also promoting queer / freak lifestyles isn’t right either.
I do believe there should be some social welfare up to a point
We should be helping & caring for some less fortunate & Definitely
The elderly.

As for the Debacle with Britexit is a disgrace
It’s made a mockery of politics & Democray
The majority of people voted out & that Should of been seen through and done by now.
We have been betrayed by a Traitorous Bunch.
I’d like to see some major civil unrest if we don’t leave very soon.

[polychronopolous]

Spanish far-right Vox party banned from TV debate



The controversial, anti-immigration party achieved a surprise victory in recent regional elections.

Spain's Atresmedia network chose it to join the four major national parties for a debate on 23 April.

However, the electoral commission ruled that Vox's inclusion would be a violation of electoral law.

The network said it would respect the ruling but stood by its decision to include Vox in the debate.

"Atresmedia maintains that a debate between five candidates is of the greatest journalistic value and most relevance for voters," the network said in a statement after the ruling.

Spain's current Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, had agreed to take part in the private network's five-party debate - including Vox - rather than the four-party option proposed by a public broadcaster.

However, the electoral commission ruled that Vox's inclusion was not "proportional" under its electoral rules, since it does not hold any seats in the national parliament and attracted a very small percentage of the vote in the last general election.

Rise of nationalists vowing to 'make Spain great again'
Spanish election: Socialists battle to stop right-wing surge
Vox: Who are Spain's far-right party?
Vox's leader Santiago Abascal responded defiantly on Twitter.

"It's clear who calls the shots still in Spain: the separatists. Until April 28. Because a great victory for #LongLiveSpain will see those parties who wish to destroy our co-existence, constitution and homeland banned", he said.

Several smaller parties had asked to be included in the debate, based on previous electoral performance.

The 28 April ballot is being billed as a battle between the established parties, Catalan and Basque nationalists, and Vox.

Who are Vox?
Founded in 2014, the party struggled to make an impact on Spain's political landscape until it took 12 parliamentary seats in Andalusia in December, beating expectations that it would win five.

Vox has been derided as far-right and populist, anti-immigrant and anti-Islam but its leader Santiago Abascal believes its recent surge of support is because it is "in step with what millions of Spaniards think".

Its leaders reject the far-right label, insisting it is a party of "extreme necessity" rather than extremism. Its overall support for Spain's membership of the EU, it says, differentiates it from many populist and far-right movements across Europe.

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-europe-47957010

[The Scott]

There is nothing wrong in having pride in one's own civilized heritage.   Goat fucking is not civilized.  Pedophilia is not civilized.  Stoning is not civilized. 

It is repulsive that some cretins here and in the real world associate the lack of color in someone's skin as somehow disqualifying and discrediting their accomplishments, their very culture, but if you possess even a modicum of shading to your skin, you're allowed to throw that around and do as you please in the name of "fairness".

One need only look at the architecture of ancient Greece and Rome and compare it to the current mudhuts of modern schmomalia and the traveling turd-burglars of arab lands to know this is so.

[polychronopolous]

Australia Conservatives Ride Economy to Shock Election Victory




*Voters reject opposition’s progressive agenda on climate, tax

*Victory is biggest come-from-behind win since 1993 election



Australia’s center-right government clung to power in a surprise victory, with voters backing its stewardship of a slowing economy for another three years and rejecting the opposition’s progressive agenda.

Despite trailing in most opinion polls for years, Scott Morrison’s Liberal-National coalition closed down the gap with a relentless attack on Labor’s pledge to take tougher action on climate change and strip tax perks from wealthy Australians. For Labor leader Bill Shorten, the loss is akin to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 failure to win the U.S. presidency

“I have always believed in miracles,” Morrison, 51, told cheering supporters in Sydney, flanked by his wife and two daughters. “Tonight we’ve been delivered another one.”

President Donald Trump cheered the victory by a fellow conservative, tweeting “Congratulations to Scott on a GREAT WIN!”

Shorten, 52, ran on Australia’s most progressive agenda in decades, including tax cuts for low income workers, increases to the minimum wage, sweeping emissions curbs and scaling back concessions for property and stock market investors. That presented a big target for Morrison, with blanket TV ads warning Shorten was “the Bill Australia can’t afford."

The government also ran on its record of economic management, across-the-board tax cuts and a return to a budget surplus. In the final week, it announced support for first-home buyers, mixing that carrot with the stick of warnings that Labor’s proposal to curtail tax breaks for property investment would send prices tumbling.

With 75% of votes counted, the coalition was on track to win at least 74 seats in the 151-seat lower house, eking out a victory via gains in the mostly rural states of Tasmania and Queensland, according to Australian Broadcasting Corp. projections. Labor was on 66 and minor parties on 6, with 5 seats in doubt. While it remained unclear whether the coalition would gain the 76 needed for an outright majority, Shorten conceded defeat.


Morrison’s victory is the biggest come-from-behind win in Australian politics since Labor’s Paul Keating pulled off the "unwinnable" 1993 election. Like that poll, it was consistent warnings against the opposition’s expansive program that underpinned Morrison’s win.

https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2019-05-18/australia-conservatives-snatch-unwinnable-election-on-economy

[chaos]

Sounds reasonable.

Some people would say we fought on the wrong side in WWII.
We ended up having 40 years of "cold war" with the old USSR.

Do you think western nations (USA) should have aligned with Hitler and Nazi Germany in WWII?

Howard the PhD promoting racism and anti-semitism in this thread.

[loco]

Sounds reasonable.

Some people would say we fought on the wrong side in WWII.
We ended up having 40 years of "cold war" with the old USSR.

Do you think western nations (USA) should have aligned with Hitler and Nazi Germany in WWII?

Because nobody listened to Patton.

[polychronopolous]

UK's Brexit Party maintains big lead in EU election poll



(Reuters) - Nigel Farage's new Brexit Party has kept a big lead over both the ruling Conservative Party and the opposition Labour Party in a poll on voting intentions for the European elections.

According to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer newspaper, Farage's newly formed party is on 34% of the vote ahead of the May 23 election that Britain is participating in because it failed to leave the European Union as expected at the end of March. The party's support was unchanged from a week ago.

The poll put Labour in second place on 20%, down 1 percentage point. Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives stay in fourth place on 12%, up 1 point. The pro-EU Liberal Democrats, who have explicitly called for a second referendum on Brexit, are on 15%, up 3 points.

The Conservatives and Labour, Britain's two biggest political parties, endured a drubbing in local elections this month, with voters expressing their frustration over the Brexit deadlock.

Opinium's poll also showed the Brexit Party overtaking the Conservatives to reach second place in general voting intentions - with Labour on 29%, the Brexit Party on 24% and the Conservatives on 22%.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN1SO0P7

[Irongrip400]

Because nobody listened to Patton.

Operation Unthinkable, rearming SS divisions and turning East.

[polychronopolous]

Modi’s emphatic victory cements India’s nationalist shift




When Narendra Modi led his Bharatiya Janata Party to a sweeping victory in India’s 2014 elections, it was seen by many as an exceptional, one-off event, stemming from anger at the incumbent Congress party over economic instability and corruption.

But in the wake of Mr Modi’s landslide re-election win on Thursday, it is clear that his latest victory is the harbinger of a fundamental change — nothing less than the reordering of India’s political landscape.

The BJP — the political arm of a century-old ethno-nationalist movement — has emerged as India’s paramount political force, supplanting Congress, which led the country’s anti-colonial struggle and dominated public life for decades after independence.


The BJP’s back-to-back wins are the first time any party other than Congress has secured two consecutive, single-party majorities in parliament. “This is essentially the wholesale replacement of Congress dominance by BJP dominance,” said Kanchan Chandra, professor of politics at New York University.

The verdict is a powerful affirmation of public faith in Mr Modi, a tea-seller’s son who depicts himself as the nation’s watchman and who has captivated Indians with his vow of asceticism, frenetic energy and efforts to improve their material and economic prospects.

Here, we have a single leader who exudes total dominance — the likes of which we haven’t seen since Indira Gandhi — in terms of being able to saturate the political space and sustain heightened popularity

Milan Vaishnav of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
“Getting a single-party majority in 2019 is even more significant than getting it in 2014,” said Sadanand Dhume, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. “In 2014, you could attribute it to the unpopularity of the [former prime minister] Manmohan Singh regime. In 2019, you can only attribute it to the popularity of Mr Modi.”

Through the adroit use of social media — including his own Narendra Modi “app” — a monthly national radio address and leaning on mainstream media outlets and other critics, Mr Modi has maintained his image as hardworking, well-intentioned and incorruptible. He is seen as working tirelessly to modernise India and elevate its global standing.

“Here, we have a single political leader who exudes total dominance — the likes of which we haven’t seen since Indira Gandhi — in terms of being able to saturate the political space and sustain a heightened level of popularity,” says Milan Vaishnav, director of the South Asia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

But the BJP sweep also appears to mark the ascendance of an idea of India fundamentally at odds with the vision laid out by anti-colonial leader Mahatma Gandhi and his political heir Jawaharlal Nehru, the country’s first post-independence prime minister. They believed India’s interests were best secured by a secular state, governing a religiously and linguistically diverse society whose members all had equal claim as citizens.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.ft.com/content/3efe59a4-7d61-11e9-81d2-f785092ab560

[Irongrip400]

EU elections show a larger divide happening with the extremes of both ends picking up votes. I see Sebastian Kurtz is out, at least until September. Maybe this was just the Nationalist version of the battle of the bulge?

[polychronopolous]

Elections in EU and India tilt the world's largest democracies towards populism




CNN) The voters in two of the world's largest democracies have spoken -- and their message is clear.

Elections in India and the European Union in recent days have resulted in gains for politicians with strident nationalist messages. In some EU countries the out-of-touch elites are savaged. The middle ground is crumbling.

In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi easily secured a second term, shrugging off a challenge from the Congress Party, which attempted to paint him as a threat to India's secular pluralism, as voters responded to Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) doubling-down on Hindu nationalism and anti-Muslim rhetoric.


Across parts of the European Union, some populist, euroskeptic and anti-immigrant parties benefited at the expense of the establishment over the weekend. In the UK -- where most voters never expected to be taking part in these elections -- the Brexit Party, led by arch EU critic Nigel Farage, swept the board. A similar result was seen in France and Italy, where Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement National (RN) and Matteo Salvini's League came out on top.

Those results come hot on the heels of an Australian election in which voters contradicted months of polling and chose to retain the right-wing government of Scott Morrison, an evangelical Christian climate change denier.

Across the world there has been a consistent shift to the political right, as voters abandon the center-left and centrist parties, which once held power in many democracies, after years of austerity and economic downturn.

In Europe, the turn to the right -- with Britain perhaps being the best example -- has been fueled by a desire to recapture past glories. Pro-Brexit lawmakers often talk of their project as if they are revitalizing the British Empire, exaggerating not only the role Britain plays today, but the one it would likely have as a small country detached from the wider EU bloc.

In India, Modi's continued success has not been about yesterday's successes, but tomorrow's. Indians see themselves on the verge of becoming the next superpower, with Modi and his stridently nationalist BJP the best people to lead them there.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/05/27/india/european-union-india-populism-intl/index.html

[polychronopolous]

Nigel Farage's Brexit Party wins most UK seats in EU vote





Britain's newly-formed Brexit Party comfortably beat the country's two main parties in European Parliamentary elections, early results showed Monday, as voters expressed their frustration over the Brexit deadlock.

The results are coming in after Conservative Party leader Theresa May announced her resignation as prime minister on Friday morning. It is expected that U.K. MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) will only take their seats until the country leaves the European Union.

Brexit has gripped British society for more than three years, splintering both the ruling Conservative Party and the opposition Labour party into warring factions since the country's EU referendum in June 2016.


The U.K. participated in European Parliamentary elections on Thursday after failing to leave the EU at the end of March. The UK is electing 73 MEPs from across 12 regions and 10 have so far declared. The Brexit Party have 28 MEPs winning 32% of the vote and are largest party in 9 regions.

The pro-EU Lib Dems have also made gains, taking second place with 20%. The Green Party also enjoyed a good night, recording its best performance since 1989.

The Conservative Party was ignored by the electorate, winning only 3 MEPs while the main opposition Labour Party won 10 MEPs and just 11% of the vote.

Veteran euroskeptic campaigner Nigel Farage — who is credited by some with forcing Britain's 2016 referendum on EU membership — launched his new party in April, after claiming the country's political leaders had betrayed the vote to leave. Farage's former party UKIP (The U.K. Independence Party) gained the most U.K. seats at the 2014 European Parliamentary election.


He has promised to challenge Britain's political leadership and fast-track the country's departure from the bloc.

The world's fifth-largest economy is currently due to leave the EU in October, but with Parliament split over the terms of the country's departure, it remains unclear how — or even if — it will.

Brexit Party 'getting ready' for a general election
"The Labour and Conservative parties could learn a big lesson from tonight but I don't suppose that they actually will," Farage said, shortly after the Brexit Party was seen winning the most U.K. seats.

"I have to say this, if we don't leave on October 31, then the scores you've seen for the Brexit Party today will be repeated in a general election and we are getting ready for it," he added.

On three occasions, U.K. lawmakers refused to vote in favor of May's much-maligned deal to leave the EU. It means an orderly exit with a deal, a no-deal departure, a general election and a second referendum that could ultimately reverse the 2016 vote to leave the bloc all remain possible over the coming months.

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2019/05/27/eu-elections-britains-brexit-party-set-to-win-most-uk-seats.html

[polychronopolous]

Salvini’s far-right party tops Italy’s EU election polls



A jubilant Matteo Salvini kissed the cross of rosary as he thanked “those up there” for his far-right party’s victory in the European parliamentary elections.

Provisional results early on Monday morning gave the League a resounding 34.33% win, beating expectations and cementing its position as Italy’s biggest party.

How Matteo Salvini pulled Italy to the far right
“I didn’t entrust the immaculate Mary with a vote or party success,” Salvini told reporters in Milan. “But with the future and destiny of a continent.”

Salvini thanked supporters on his social media feeds soon after hearing the League was ahead in exit polls, posting a picture of himself holding a card with the message: “No 1 party in Italy, thank you.” On the shelves behind him were a “Make America great again” baseball cap as well as pictures of Jesus Christ and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.


Mattia Diletti, a politics professor at Rome’s Sapienza University, said Italy had delivered the “most Trumpian” result in Europe. “I knew the League would win, but not by this much, we are now a province of Trumpism,” he said. “Italians were asking for strong feelings and emotion, to feel pride again, and like [Donald] Trump, that’s what Salvini gave.”


Salvini also posted a flurry of photos of him on the phone doing live interviews throughout the night as he celebrated his party going from 6.2% in the 2014 EU ballot to leading in Italy. “Five years ago, the papers wrote about our extinction, now here we are, the No 1 party,” he said.

But he said the festivities would only last “a few minutes” as “now is the time for responsibility”. He said: “Millions of Italians have entrusted us with a historic mission. That is to bring to the centre of the European debate the right to have stable jobs, the right to healthcare, to have babies.”

Salvini made demographics a key component of his campaign as part of a nativist vision to reverse Italy’s shrinking population and protect Italian identity. Along with the usual anti-immigration rhetoric, he also tapped into Catholic sensitivities while making an enemy of Pope Francis, often mocking the pontiff for calling on people to help migrants.


The League’s success will affect the balance of power in its already fragile national coalition with the Five Star Movement (M5S), which has gone from being Italy’s leading party to capturing just 17.7% of the EU vote, behind the centre-left Democratic party, which took about 22%.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/may/27/matteo-salvini-far-right-league-party-tops-italy-eu-election-polls

[polychronopolous]

[polychronopolous]

Le Pen beats Macron in EU Parliament vote as far-right gains ground




BRUSSELS — French far-right leader Marine Le Pen won her symbolic duel with President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, as euroskeptic forces made strong gains in the EU parliamentary election.

Turnout EU-wide was estimated at 51 percent, the highest in 20 years, suggesting more than 200 million citizens across the 28-nation bloc voted in a poll billed as a battle between populists and pro-European forces.


Mainstream parties put up enough of a defense to keep a possible majority in the 751-seat assembly — and Green parties surged in western Europe — but Le Pen’s victory in her head-to-head with Macron set the tone of the night.

Le Pen’s National Rally was on track for around 24 percent, with Macron’s centrists trailing with 22 to 23 percent, according to two polls from Ifop-Fiducial and Harris Interactive-Agence Epoka.

Le Pen’s party was already the biggest French group in the outgoing parliament, and does not seem to have gained ground, but Macron personally invested himself in the campaign and was diminished by his loss.


Italy’s far-right League, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, also won the most votes with between 27-31 percent, according to exit polls.

Across Europe however, according to a projection prepared by the parliament, the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) is on course to have the most seats in the assembly with 173, down sharply from 216 in 2014.

With the center-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) projected to win 147, down from 185, the two mainstream parties will no longer have a majority and will have to reach out to liberals to maintain a “cordon sanitaire” and exclude the far-right from decision making.

Each previous EU election since the first in 1979 has seen turnout fall, but initial figures from across the 28-nation bloc suggested this year’s culture clash has mobilized both populists and those who oppose them.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/le-pen-beats-macron-in-eu-parliament-vote-as-far-right-gains-ground/

[Irongrip400]

Why do these coalitions always exclude the “far right” but never the “far left”? Why is right always the boogeyman and when will they actually learn that people are voting for these parties at an exponentially larger rate each election cycle? It only makes them stronger and validates their points.

[polychronopolous]

Angela Merkel seen shaking for second time in weeks




CNN) Angela Merkel has been seen shaking in public for the second time in less than two weeks, raising concern over the wellbeing of the German chancellor.

Merkel, 64, appeared to clutch her arms together to keep herself still as she attended an event with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday.

The incident, at a farewell ceremony for Justice Minister Katarina Barley, was captured on a live feed by the Reuters news agency. At one point she was handed a glass of water, which she waved away.


Merkel's spokesperson later told CNN that the chancellor is "fine."

"Everything is taking place as planned. The chancellor is well," he added, indicating that Merkel would still take part in this weekend's G20 summit in Japan.

The chancellor attended the country's parliament half an hour later for the swearing-in of the new justice minister. According to Reuters, she then appeared relaxed and showed no signs of shaking as she talked and laughed with her vice chancellor, Olaf Scholz.

Earlier this month Merkel was seen shaking dramatically as she met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Berlin. She blamed dehydration for that incident.

"Since then I have drunk at least three glasses of water -- I obviously needed that and so I'm doing very well now," Merkel told reporters at a press conference with Zelensky shortly after video of her tremors was circulated.

Tremors can be caused by a number of conditions, ranging from neurological disorders to less serious issues such as medicinal side effects, stress or caffeine consumption.

Germany is in the midst of a record-breaking heatwave, with temperatures hitting 38.6 degrees Celsius (101.5 Fahrenheit) in parts, though Berlin was cooler than much of the country on Wednesday.

Merkel, who has been chancellor since 2005, is approaching the end of her lengthy tenure.

She will not seek reelection when her current term ends in 2021, she announced last year, telling reporters the position had been a "very challenging and fulfilling task."

https://www.cnn.com/cnn/2019/06/27/europe/angela-merkel-shaking-scli-intl/index.html

[polychronopolous]

Italy's Salvini closes Europe's once largest migrant centre





NEWS /MIGRANTS
Italy's Salvini closes Europe's once largest migrant centre
Hardline Interior Minister Matteo Salvini attends the closure of Mineo centre, which had also employed 400 people.

09 July 2019 GMT+3
A migrant reception centre on the Italian island of Sicily, which was once the largest in Europe, has been officially shut down.


Italy's hardline Interior Minister Matteo Salvini attended the closure on Tuesday and live-streamed himself walking around the facility and speaking to journalists.

The leader of the populist League party has been a critical opponent of the Mineo centre, which housed 4,100 people at its peak in 2014.

In 2017, he spent the night in the facility and claimed to have seen what he called "organised migration" designed to "replace Italian people with other people, Italian workers with other workers".

 
Activists defy Italian laws to rescue migrants at sea (3:03)
Speaking to reporters at the centre on Tuesday, Salvini said the future was in "smaller and more controlled centres", after the final inhabitants were removed last week to be sent to another centre in southern Italy's Calabria region.

About 50 former workers at the centre and unionists protested on Tuesday before Salvini's arrival, holding a banner reading: "Today we celebrate the funeral of Mineo."

Salvini also underlined the decrease in migrant arrivals since he came to office, saying the number of migrants in centres is down from 182,000 a year ago to 107,000 currently.

Interior Ministry figures show that 3,073 migrants have arrived in Italy so far this year, compared with 17,000 in the same period last year and 85,000 a year earlier.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2019/07/italy-salvini-closes-europe-largest-migrant-centre-190709141806722.html