Everyone is breathing a sigh of relief. As reported by Reuters: Emmanuel Macron was elected French president on Sunday with a business-friendly vision of European integration, defeating Marine Le Pen, a far-right nationalist who threatened to take France out of the European Union. The centrist's emphatic victory, which also smashed the dominance of France’s mainstream parties, will … Continue reading Emmanuelle Macron’s Multiplying Challenges
The Forces Shaping the Critical French Election: Populism, Pride, and Prejudice
And why is it so critical? Nothing less than the European Union is at stake - and with it, the geopolitical contract that has bound Germany and France together since World War II. After the defeat of anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders early this month in the Netherlands, it is reasonable to ask if populism as … Continue reading The Forces Shaping the Critical French Election: Populism, Pride, and Prejudice
Marine Le Pen’s Play to Destroy the European Union
From Reuters: French far-right leader Marine Le Pen stole a line from pro-Brexit campaigners in a televised debate on Monday, castigating other presidential candidates who criticized her plans to leave the euro as resorting to "project fear". The National Front is the template of much of the Alt-Right, both intellectually and politically. Marine Le Pen … Continue reading Marine Le Pen’s Play to Destroy the European Union
Brexit Backlash: Why Scotland’s elites want to try again for independence
No one can say the English weren't warned. As reported by the Associated Press: Scotland's leader delivered a shock twist to Britain's EU exit drama on Monday, announcing that she will seek authority to hold a new independence referendum in the next two years because Britain is dragging Scotland out of the EU against its … Continue reading Brexit Backlash: Why Scotland’s elites want to try again for independence
Brexit or Not, The World Curves Towards Union
Brexit has been a fascinating, uniquely British ride: from David Cameron offering the vote in exchange for reelection in 2015 to the rise of the maddeningly irrational United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), the whole process has been full of half-truths, fear-mongering, cultural smears, and, most horrifyingly, assassination. For the people of Britain, Brexit matters: it … Continue reading Brexit or Not, The World Curves Towards Union
The Battle over Ukraine
Riots! Fires! Threats of higher import and custom duties! Oh my! Ukraine's not been this interesting since the last time the media noticed that it's Ukraine, not the Ukraine. Russia is mightily pissed, and would like everyone to just rejoin the Soviet Union already because that wasn't such a bad thing. Meanwhile, the often-slagged bureaucrats of … Continue reading The Battle over Ukraine
