EU-DIGEST: President

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10/15/22

China: the Chinese communist party holding its party congress

China's ruling Communist Party is holding its five-year national congress starting Sunday, where Xi Jinping is expected to receive a third term as the uncontested head of the country's party, government and military.

The proceedings surrounding the event are shrouded in secrecy, as is typical in China's authoritarian one-party state.

But the weeklong congress — the 20th in its more than 100-year history — is expected to produce a new set of leaders handpicked by Xi, who faces no term limits and has yet to indicate a successor after a decade in the top spot.

12/27/21

Press Freedom - Poland’s president vetoes controversial media law following pressure from US

Poland’s president has vetoed a controversial media law that had been passed in the country’s parliament, under pressure from the US.

Andrzej Duda said on Monday he has decided to veto the bill that would have forced US company Discovery to give up its controlling share in Polish TV network TVN.

The president noted that the bill was unpopular with many Poles and would have dealt a blow to Poland’s reputation as a place to do business.

Read more at: Poland’s president vetoes controversial media law following pressure from US | Euronews

8/20/21

NATO: Czech President: NATO legitimacy in question after Afghanistan failure

Czech Republic: NATO's legitimacy has been placed in question after its failure in Afghanistan, said Czech President Milos Zeman, stressing that his country will focus on national defense, rather than "wasting money" on the alliance.

NATO's main role is to combat international terrorism, but it has also failed at this task, added Zeman, who is considered pro-Russia and pro-China.

Note EU-Digest: Manny EU members, however, are of the opinion that the Nato has outlived its purpose after the cold war ended , and has now become a US tool to fight its battles around the world

Read more at: Czech President: NATO legitimacy in question after Afghanistan failure

7/27/21

Middle East: Tunisia’s Trumpian president - by Marwan Bishara

Tunisia’s President Kais Saied has borrowed more than a few pages from Donald Trump’s playbook over the past couple of years.

Since taking office, he has attacked the system that propelled him to power, insulted parliament and parliamentarians, and undermined the parliamentary system on which the country’s democratic system is based, all in the name of “the people”.

Read more at: Tunisia’s Trumpian president | Politics | Al Jazeera

2/12/21

Italy: Draghi: Call of duty for Italy's 'Super Mario' - by Mark Lowen

"The thing about Mario Draghi is that when he ran up the pitch, he would always pass the ball - he was generous like that," reflects Staffan de Mistura, a UN diplomat and school friend of Italy's likely next prime minister.

"Mario was a team player. Not the best footballer we had but a good one - and he always had a strategy, he knew which way to turn."

Read more at: Draghi: Call of duty for Italy's 'Super Mario' - BBC News

1/7/21

USA: Donald Trump, the leader of the insurgent and domestic terrorist group which planned, encouraged and invaded the Capital Building must be removed from office - by RM

The leader of the disgraceful insurrection yesterday at the Capital building storming, who is completely delusional , but still sitting in the White House with incredible powers at his disposal, must immediately be removed from office, based on US laws as described in the US Constitution re 25th Amendment.

It also must be noted that an investigation has to be started why there was no adequate protection deployed at the Congress, even though news of this potential insurrection was know far in advance? Hopefully given the fact many of insurgents can be identified, as they carried out acts of vandalism , the Police and FBI will be able to find them and prosecute them.

As a note of comparison -- if this had been a demonstration by "black lives matter" the area would have been crawling with security forces and vandalism would have cost many demonstrators lives.

The combined session of Congress, after the building was cleared confirmed Joe Biden as the 46th President of the USA.

EU-Digest

1/6/21

USA: Washington DC under curfew after storming of Capitol as Pelosi says Congress will resume tonight – by Manu Raju

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer told reporters that he expected the joint session to resume in a little over an hour, at 8 pm ET.

Read more at: Washington DC under curfew after storming of Capitol as Pelosi says Congress will resume tonight – live | US news | The Guardian

11/20/19

EU: Tusk pledges 'fight' for EU values as new EPP president - by Elena Sánchez Nicolás

The EU's largest political party's congress gathered in Zagreb on Wednesday (20 November) to nominate outgoing EU Council president Donald Tusk as their new president - as Poland's former prime minister was the only candidate for the position.

With new leadership, the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) said it was ready to work on a concrete political strategy to tackle the challenges of the EU's enlargement process and climate change - the two main concerns of the political group at their congress, amid their unfinished battle against Hungary's ruling party Fidesz.

"I am ready to fight" for Christian-Democratic European values and against populism, said Tusk.

"I deeply believe that only those who want and are able to give people a feeling of safety and security, preserving at the same time their freedoms and rights, have a mandate to run for power," he added.

Read more atL Tusk pledges 'fight' for EU values as new EPP president

8/4/19

EU: President elect Von der Leyen aims to 'rebalance Europe - by Eszter Zalan

The EU commission president-elect Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday (30 July) that her political goal is to "rebalance Europe", because the "world is calling for more Europe and needs a strong European voice".

"My goal is to balance the European Union. The east, west, north and south. To bring balance to the small and large members and the younger and older members," the German politician said in Zagreb, after meeting with Croatian prime minister Andrej Plenkovic.

"We all know that problems can only be addressed if we are united, successful and strong. The world is calling for a strong European voice, and this can only be achieved if we are together," she added.

She called Croatia a "tremendous success story," saying the bloc's newest member state serves as a role model for many other countries.

Germany's former defence minister, who takes up her post in Brussels on 1 November, has met with EU leaders, who picked her as the new commission president early July after a marathon summit - despite the lead candidates put forwards by European Parliamentary groups.

Countries have until 26 August to nominate their commissioners to the new EU executive, and national leaders - who have helped the German get the top job - are jostling to secure important portfolios for their nominees.

Von der Leyen has so far visited Berlin, Paris and Warsaw, and travels next to Spain and Italy. Von der Leyen has also met Czech premier Andrej Babis in Brussels and will meet with Hungary's Viktor Orban on Thursday (1 August).

Read m,ore: Von der Leyen aims to 'rebalance Europe'

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7/2/19

EU COMMISSION: Germany 's Ursula von der Leyen nominated as EU Commission president

Who is Ursula von der Leyen, the surprise compromise as European Commission president?

5/21/19

Indonesia: The incumbent moderate President wins second term election Commission decides

Indonesia's incumbent president wins 2nd term, election commission says

4/28/19

Ukraine: new president snubs Putin offer and offers Russians citizenship who want to get away from Russian oppression

Ukraine president offers Russians citizenship in snub to Putin

4/23/19

Middle East - Egypt: Egyptians approve reform allowing him to be President until 2030

Egyptians approve reform allowing Sisi to remain president until 2030 Nearly 90 percent of Egyptians who voted in a constitutional referendum backed amendments that could see President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stay in power until 2030, the election commission announced Tuesday.

1/12/19

World Bank: Ivanka Trump is reportedly under consideration to lead The World Bank - by Grace Panetta

President Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, who works as a White House adviser, is one of the names being considered as a replacement for The World Bank's outgoing president, Jim Yong Kim, the Financial Times reported Friday.

The DC-based World Bank, founded after World War II to finance economic-development projects in emerging economies, has traditionally been led by an American. Kim's sudden departure from the bank came as a surprise to employees and leaves the bank's future uncertain.

The Trump administration, which has been wary of and even hostile toward Western-led international institutions like the World Bank, will now be tasked with submitting a recommendation to the bank's board.

Other possible American nominees to lead the bank include undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs David Malpass, US Agency for International Development director Mark Green, and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, the Financial Times said.

10/28/18

Brazil: Another Populist Rightwinger joins the ever increasing club of Ultra-Right Global Leaders - by E. Londono and S.Barlington

3/17/18

Russia Presidential Elections: Nobody knows where Putin will drag Russia says Khodorkovsky

Vladimir Putin - President of Russia

Vladimir Putin is eager to leave his post after his next term, the Kremlin critic and onetime Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky says. He urges Russian voters to send a "message" in Sunday's election.

DW: Mr Khodorkovsky, what would you say to those voters who are unsure if they should vote, and don't know who to vote for on 18th of March?

Mikhail Khodorkovsky: I think that it's very important in the current state of Russian society that people who are ready to send a political message do send that message. This is important for the Russian society, and it is also important for every single individual. However, there are different types of messages you can send when it comes to state authority.

If you have someone among the candidates that you are ready to vote for, that is the simplest way to do it: You show up and vote for them. By doing so, you give your candidate additional political capital, even when everyone knows that this is not a real election and that your candidate will never be allowed to win. It is especially useful if you take a picture of your ballot and post it online, because nobody really knows what the electoral commission will do. This way, your candidate will know that he has received a vote.

Read more: Is it time for Germany to revisit its Russia relationship?

If you don't support a candidate, you have several other options. You can monitor the vote. This is very important, it is a clear message to the authorities: "We do not trust you. We don't, because you are criminals, and we want to document it."

You can go out to the street and protest. This is risky. Here [in Germany] it's not risky, but it is in Russia. You might get detained for a certain number of days. But it also a strong political message.

And finally, if you are not ready to pick any of those options, you have a choice between staying on your couch and going to the polling station, crossing out your ballot, writing your political opinion on it. You should then choose the later option.

We see that TV channels are fully controlled by the government and it affects public opinion. Still, the authorities seem to be nervous about the election. Why?

This nervousness comes from several factors. Firstly, it is the nervousness of officials who believe that they can get "spanked." They themselves don't quite know why, each of them is thinking up their own reasons for it. But this is where the nervousness lies, this is behind all these letter and statements, it is the officials.

Secondly, there is nervousness about the possibility of street protests. It is clear that they would not reach a massive scale, but still, there is again the possibility of "getting spanked."

Thirdly, thinking people are also nervous. They are nervous because nobody knows what will happen on March 19. So, Putin wins another six-year-term — and then what?

The only new thing he had managed to offer in his speech is a suicide weapon. It was not a very optimistic message. Nobody knows in which direction this man would drag the country after stealing his next term.

How many more terms will Putin serve as the president of Russia?

If it were up to Putin, this would be the last term. He, naturally, wants to leave. With every passing year, Putin is getting more and more dependent on the people close to him. His leaving would be very interesting for the country and Putin, emotionally, would also like to go and name a successor. However, any successor could bring about changes that are incompatible with the lives of Putin's close associates.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once the richest man in Russia, was arrested and convicted for tax evasion and fraud in 2003. He spent the next 10 years incarcerated. The rights watchdog Amnesty International calling him a political prisoner. He was unexpectedly pardoned and allowed to go into exile in 2013.

Note EU-Digest: Like him or not, Putin, just like Erdogan in Turkey, also has the mass of the population supporting him, and he probably will win in a big way, once again this Sunday, March 18.
Read more: Khodorkovsky: Nobody knows where Putin will drag Russia | News | DW | 17.03.2018

1/31/15

Italy Elects President, While Mulling a Change in Role - by Eelisabetta Povoledo

Italian lawmakers on Saturday elected Sergio Mattarella, a veteran politician and constitutional court judge, as the country’s president, a post that is expected to be redefined during his tenure.

Mr. Mattarella was elected by lawmakers from both houses of Parliament and regional delegates on the third day of voting, when only a simple majority was needed, instead of the two-thirds required in the early votes. He won 665 votes out of a possible 1,009, signaling wide consensus across the political spectrum.

His election is also a political victory for Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who had sponsored Mr. Mattarella’s candidacy and asked his cantankerous party, and his broad coalition, to back his choice.

What remains to be seen is whether Mr. Renzi has lost the support of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, whose party has been an ally of the government as it has tried to push through institutional reforms. Mr. Berlusconi had protested that Mr. Renzi was imposing his choice on his allies, rather than reaching out to them to find a consensus candidate.

Although Mr. Mattarella, 73, has been on the political stage for many years, he has remained mostly out of the limelight, Italian media commentators noted as they struggled to find television footage, even recent photographs, of the reserved politician.

6/21/14

EU Presidential Election: Left-wing leaders back Juncker for top Europe job

Jean-Claude Juncker's bid to head the European Commission has received a boost with the backing of nine left-wing heads of government.

The leaders said it was important to respect the spirit of the European parliament elections, which had returned a centre-right majority.

Mr Juncker is the centre-right's candidate for the post.

The announcement is expected to further isolate the UK government, which opposes Mr Juncker's candidacy.
The nine leaders met in Paris at the invitation of French President Francois Hollande, ahead of a summit next week.

The summit will decide who is to head the Commission, the European Union's executive body.

Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged the UK will oppose "right up to the end" the candidacy of former Luxembourg leader Jean-Claude Juncker to be European Commission president.

He has said Mr Juncker was too pro-federalist and the appointment would make EU reforms harder to achieve.

Read more: BBC News - Left-wing leaders back Juncker for top Europe job

4/21/13

Italy's 87 year old President Napolitano Re-Elected in Bid to Resolve Crisis

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano was elected to a second term after accepting a last- minute appeal from party leaders to run again, a step that may resolve the nation’s political crisis two months after inconclusive elections.

The 87-year-old incumbent got 738 votes, easily surpassing the 504 needed in Parliament, winning the backing of parties led by former premier Silvio Berlusconi, caretaker Prime Minister Mario Monti and outgoing Democratic Party leader Pier Luigi Bersani. His re-election yesterday came in Parliament’s sixth attempt to elect a president this week.

Napolitano, who earlier this year rejected requests to seek another seven-year term, said after yesterday’s appeal from party leaders that he couldn’t “ignore responsibility toward the country.” His first task will be to try and break the political impasse after the Feb. 24-25 elections produced a hung parliament.

Read more: Italy President Napolitano Re-Elected in Bid to Resolve Crisis - Bloomberg

11/21/09

Bonne chance Cathy and Herman - by Rick Morren

EU-Digest

In the EU it's all a question of balance of power and the use of technocrats over politicians to manage the taxpayers money properly and honestly. Mr. Van Rompuy and Lady Ashton might be considered dull in the sense that they don't have the charisma of President Obama, but when it comes to experience, management skills and intelligence they are well qualified and stack up favorably against all the present "world" leaders.

One should also not try to compare the EU with any other political federal system in the world. There is no comparison. The EU is an ongoing democratic experiment of 27 nations with half a billion people and is probably the most daring human political endeavor ever attempted. Regardless of all the mistakes that have and are being made, the EU's economic, scientific, cultural, social, and political achievements far outweigh its failures. Maybe one of it's most important achievements so far has been that this Union of European Nations has ended the past ravaging wars between countries on the European continent which hampered any real form of progress for its people.

As Mr. Van Rompuy and Lady Ashton take on their new tasks we all hope they will make sure that the future development of the EU always remains in the hands of its citizens, even more so than it does today. In this context it is also important they guard against foreign influences or pressures, be it economic, social, cultural or political, getting a foothold on the European continent. Bonne chance Cathy and Herman !

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