…but only after Victory Day for some Whether attending the Victory Day (9 May) parade or not, numerous world leaders have passed by Moscow in recent days, confirming the country’s global importance in terms of geopolitics and economics. The late arrivals, Ms. Merkel and Mr. Kerry, had to go there in their search for a solution to…
By Andrés Ortega
Despite the official congratulations, Europe’s conservative-dominated collective leadership would have rather seen Labour’s Ed Miliband entering 10 Downing Street. This might seem a paradox, but it is not. There is little confidence in David Cameron. First he got Scotland into an independence referendum that made much of Europe very jittery. Europe’s leaders will again feel a shudder down their spines once the British referendum (Brexit) on leaving the EU comes up. Although Scottish nationalists only just lost their referendum, thanks to devolution promises Cameron now has to honour, the effect has been a totally SNP-dominated political landscape in Scotland. In last Thursday’s general election the party swept the board, taking 56 of a total of 59 seats, compared with only six in 2010.
Analysing what happened last Sunday in the Polish presidential elections and trying to anticipate what might happen in two weeks’ time, there are clearly two different interpretations. On the one hand, the partial victory of Andrzej Duda reveals significant wear and tear in the Civic Platform (PO) currently in power – and of Komorowski as President. Furthermore, the rise of Pawel Kukiz, a musician and non-party independent, as the third most voted option (20%) appear to place Poland fairly and squarely in the European mainstream of new politicians, new discourse, and the desire for change – which is what’s happening in Greece and Spain.
