The centre is falling apart across Europe
theguardian.com – Ian Traynor – Nov 15, 4:04 PM – Wednesday morning in Brussels and Beppe Grillo has brought his anti-establishment roadshow to the European parliament. The committee room is packed, standing room only for the former standup act. Once he gets going, Grillo resembles a force of
Russian President Vladimir Putin left the G20 summit in Brisbane early on Sunday. According to reports in the Russian media Putin had complained that the leaders at the summit were pressuring him too much over the conflict in Ukraine. The West must stick to its hard line vis-à-vis Moscow even after the summit, some commentators say. Others warn that the confrontation could lead to a deadlock.
LONDON — 33 languages across Europe are close to dying out, according to a new list of at-risk dialects.
The EU – and its member-states – should not rest on their laurels: these independence movements are only going to get stronger.
Members of the European Free Alliance in Edinburgh on the day of the referendum. EFA. Some rights reserved.
Are we entering the ‘bear hug’ phase in the political and economic Spanish elites’ strategy to beat Podemos, or have they begun to realise that Podemos could win?
Podemos in European elections.Flickr.Some rights reserved.“They do not represent us”. This was Podemos’ rallying cry during the last European Parliament election campaign of May 2014. “They” are the “cast”, a word that is now part and parcel of the Spanish political vernacular. “Us” is the people.
Last week the Italian precariat took a step beyond primitive rebellion and began to constitute itself as a politics. As its arguments take shape those involved must work to engage with communities outside of the activist world.
by Ana Fumurescu
Yesterday, amid palpable anticipation, Romania elected its new president
With an electoral enthusiasm not seen since the early 90s, Romanians both at home and abroad decided to side with hope rather than with certain corruption. The race came down to Klaus Iohannis, the ethnically German mayor of the Transylvanian city of Sibiu, and Victor Ponta, the current Romanian Prime Minister. Although Romanians are generally known for their apathy in the face of widespread political corruption, yesterday was proof that they had finally had enough. Electing Victor Ponta, a blatantly corrupt politician who plagiarized his doctoral dissertation, would have signaled more of the same for Romania. Luckily, Ponta made some crucial mistakes.
How has Podemos gone from inception to Spain’s most popular political party in less than a year?
Pablo Iglesias in debate, February, 2014. Demotix/Nacho Goytre. All rights reserved.
Podemos, the Spanish political party, held its first ever People’s Assembly in the Palacio Vistalegre in Madrid last October. The event was significant for a number of reasons: it was a display of the party’s organizational abilities, an indication of its public support and an opportunity to demonstrate its democratic credentials.
The Catalanists’ democratic credentials are shoehorned into a one-size-fits-all horror story of minority nationalism that allows non-violent Catalans to be condemned in carelessly violent language.
The referendum in Scotland gave birth to a new democratic movement in Scotland – a movement people all across the UK could learn from.
It’s been almost two months since Scotland went to the polls in the independence referendum. With the passage of time we can now judge things with a slightly calmer perspective. While we await the outcome of the Smith Commission on further devolution it’s true that while nothing’s changed, everything’s changed.
G20 and corruption: why gender matters
open Democracy News Analysis – by Maggie Murphy /
Transparency International has documented that when a gender participation “tipping point” has been reached there will be genuine change in policy direction and ultimate impact. If the G20 is serious about tackling corruption it needs more G20 women leaders.