After two decades of feminist pressure, the people took to the streets. But why now?
Polish women protest against a legislative proposal for a total ban on abortion in Poland. PAimages/Geert Vanden Wijngaert. All rights reserved.
Last month, Poland’s ultra-right government collaborated with the Catholic Church to progress an extreme abortion law that would have sent doctors who performed operations to save fetuses (or their mothers) to prison.
Noemi writes, “After closing down Hungary’s largest opposition paper (online archive included) Hungarian Prime Miniter Viktor Orban is steadily and methodically turning back the clock on 27 years of history, steadily edging back towards a dictatorship — except this time with a fascist face. He is testing how far the beleaguered EU will allow him to stretch the boundaries of democracy. This is where the attention of European democratic efforts need to be directed. Not in kindergarten tantrums about sandwich spreads.”
During the EU referendum, we brought together thousands of people all over Britain across and beyond party lines in order to campaign for a progressive Remain vote. Now, we have a duty to provide continued opposition to Tory Brexit.
During the EU referendum, we brought together thousands of people all over Britain across and beyond party lines in order to campaign for a progressive Remain vote. Now, we have a duty to provide continued opposition to Tory Brexit.
Owen Jones has a piece in The Guardian about the language of Brexit. We should not use the term “Hard Brexit”, he argues, because actually what a “Hard Brexit” means is a “Chaotic Brexit”. Jones is right to talk about the vocabulary, and he is right that framing matters, and right that Labour has often got it wrong. But on this one he’s not right. I’m happy to stick with the term “Hard Brexit”, and indeed I stated as much in a tweet:
I like the “there’s no such thing as hard and soft #brexit” complaint from raging Brexiteers. So you lost that framing battle, eh?
— Jon Worth (@jonworth) October 10, 2016
Protests in Hungary after closure of main critical newspaper
This past week Poland’s PiS government suffered its first blow since coming to power nearly a year ago. It was an optimistic note in a region where illiberalism authoritarian governments are on the rise.
Thousands hold umbrellas in Warsaw, Poland, Monday, Oct. 3, 2016, during a nationwide “Black Monday” strike. PAimages/Czarek Sokolowski. All rights reserved.This past week Poland’s PiS government suffered its first blow since coming to power nearly a year ago. In what amounted to a complete U-turnfollowing a dramatic parliamentary session in the wake of the Black Monday protest, PiS MPs struck down a proposed bill to ban abortion. Domestic and international media were quick to hail this as a victory for the anti-government protest movement. More so, PiS became divided over the issue as 32 MPs defied party discipline to vote against the bill.
Despite the discovery of an arsenal of weapons belonging to ETA in a field north of Paris, few believe the Basque terrorist group has the ability to resurrect its violent campaign.
People wave Basque flags as thousands of pro independence Basques march demanding the return of all prisoners of ETA, in Bilbao, northern Spain, Sunday April 17, 2016. AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos. All rights reserved.
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