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«A revolution will never be possible in Brussels, because we all know each other» «A revolution will never be possible in Brussels, because we all know each other» «A revolution will never be possible in Brussels, because we all know each other»

Politics

104 results

BUBBLEFRESH – Lady Ursula’s Roman holidays – von der Leyen’s campaign tour continues: today at 5pm she will be in Rome for a closed-door speech at the LUISS University. But it seems that no one wants her: she will not meet Meloni or any other Brothers of Italy representative. Ostracised in her own party, she will be running mainly against herself, and although she has declared that she wants to adapt to the new ‘realpolitik’ of the continent, the political choices she has made so far weigh heavily on her

Brussels does not know what to make of Putin either – There is no consensus among member states on recognising the re-election from last March. While the institutions seem to have agreed not to attend the Kremlin ceremony, others – such as Greece, Malta, Slovakia, Cyprus and, of course, Hungary – will send delegates. Indeed, it will be strange to see EU politicians in the same room with Putin, Kadyrov and Steven Seagal

Could the wind be changing? – Three Spanish MEPs (Adrián Vázquez Lázara, Susana Solís and Eva María Poptcheva) from Ciudadanos – part of Renew – are going to run on the lists of the Popular Party – part of the EPP. A clear signal that liberals are starting to feel freer to look to the right. If this trend is maintained, post-election alliances could take a much clearer shape, even before the 6th of June

It is now one every week – In the same hours in which Antony Blinken speaks of ‘evidence’ of possible Chinese interference in the forthcoming elections, the former Belgian prime minister and leading man in the European institutions, Guy Verhofstadt (along with four party colleagues), denounces cyber attacks that can be traced back to a Chinese entity known by the initials Apt31. The big mystery remains: how is it possible that Europe is so vulnerable to foreign interference?

RN and AfD preparing for a split? – As we have been predicting for months, relations between the German and French far-right are becoming increasingly tense, as the latest row over the island of Mayotte has shown. Marine Le Pen is now playing the role of national unifier, while on the other side, scandals and irreconcilable political tendencies show once again how nationalist parties are struggling to work together. Meanwhile, Giorgia Meloni and the ECR are waiting in the wings…

Uncertainty dominates Zagreb – On Wednesday, elections were held in Croatia without a clear winner emerging. Between the conservatives of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the socialists of the Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP), the real winners are the nationalists of Homeland, who with their 14 seats could provide the decisive impetus for the formation of both a right-wing and a left-wing government. But weighing on the latter is the clash between the Croatian High Court and President Zoran Milanović, who, according to the judges, is unelectable

More than seven thousand kilometres for nothing – Olaf Scholz visits Xi Jinping in Beijing to reiterate what the US had already said: China must mediate with Putin and do something about its system’s overcapacity problems. But the chancellor seems to be doing more for his country’s interests than for those of the union. In fact, there is no other way to explain the joint declaration on self-driving cars (and thus 5G technology), despite the serious cybersecurity problems that Beijing imposes on the European continent

The thousand lives of Mario Draghi – Supermario shakes up the Union by proposing ‘radical change’ to compete with China and the United States. During the presentation of his report on European competitiveness, the former president of the ECB shows he’s a major candidate for a leading role after the elections, with a broad consensus, from Macron to Orbán. The key point of his speech seems to be that there’s great need for more industrial integration. Easy to say, harder to achieve

The last socialist hope – France has not seen a progressive candidate in double figures in the polls for a long time. Raphaël Glucksmann is becoming more relevant by the week, so much so that he is worrying both the Macron centrists (whose support from the left has allowed Valérie Hayer to reach second place in the polls) and the old fox Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who is now entering his twilight years. Le Pen is watching from the heights of her 30% and is thinking already of a possible two-person race with him

All the troubles of Lady Ursula – The ball is now in the court of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which has taken over the investigation from the Belgian prosecutors. No one is under investigation at the moment, but Ursula von der Leyen’s name is at the top of the list in case things get serious. The sword of Damocles of conflict of interest between her and Pfizer’s CEO still hangs over her head. Not the best calling card for the EPP’s spitzenkandidat

It’s not just about Tatjana Zdanoka! – The Latvian MEP is not the only one to be on the Russian payroll: according to a parallel investigation conducted in several European countries, there is a network aimed at influencing dozens of MEPs that is allegedly fostered by oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk. Accusations that cast a shadow on future elections, as well as serious concerns about the Pandora’s box that could be uncovered

The pupil and the master – France’s most relevant party (Rassemblement National) corrects Italy’s former most relevant political figure (Matteo Salvini): ‘Russia is not a democracy’. A reference to the words of the leader of the League, who after the elections that saw Putin triumph with 87% of the vote had called for respect for the democratic vote. A slap in the face that denotes Salvini’s loss of political weight and Le Pen’s desire for power (as well as possible internal upheavals within a possible conservative parliamentary majority in Europe)

Nobody wants Lady Ursula anymore! – The congress that nominated Von der Leyen as candidate for the Commission showed a clear split: many did not vote for her. The EPP will be the tiebreaker, even with all its divisions. Weber is champing at the bit to take the most coveted post, backed by a strong conservative support. But unexpected help for Lady Ursula could come from Giorgia Meloni, although the latter in turn risks splitting the ECR. The group’s vice-president, a Vox exponent, has already distanced himself: ‘We will not vote for her’.

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