1 hour ago Trump is threatening Venezuela. But his own country looks a lot like it | Daniel Mendiola

The US president’s efforts to consolidate power are strikingly similar to historical authoritarian moves in CaracasHere in the Americas, we have a peculiar tradition. Every time there is a major election, prominent figures on the right find themselves compelled to repeat some version of the vaguely menacing prediction: if the candidate for the left wins, we will become “the next Venezuela”.Whether Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Colombia or Ecuador, countries throughout the western hemisphere keep this tradition. Donald Trump has also participated in this ritual, proclaiming during the 2024 election cycle that if Kamala Harris won, our country would become “Venezuela on steroids”. Continue reading...

Politics

32 h. ago When populists win in Prague, that’s nothing peculiarly ‘east European’. It’s the new normal of the western world | Timothy Garton Ash

The likely new Czech government will add one more state opposed to the EU’s green deal and migration and asylum pactIf you open your window on a quiet street in central Prague, the first sound you hear is the trrrrk-trrrrk-trrrrk of carry-on suitcases trundling across paving stones, as tourists walk to their hotel or Airbnb. (The Czech capital had 8 million visitors last year.) As they trek around Prague Castle and fill the Old Town bars with cheerful chatter, these visitors – many of them probably unaware of the recent election victory of rightwing populist nationalist parties – may think this is just another normal European country. And you know what: they will be right.Some more extensively informed newspaper commentators, reaching for an attention-grabbing generalisation, tell a different story. This is eastern Europe reverting to type, they say. After Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, now Czechia as well! The truth is more interesting – and more worrying.Timothy Garton Ash is a his...

Politics

32 h. ago When Czech populists win, that’s nothing peculiarly ‘east European’. It’s the new normal of the western world | Timothy Garton Ash

The likely new government in Prague will add one more state opposed to the EU’s green deal and migration and asylum pactIf you open your window on a quiet street in central Prague, the first sound you hear is the trrrrk-trrrrk-trrrrk of carry-on suitcases trundling across paving stones, as tourists walk to their hotel or Airbnb. (The Czech capital had 8 million visitors last year.) As they trek around Prague Castle and fill the Old Town bars with cheerful chatter, these visitors – many of them probably unaware of the recent election victory of rightwing populist nationalist parties – may think this is just another normal European country. And you know what: they will be right.Some more extensively informed newspaper commentators, reaching for an attention-grabbing generalisation, tell a different story. This is eastern Europe reverting to type, they say. After Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, now Czechia as well! The truth is more interesting – and more worrying.Timothy Garton Ash is a...

Politics

1 week ago Less than 24 hours before EDF deadline to claim 'free electricity'

Since the Sunday Saver Challenge kicked off last September, 88 per cent of participants nationwide have secured at least four hours of complimentary electricity

Events

3 w. ago Top politician accidentally uses expletive when referring to her own party's election candidate

She didn't quite say 'Tunnicliffe'

Politics

3 w. ago Moldovans vote in pivotal election that could steer it closer to EU or Russia

Day marked by attempts of disruption including cyberattacks on election systems and fake bomb threatsMoldovans voted in a pivotal parliamentary election on Sunday that will decide whether the country of 2.4 million stays on its path towards EU membership or drifts back into Moscow’s orbit, amid widespread reports of Russian meddling.The president, Maia Sandu, and her pro-western Action and Solidarity party (PAS) faced a stiff challenge in the election from an alliance of Soviet-nostalgic, Moscow-friendly parties led in part by the former president, Igor Dodon, whom Sandu defeated in 2020. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Moldova heads to polls in pivotal vote that could steer it closer to EU or Russia

President tells voters ‘our dear home is in danger’, as her pro-west party tries to hold on to parliamentary majority Moldovans have begun voting in a pivotal parliamentary election that will decide whether the country of 2.4 million stays on its path towards EU membership or drifts back into Moscow’s orbit, amid widespread reports of Russian meddling.The president, Maia Sandu, and her pro-western Action and Solidarity party (PAS), face a stiff challenge in Sunday’s election from an alliance of Soviet-nostalgic, pro-Russian parties led in part by the former president Igor Dodon, whom Sandu defeated in 2020. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Find out how your constituency may vote in next General Election after shock poll

The next General Election could prove to be a massive political earthquake with establishment parties being cast aside in, according to explosive new polling data

Politics