Category: Live

Republicans, Socialists Defend Control of French Regions

Nick Ottens
France flag
Flag of France (The Prime Minister’s Office/Arron Hoare)
  • France’s traditional left- and right-wing parties won the first round of regional elections on Sunday.
  • They were eclipsed in the 2017 national and 2019 European elections by Emmanuel Macron’s En Marche! and Marine Le Pen’s National Rally.
  • Neither Macron nor Le Pen is likely to win one of France’s eighteen regional presidencies, but they are still polling in first and second place for the 2022 presidential election.
  • The second round of the regional elections will be held next week. Read more “Republicans, Socialists Defend Control of French Regions”

Rutte Wins Dutch Election, Pro-EU Party Places Second

Atlantic Sentinel
  • Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s liberal VVD placed first in parliamentary elections in the Netherlands on Wednesday but fell short of a majority.
  • Three or four parties will be needed to form a coalition government.
  • The social-liberal and pro-European D66, which has governed with Rutte since 2017, placed second, pushing Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party into third place.
  • The combined populist right would win more seats than the Labor Party, Greens and far-left Socialists combined. New parties on the left made gains. Read more “Rutte Wins Dutch Election, Pro-EU Party Places Second”

Republicans, Socialists Share First Place in Catalonia

Nick Ottens
Palau de la Generalitat Barcelona Spain
The palace of the Catalan regional government in Barcelona, Spain at night (iStock/Tomas Sereda)
  • The Catalan branch of Spain’s ruling Socialist Party (PSOE) shared first place with the separatist Republican Left (ERC) in regional elections on Sunday.
  • Pro-independence parties won 74 out of 135 seats, up four. The parties have governed since 2012.
  • The Republican Left and Socialists would also have a majority with the left-wing Catalonia in Common-Podem.
  • The far-right Vox entered Catalonia’s parliament for the first time, but the right as a whole lost twenty seats.
  • Turnout was 54 percent, the lowest since the restoration of democracy. Read more “Republicans, Socialists Share First Place in Catalonia”

Trump Supporters Storm Capitol During Readout of Election Results

Nick Ottens
United States Capitol protest
Donald Trump supporters demonstrate outside the United States Capitol in Washington DC, January 6 (Tyler Merbler)
  • Donald Trump supporters stormed the United States Capitol on Wednesday as Congress was debating the outcome of November’s presidential election.
  • Lawmakers were evacuated from their chambers. Shots were fired inside the House of Representatives. Four people died.
  • Police used teargas and pepper spray to disperse the mob.
  • Lawmakers had been debating a challenge to Arizona’s Electoral College votes for Joe Biden.
  • President Trump encouraged the riot in a speech outside the White House, saying, “Our country has had enough and we will not take it any more.” He later called on supporters to leave the Capitol grounds. Read more “Trump Supporters Storm Capitol During Readout of Election Results”

Biden Wins American Presidency, Trump Refuses to Concede

Atlantic Sentinel

Biden Sweeps Super Tuesday States, Bloomberg Quits

Atlantic Sentinel
  • Former vice president Joe Biden won ten of the fourteen states that held Democratic presidential primaries on “Super Tuesday”, including Elizabeth Warren’s home state Massachusetts and delegate-rich Virginia and Texas.
  • His socialist rival, Bernie Sanders, won in California, Colorado, Utah and Vermont.
  • Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg ended his presidential campaign after failing to win any contest except the caucuses on American Samoa.
  • 1,344 pledged delegates were at stake, a third of the total (3,979) and two-thirds of the delegates needed to win the nomination on the first ballot (1,991). Read more “Biden Sweeps Super Tuesday States, Bloomberg Quits”

Biden Wins South Carolina Primary, Steyer Drops Out

Atlantic Sentinel
  • Former vice president Joe Biden has won the Democratic primary in South Carolina on the back of overwhelming support from African Americans.
  • Vermont senator Bernie Sanders placed a distant second.
  • Billionaire Tom Steyer ended his presidential campaign after failing to qualify for delegates. Read more “Biden Wins South Carolina Primary, Steyer Drops Out”

Sanders Wins Nevada Caucuses, Biden Places Second

Atlantic Sentinel