Clegg: Brown Can’t Stay If Labour Loses
If his party loses the election, Gordon Brown can’t stay on as prime minister.
Western Europe
British Party Leaders Debate Foreign Policy
The leaders of the three major British political parties debated foreign policy on Sky News tonight. Questions from the audience quickly steered the discussion in a more domestic direction but the politicians were able to present their views on the European Union, the special relationship with the United States, climate change and defense.
Cesspool of Corruption?
Bill O’Reilly makes Amsterdam out to be the worst place on Earth.
British Party Leaders Debate
Tonight ITV hosted the first televised debate between the leaders of Britain’s three major parties in the run-up to next month’s parliamentary elections. Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his foremost contender, Conservative foreman David Cameron attacked each other repeatedly while Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg tried to present himself as a fresh alternative to the traditional […]
Europe’s Crisis of Confidence
Old Europe is in something of an identity crisis. The specter of European federalism coupled with a widespread unease about Muslim immigration has many Europeans wondering about their nationhood and what it means to be “European” anyway. The financial meltdown and subsequent recession further fractured an already fragile self-image. Foreign immigration and decades of post-colonial […]
Russian Bombers Penetrate British Airspace
Two weeks ago, two British Tornado F3 fighter aircraft were scrambled from the Royal Air Force base Leuchars, the United Kingdom’s most northerly air defense station, to pursue two Russian Tupolev 160 bombers which were approximately one hundred nautical miles to the west of Stornaway on the northwest coast of Scotland. More than twenty of […]
Left on the Rise in France
The Parti socialiste won France’s second round of regional elections conclusively this Sunday, gathering over half the votes nationwide while President Nicolas Sarkozy’s conservatives trailed in second place with just a third of the electorate. The socialists already controlled twenty out of France’s 22 departments in Europe, gaining the island of Corsica this weekend. The […]
Dutch Ask, Dutch Tell
Retired US Marine Corps General John Sheehan’s testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee of March 18 caused quite a stir on both sides of the Atlantic last week. Sheehan was asked to remark on the proposed repeal of the American military’s infamous “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy which allows gay men and women to […]
Gordon Brown’s Chance at Victory
Just a few months ago, the British Conservatives had this year’s parliamentary election in their pockets. After more than ten years of Labour rule, Britons were tired with Gordon Brown while opposition foreman David Cameron lured as a fresh, “green right” alternative who promised to restore fiscal responsibility and British pride altogether. The Conservatives polled […]
Political Uncertainty in the Netherlands
After the next parliamentary elections, the only viable option may be a minority government.
Right Wing on the Rise in Dutch Elections
Local elections show the nationalist Freedom Party and the right-wing liberals on the rise.
Conservatives for Freer Schools
A novel idea from British Conservatives: allow schools to set their own standards. Tory Politico reports that the party intends to put an end to government interference with so-called A Level certificates: the internationally-recognized standard for entry into British universities. The A Level’s reputation has been on the decline in recent years, leaving the prestige […]
Dutch Government Collapses Over Afghanistan
The governing coalition in the Netherlands was brought down Saturday, unable to bridge a divide between Christian Democrats and socialists over whether or not to keep forces in Afghanistan after 2010. For the fouth time, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende had to announce that a government of his had come to its end prematurely. His […]
Euro Resentment Demands New Rules
Euroskepticism is abound anew. Where previously economist Paul Krugman argued that Greece could have weathered its fiscal crisis if it had retained its own currency, Judy Dempsey reports that Germans are increasingly nostalgic for their Deutsche Mark. “For Germans,” writes Dempsey, “the mark was more than just currency.” It represented the country’s postwar recovery, the […]
Brown Is Human
In an interview with Piers Morgan broadcast on ITV1 last Sunday, British prime minister Gordon Brown spoke openly about the death of his daughter Jennifer, his son Fraser who suffers from cystic fibrosis, and the leadership deal that was struck with Tony Blair. More than four million Britons watched the show. With his wife Sarah […]