Upcoming Elections
Estonia Parliamentary – March 3, 2019
Political debates continue ahead of Estonia’s parliamentary elections. Much of the discussion surrounds the rise of the Estonian People’s Conservative Party (EKRE), a nationalist populist party that first entered the Riigikogu (parliament) in 2015 with 8.1 percent of the vote and 7 out of 101 seats. EKRE is currently polling at 18 percent, which has alarmed some Estonians. However, the current governing coalition lead party Centre and the main opposition Reform party remain the two largest parties.
Kristina Kallas, the leader of the recently-formed political party Estonia 200, which considers itself the opposite of EKRE and hopes to win seats in the Riigikogu this year, argues: “The current challenge is the same as that of the leaders of the 19th century Estonian – how to become European (currently citizens of the world), while remaining Estonian. Do we know how to exist and grow as Estonians in the 21st century, in a world of growing global peoples’ migration, which is economically interdependent and becoming increasingly English-speaking and English-cultured? As a people, we seem to have a gene for survival, so let’s use it wisely.”
Some commentators disagree with Kallas’ approach.
Lithuania Local – March 3, 2019
Lithuanian policymakers have proposed granting new powers to the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania (RTCL) aimed at countering false information. The Baltic Times reports: “The fresh proposals are aimed at including a new provision into the Law on the Provision of Information to the Public, giving the RTCL the power to halt a TV program for up to 72 hours without a court ruling to stop efforts to influence the country’s democracy, election processes and the party system, detrimental to Lithuania’s national security interests.” As part of its strategy to undermine societal cohesion in democracies, Russia has been waging a disinformation campaign in the Baltics. This proposed policy attempts to combat Kremlin skullduggery.
Albania Local – June 30, 2019
Associated Press reports: “Albania’s prime minister has shuffled his Cabinet in response to a students’ protest and complaints of corruption and inefficiency from the opposition….[Prime Minister Edi] Rama, who is also leader of the governing Socialist Party, said the sacked ministers will have an important role for the June 2019 municipal elections as political leaders in their areas.”
European Parliament – May 26, 2019
Ben Hall at the Financial Times writes: “It is like the weigh-in before a prize fight between two champion boxers. On one side, Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister, a hardcore Eurosceptic and now standard-bearer for Europe’s nationalist rightwing. On the other, Emmanuel Macron, the most Europhile French president in a generation, with an ambitious agenda to strengthen the EU.”
Greece Parliamentary – October 2019
Ekathermini reports: “Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras insisted to journalists that the next national election will take place in October 2019.” October is the latest date the elections can happen. The opposition has been calling for early elections, and commentators have been predicting them frequently over the last several years, but they have not yet materialized.
Ekathermini also reports: “The contentious name deal between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) is expected to be ratified in FYROM’s Parliament earlier than expected, possibly by January 10, meaning that the so-called Prespes agreement will come to Greece’s House early too, likely triggering political developments.” The agreement stipulates that Macedonia renames itself North Macedonia in exchange for Greece ceasing to block its accession to NATO and the European Union.
Recent Elections
Bosnia and Herzegovina General – October 2019
Maxim Edwards writes in The Atlantic: “Few national leaders would call their own country an “impossible state.” Fewer still would actively advocate for it to be broken up. Almost none would risk a decades-old peace accord to do so. And then there is Bosnia’s Milorad Dodik.”
Analyst Rob Thomas looks at the growing Justice for David (PzD) protest movement in Banja Luka, Bosnia’s second-largest city and the main city in the Serb-dominated area. Authorities have launched a crackdown on the movement that has included the arrests of several MPs. Thomas notes: “Milorad Dodik appears to have deliberately timed the start of his clampdown on the opposition for 25 December, calculating that the reaction of EU and national governments would be retarded by the Christmas holidays.”
Branislav Borenović, leader of the opposition Party of Democratic Progress, has been a leader of the movement and was arrested on Christmas Day for his role.
Latvia Parliamentary – October 6, 2018
Latvia still does not have a government, nearly three months after elections. This is the longest it has taken for the Saema (parliament) to choose a government.
Spain, Andalucia Region – December 2018
Bloomberg’s Charles Penty and Charlie Devereux examine Vox, the new populist party that won seats in Andalucia’s recent regional elections. This was the first time that any right-wing populist party had won seats in a Spanish legislative body since Spain became a democracy. Bottom line: “Vox’s emergence will make politics noisier and sharpen rivalries as the traditional parties adjust to the new challenge from the right.”
Sweden Parliamentary – September 2018
Three months after elections, Sweden still does not have a government.
Other Regional News and Views
Cyprus
Bloomberg reports: “Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades will swear in today Savvas Perdios as the country’s first-ever dedicated minister for tourism, the popular vacation island’s largest industry.”
Serbia
For the fourth week, thousands of Serbians turned out to protest President Aleksandar Vucic and his heavy-handed approach to the media and the opposition. The protesters chanted “Vucic thief.” Vucic again floated the possibility of calling early elections.
Then-U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, second from left, in front of the War of Independence Victory Column with Estonian Defense Minister Sven Mikser, left, Lithuanian Defense Minister Juozas Olekas, second from right, and Latvian Defense Secretary Janis Sarts in 2015. Photo credit: Department of Defense/U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Adrian Cadiz
21votes does not necessarily endorse all of the views in all of the linked articles or publications.
Europe This Week – January 2, 2019
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Last Updated: January 11, 2019 by 21votes
Each day, 21votes gathers election and political news from a different region of the world. We explore Europe on Wednesdays. Click the map pins.
Estonia Parliamentary - March 3, 2019
Political debates continue ahead of Estonia’s parliamentary elections. Much of the discussion surrounds the rise of the Estonian People’s Conservative Party (EKRE), a nationalist populist party that first entered the Riigikogu (parliament) in 2015 with 8.1 percent of the vote and 7 out of 101 seats. EKRE is currently polling at 18 percent, which has alarmed some Estonians. However, the current governing coalition lead party Centre and the main opposition Reform party remain the two largest parties.
Kristina Kallas, the leader of the recently-formed political party Estonia 200, which considers itself the opposite of EKRE and hopes to win seats in the Riigikogu this year, argues: “The current challenge is the same as that of the leaders of the 19th century Estonian – how to become European (currently citizens of the world), while remaining Estonian. Do we know how to exist and grow as Estonians in the 21st century, in a world of growing global peoples’ migration, which is economically interdependent and becoming increasingly English-speaking and English-cultured? As a people, we seem to have a gene for survival, so let’s use it wisely.”
Lithuania Local - March 3, 2019
Lithuanian policymakers have proposed granting new powers to the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania (RTCL) aimed at countering false information. The Baltic Times reports: “The fresh proposals are aimed at including a new provision into the Law on the Provision of Information to the Public, giving the RTCL the power to halt a TV program for up to 72 hours without a court ruling to stop efforts to influence the country’s democracy, election processes and the party system, detrimental to Lithuania’s national security interests.” As part of its strategy to undermine societal cohesion in democracies, Russia has been waging a disinformation campaign in the Baltics. This proposed policy attempts to combat Kremlin skullduggery.
Albania Local - June 30, 2019
Associated Press reports: “Albania’s prime minister has shuffled his Cabinet in response to a students’ protest and complaints of corruption and inefficiency from the opposition….[Prime Minister Edi] Rama, who is also leader of the governing Socialist Party, said the sacked ministers will have an important role for the June 2019 municipal elections as political leaders in their areas.”
European Parliament - May 26, 2019
Ben Hall at the Financial Times writes: “It is like the weigh-in before a prize fight between two champion boxers. On one side, Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister, a hardcore Eurosceptic and now standard-bearer for Europe’s nationalist rightwing. On the other, Emmanuel Macron, the most Europhile French president in a generation, with an ambitious agenda to strengthen the EU.”
Greece Parliamentary - October 2019
Ekathermini reports: “Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras insisted to journalists that the next national election will take place in October 2019.” October is the latest date the elections can happen. The opposition has been calling for early elections, and commentators have been predicting them frequently over the last several years, but they have not yet materialized.
Ekathermini also reports: “The contentious name deal between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) is expected to be ratified in FYROM’s Parliament earlier than expected, possibly by January 10, meaning that the so-called Prespes agreement will come to Greece’s House early too, likely triggering political developments.” The agreement stipulates that Macedonia renames itself North Macedonia in exchange for Greece ceasing to block its accession to NATO and the European Union.
Bosnia and Herzegovina General - October 2019
Maxim Edwards writes in The Atlantic: “Few national leaders would call their own country an “impossible state.” Fewer still would actively advocate for it to be broken up. Almost none would risk a decades-old peace accord to do so. And then there is Bosnia’s Milorad Dodik.”
Analyst Rob Thomas looks at the growing Justice for David (PzD) protest movement in Banja Luka, Bosnia’s second-largest city and the main city in the Serb-dominated area. Authorities have launched a crackdown on the movement that has included the arrests of several MPs. Thomas notes: “Milorad Dodik appears to have deliberately timed the start of his clampdown on the opposition for 25 December, calculating that the reaction of EU and national governments would be retarded by the Christmas holidays.”
Latvia Parliamentary - October 6, 2018
Latvia still does not have a government, nearly three months after elections. This is the longest it has taken for the Saema (parliament) to choose a government.
Spain, Andalucia Region - December 2018
Bloomberg’s Charles Penty and Charlie Devereux examine Vox, the new populist party that won seats in Andalucia’s recent regional elections. This was the first time that any right-wing populist party had won seats in a Spanish legislative body since Spain became a democracy. Bottom line: “Vox’s emergence will make politics noisier and sharpen rivalries as the traditional parties adjust to the new challenge from the right.”
Sweden Parliamentary - September 2018
Three months after elections, Sweden still does not have a government
Cyprus
Bloomberg reports: “Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades will swear in today Savvas Perdios as the country’s first-ever dedicated minister for tourism, the popular vacation island’s largest industry.”
Serbia
For the fourth week, thousands of Serbians turned out to protest President Aleksandar Vucic and his heavy-handed approach to the media and the opposition. The protesters chanted “Vucic thief.” Vucic again floated the possibility of calling early elections.
Upcoming Elections
Estonia Parliamentary – March 3, 2019
Political debates continue ahead of Estonia’s parliamentary elections. Much of the discussion surrounds the rise of the Estonian People’s Conservative Party (EKRE), a nationalist populist party that first entered the Riigikogu (parliament) in 2015 with 8.1 percent of the vote and 7 out of 101 seats. EKRE is currently polling at 18 percent, which has alarmed some Estonians. However, the current governing coalition lead party Centre and the main opposition Reform party remain the two largest parties.
Kristina Kallas, the leader of the recently-formed political party Estonia 200, which considers itself the opposite of EKRE and hopes to win seats in the Riigikogu this year, argues: “The current challenge is the same as that of the leaders of the 19th century Estonian – how to become European (currently citizens of the world), while remaining Estonian. Do we know how to exist and grow as Estonians in the 21st century, in a world of growing global peoples’ migration, which is economically interdependent and becoming increasingly English-speaking and English-cultured? As a people, we seem to have a gene for survival, so let’s use it wisely.”
Some commentators disagree with Kallas’ approach.
Lithuania Local – March 3, 2019
Lithuanian policymakers have proposed granting new powers to the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania (RTCL) aimed at countering false information. The Baltic Times reports: “The fresh proposals are aimed at including a new provision into the Law on the Provision of Information to the Public, giving the RTCL the power to halt a TV program for up to 72 hours without a court ruling to stop efforts to influence the country’s democracy, election processes and the party system, detrimental to Lithuania’s national security interests.” As part of its strategy to undermine societal cohesion in democracies, Russia has been waging a disinformation campaign in the Baltics. This proposed policy attempts to combat Kremlin skullduggery.
Albania Local – June 30, 2019
Associated Press reports: “Albania’s prime minister has shuffled his Cabinet in response to a students’ protest and complaints of corruption and inefficiency from the opposition….[Prime Minister Edi] Rama, who is also leader of the governing Socialist Party, said the sacked ministers will have an important role for the June 2019 municipal elections as political leaders in their areas.”
European Parliament – May 26, 2019
Ben Hall at the Financial Times writes: “It is like the weigh-in before a prize fight between two champion boxers. On one side, Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister, a hardcore Eurosceptic and now standard-bearer for Europe’s nationalist rightwing. On the other, Emmanuel Macron, the most Europhile French president in a generation, with an ambitious agenda to strengthen the EU.”
Greece Parliamentary – October 2019
Ekathermini reports: “Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras insisted to journalists that the next national election will take place in October 2019.” October is the latest date the elections can happen. The opposition has been calling for early elections, and commentators have been predicting them frequently over the last several years, but they have not yet materialized.
Ekathermini also reports: “The contentious name deal between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) is expected to be ratified in FYROM’s Parliament earlier than expected, possibly by January 10, meaning that the so-called Prespes agreement will come to Greece’s House early too, likely triggering political developments.” The agreement stipulates that Macedonia renames itself North Macedonia in exchange for Greece ceasing to block its accession to NATO and the European Union.
Recent Elections
Bosnia and Herzegovina General – October 2019
Maxim Edwards writes in The Atlantic: “Few national leaders would call their own country an “impossible state.” Fewer still would actively advocate for it to be broken up. Almost none would risk a decades-old peace accord to do so. And then there is Bosnia’s Milorad Dodik.”
Analyst Rob Thomas looks at the growing Justice for David (PzD) protest movement in Banja Luka, Bosnia’s second-largest city and the main city in the Serb-dominated area. Authorities have launched a crackdown on the movement that has included the arrests of several MPs. Thomas notes: “Milorad Dodik appears to have deliberately timed the start of his clampdown on the opposition for 25 December, calculating that the reaction of EU and national governments would be retarded by the Christmas holidays.”
Branislav Borenović, leader of the opposition Party of Democratic Progress, has been a leader of the movement and was arrested on Christmas Day for his role.
Latvia Parliamentary – October 6, 2018
Latvia still does not have a government, nearly three months after elections. This is the longest it has taken for the Saema (parliament) to choose a government.
Spain, Andalucia Region – December 2018
Bloomberg’s Charles Penty and Charlie Devereux examine Vox, the new populist party that won seats in Andalucia’s recent regional elections. This was the first time that any right-wing populist party had won seats in a Spanish legislative body since Spain became a democracy. Bottom line: “Vox’s emergence will make politics noisier and sharpen rivalries as the traditional parties adjust to the new challenge from the right.”
Sweden Parliamentary – September 2018
Three months after elections, Sweden still does not have a government.
Other Regional News and Views
Cyprus
Bloomberg reports: “Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades will swear in today Savvas Perdios as the country’s first-ever dedicated minister for tourism, the popular vacation island’s largest industry.”
Serbia
For the fourth week, thousands of Serbians turned out to protest President Aleksandar Vucic and his heavy-handed approach to the media and the opposition. The protesters chanted “Vucic thief.” Vucic again floated the possibility of calling early elections.
Then-U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, second from left, in front of the War of Independence Victory Column with Estonian Defense Minister Sven Mikser, left, Lithuanian Defense Minister Juozas Olekas, second from right, and Latvian Defense Secretary Janis Sarts in 2015. Photo credit: Department of Defense/U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Adrian Cadiz
21votes does not necessarily endorse all of the views in all of the linked articles or publications.
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Category: This Week Tags: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Serbia, Spain, Sweden