June 14: Parenthetically speaking…

Europe pulls right(ish)

European Union parliament elections were held this week across the EU in what is usually a referendum on national governments. If you want a rundown on what the EU parliament does and how it fits into the EU, you can read about it in their own words here. Basically, the European Parliament is a critical link between national populations and the international body that is the EU. So, when rightwing parties surge to majorities in major countries like France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands etc., it communicates something about the state of affairs in Europe.

It can also have major political implications in national governments, and this week was no exception. French President Emmanuel Macron is calling snap elections to try to claw back some legislative support for his agenda, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is under similar pressure, and the Belgian Prime Minister resigned.

The main issues that appear to be driving the rightward tilt of European politics are ongoing challenges with mass immigration (legal and illegal), growing frustration/opposition to supporting the war in Ukraine, and a general frustration with the EU’s seeming lack of concern for subsections of the European population (remember the farmer protests?) when it comes to climate policy.

Immigration policy? Crime? Feeling ignored or dismissed by your supposed representative? If that’s the recipe for a rightward tilt in the politics of multiple countries, then that might explain the apparent panic of America’s Democrats in recent weeks.

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The other parentheticals this week are:

• Preventing a war (that’s already begun) in Lebanon
• Called it! (before the US intelligence community, apparently)
• The US, China and election interference (it’s not what you think)
• Africa update (it’s worse than you’ve heard)
• “(Imaginary) Happy Days Are Here Again!”