The Netherlands: Hoekstra under fire as cracks grow in coalition over nitrogen policy

Foreign affairs minister Wopke Hoekstra is expected to come under fire from MPs on all sides over his recent remarks on the government’s plans to cut nitrogen emissions. Hoekstra drew a sharp rebuke from the prime minister, Mark Rutte, and his colleague responsible for nitrogen policy, Christianne van der Wal, for breaking ranks in an interview with the AD newspaper on Saturday. The Christian Democrat leader said the deadline of 2030 to achieve a 50% reduction in nitrogen compound emissions – primarily by cutting livestock farming – was ‘not sacred’ and he supported pushing it back to enable farmers to ‘earn a fair living’.

Read more at DutchNews.nl:

Read more at: https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2022/08/hoekstra-under-fire-as-cracks-grow-in-coalition-over-nitrogen-policy/

EU Back on Track: 5 reasons for the EU to be hopeful in 2022 – by Paul Taylor

The dark cloud of the Omicron coronavirus variant may be plunging your plans for the New Year into uncertainty, but there are still reasons to hope that Europe can make significant progress on a range of thorny issues in 2022.

While it is clear we will have to live with COVID-19 for another while, new political constellations have been emerging since Germany’s change of government in December. These will offer the prospect of innovative solutions for long-standing problems in the European Union.

To be sure, there are several things that could go wrong: an uncontrollable surge of more deadly coronavirus variants that set back the economic recovery; a Russian military offensive against Ukraine; a Polish blockade of EU institutions in the battle over the rule of law and EU funds.

However, none of those worst-case scenarios is certain — or even likely. And there are undeniable grounds to be more optimistic about the coming year. After years of sterile battles over the EU’s much abused fiscal rules — which were suspended at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — a consensus is emerging that in order to avoid strangling the recovery, budget discipline regulations must be changed before they return to force in 2023.

From the frugal north to the more spendthrift south, there is widespread recognition that public investment will be key to the success of the green and digital transformations of the European economy, and that outdated debt and deficit limits must not prevent this. Along this line, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi have jointly called for reform to perpetuate collective EU borrowing beyond the temporary recovery fund created in 2020.

Read more at: 5 reasons for the EU to be hopeful in 2022 – POLITICO

Turkey's Opposition Can End the Country's Economic Crisis - by Umit Ozlale and Selim Sazak

As Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s power weakens, the Turkish economy’s crisis deepens. Since the end of 2012, the Turkish lira has lost more than 80 percent of its value, the worst slide in the developing world after the Argentine peso.

In its failed attempt to prop the lira up, Ankara opened the money spigot and blew through more than $128 billion in foreign exchange reserves, which many respectable economists now believe to be in the negative. In less than two years, Turkey’s Central Bank cycled through three governors. Just in the past month, rumors in the foreign media about a replacement at the Central Bank—followed by the sacking of three of its six board members, yet another interest rate cut that defies all economic logic, and Erdogan’s threat to expel the ambassadors of 10 European countries—poured oil on a five-alarm fire.

For Turkish citizens, the prices keep rising. Inflation neared 20 percent in September. According to Turkey’s largest trade union, more than 7 million minimum wage earners face hunger. Polls show that almost two-thirds of the Turkish public is struggling to make ends meet. Turkey’s best and brightest are emigrating in droves, even though the labor minister thinks they’re leaving not because there’s anything wrong in the country but because they’re free-spirited adventure-seekers.

Note EU-Digest: If a coalition of opposition forces has their way, Erdogan's days as the President of Turkey could be numbered.

For the complete report go to: Turkey's Opposition Can End the Country's Economic Crisis

ITALY: PM Conti threatens to quit unless government coalition solves spat among themselves

Italy: PM Conte threatens to quit unless government solves spat

Read more at:
https://p.dw.com/p/3Jlru

Turkey opposition names rival to Erdogan for June election

Muharrem Ince: A fresh new face in Turkish Politics

Turkey's main opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP), has announced its candidate to challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in next month's snap presidential election. 

Muharrem Ince is staunchly secular and a fiery critic of Mr Erdogan. He has been an MP since 2002.

The CHP plans to ally for the first time with right-wing parties, in the hope of beating Mr Erdogan.

Mr Erdogan's conservative AK Party has a majority in parliament.

He called the snap election to cement his position with enhanced powers. Parliamentary elections will be held on the same day, 24 June.

Secularists are fundamentally opposed to the AK Party's agenda, seeing it as creeping Islamisation of the state.

Read More: Turkey opposition names rival to Erdogan for June election - BBC News

Germany: Angela Merkel and German parties reach showdown in Jamaica coalition talks

For over a month, four of Germany’s most unlikely political partners have been trying to decide whether they can form a viable coalition government. Their deadline to end exploratory talks — a precursor to formal negotiations — is early Friday morning.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has been leading the talks with its Bavarian sister-party the Christian Social Union (CSU), the laissez-faire Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the environmentally friendly Green Party.

A so-called "Jamaica coalition" – named for each party's respective colors: black, yellow and green – has worked at the state level, but has never been tried at the federal level.

Before Thursday's talks began, Merkel said "serious differences" remain among the parties, but she also said she was confident an agreement could be reached.

Read more: Angela Merkel and German parties reach showdown in Jamaica coalition talks | Germany | DW | 16.11.2017

German Political Update: Merkel’s Choice - by Holger Schmieding

Seven weeks ahead of the German election on 24 September, Chancellor Angela Merkel can take it easy. She looks set to comfortably win a fourth term in office. The real questions are which coalition partner she will choose and whether that choice will make any difference.

For some aspects of domestic policy, the choice may matter a little. But the German approach to the bigger questions of foreign and European policy including European reforms and Brexit will probably not change in any major way regardless of Merkel’s choice of coalition partner.

In opinion polls, support for Merkel’s centre-right CDU/CSU has stabilised around 39%, 15 points ahead of the centre-left SPD led by Merkel’s challenger Martin Schulz.

Four other parties are on course to clear the 5% threshold and enter the federal parliament with roughly 8% each: the centre-left Greens (7.9% support on the average of the last seven polls), the ultra-left Left Party (8.7%), the liberal FDP (8.4%) and the right-wing AfD (8.1%).

As all other parties will shun the AfD, some combination of the other parties will form the next federal government. A coalition will need just above 47.5% of the popular vote for a majority of seats in parliament.

The two hypothetical alternatives to a Merkel-led government, a SPD-Green alliance with either the Left Party or the FDP, would command only 40.1% or 39.8% of the vote, respectively. They would thus fall at least seven points short of a majority.

Read more: German Political Update: Merkel’s Choice - The Globalist

The Netherlands: What to Expect from Right-Green Coalition in Netherlands – by Nick Ottens

The Green party in the Netherlands has agreed to start negotiations to form a government with the center-right
.
Coalition talks could take months. The four prospective ruling parties have many differences to bridge.

The Greens want to raise taxes on pollution; Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s liberals want to build more roads. The Greens want to shrink the income gap; the liberals want to cut high taxes and social insurance costs.

The Christian Democrats and liberal Democrats are close in terms of economic policy but miles apart on cultural issues. The former have called for a mandatory national service; the latter want to legalize certain drugs and expand euthanasia rights.

Nevertheless, there may be enough common ground for an accord.

The national broadcaster NOS compared the election manifestos of the four parties and found that they all favor comprehensive tax reform, including lower income tax rates.

They all want to invest in security. The Greens would prefer to spend more on developmental aid than defense, but, after decades of cuts and in light of (unfortunately) American pressure, higher military spending seems inevitable.

All four parties also want to spend more on elderly care and lower the health insurance deductible.

Read more: Nick Ottens What to Expect from Right-Green Coalition in Netherlands – Atlantic Sentinel

Spain: Rajoy calls for broad coalition as split parliament reconvenes

Rajoy has called for a broad coalition between his People’s Party (PP), the Socialists (PSOE) and Ciudadanos.

Rajoy, who will ask for a vote of confidence at the end of this month to remain Prime Minister, said the coalition should last four years, to enable Spain to reform itself and strengthen its economy.

Podemos, which would be excluded from the coalition, still managed to draw everyone’s attention when Carolina Bescansa, who was a candidate for speaker,showed up with her baby boy, Diego… and started breastfeeding him in parliament.

Spain Rajoy calls for broad coalition as split parliament reconvenes | euronews, world news

Spanish PM’s coalition bid receives latest blow from Podemos

Spain’s left-wing Podemos party leader has told Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy that he will not offer any support for a new government formed by Rajoy’s centre right Partido Popular (PP). It won the most votes in the 20th December national election but failed to win a parliamentary majority.

Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias said: “The candidate of Popular Party (referring to Rajoy) is fully aware that we will not facilitate a government formed either by him—either actively or passively—nor by any other PP candidate.

We have not reached the Spanish parliament to play the game of [musical] chairs, or to make the traditional political compromises, and everyone must know this. If there are to be new elections, we will face up to that, and I do not think I need to say it but it is very possible that we will win.”

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Rajoy’s options are limited; the main opposition Socialist Party (PSOE) led by Pedro Sanchez, who went to meet Rajoy a few days ago, has also ruled out helping him.
Spain has never had a ‘grand coalition’ with power shared by the PP and PSOE parties.

Read more: Spanish PM’s coalition bid receives latest blow from Podemos | euronews, world news

Middle East: Why anti-IS coalition with Putin is crucial - could he become the man of the hour?

A coalition with Russia in the battle against the "Islamic State" is the order of the day. The presidents of France and the USA, Francois Hollande and Barack Obama, seem to moving in this direction. Germany should also join the initiative, but do it without imagining a partnership with Russia - and without imagining that it will only take a few years for the collapsing Middle East to develop into a prosperous, democratic part of the world as soon as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is ousted from power.

Putin's interest in an anti-IS coalition is not rooted in humanitarian ideals but instead very clearly in geopolitical interests. The Kremlin is, of course, taking advantage of the West's shock over the terrorist attacks in Paris to overcome its international isolation, push through its policies and re-establish itself as a recognized superpower. Russia's diplomatic support of Assad since 2011 is also one of the factors that has fueled the war in Syria.

First of all, the apocalyptic Islamic sect known as "IS" must completely be eradicated - in Syria, in Iraq and in Europe. Achieving such a step requires close military coordination with Russia and putting pressure on IS supporters in the Gulf states. After all, there is no use in lamenting the fact that Moscow has settled itself in Syria with its military bases and become an important player there. The fact that Putin is scoring propaganda points should be irrelevant for now - as long as the West stands firm on its policy regarding Ukraine.

Second, if IS is dismantled, then a conference similar to the one that created the Helsinki Accords must be held to achieve peace and stabilize the entire Middle East. Such a step will likely carry the high price tag of allowing Assad to remain in power of whatever is left of Syria. The alternative would be continued violence, endless suffering and the risk of it all spreading like wildfire to Europe, Africa and Asia.

Read more: Opinion: Why anti-IS coalition with Putin is crucial | Opinion | DW.COM | 19.11.2015

Croatia faces lengthy coalition talks after narrow win by HDZ

Croatia’s conservative opposition has claimed victory in the country’s first election since it joined the European Union in 2013.

Preliminary results indicate a narrow victory for the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ)winning 61 seats in the 151-seat parliament.

It means coalition talks are set to follow

HDZ leader Tomislav Karamarko said: “This victory puts us in position to take responsibility for leading the country, a country which is in a difficult state.”

The ruling centre-left Social Democratic Party and allies are set to take 53 seats. With such a narrow margin premier Zoran Milanovic appeared hopeful of participating in a coalition.

Read more: Croatia faces lengthy coalition talks after narrow win by HDZ | euronews, world news

Turkey election: Long on drama, short on clarity - by Lucy Kafanov

Celebrations in this predominantly Kurdish city in the southeast carried into their second day Monday, as supporters of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party reveled in its election to Turkey’s parliament, a historic first.

The elections Sunday also dealt an unprecedented blow to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his bid to consolidate power, but the only thing certain in their aftermath is that Turkey is heading into a period of uncertainty.

“Erdoğan’s ambition to transform Turkey to an executive-style presidential system of government is now over,” says Fadi Hakura, a specialist on Turkish affairs at Chatham House, London. “The silver lining in this election is that voters in Turkey have clearly rejected the creation of a super powerful presidency, but what happens next is not at all clear.”

For the first time since sweeping into power in 2002, Mr. Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost its parliamentary majority, falling 18 seats short of the 276 needed to govern alone in Ankara’s 550-member parliament. But with all three opposition parties having campaigned against Erdoğan, forming a coalition will be difficult.

If the AKP, with 258 seats, is unable to form a governing alliance within 45 days after official results are confirmed, Turkey could be in for another round of elections.

Read more: Turkey election: Long on drama, short on clarity - CSMonito

Italy: Renzi poised to form Italian government, promises rapid change - by James Mackenzie

Italian centre-left leader Matteo Renzi received a mandate on Monday to form a new government, promising rapid tax, labor and institutional reforms to revive a deeply troubled economy.

He needs to seal a formal coalition deal with the small centre-right NCD party to secure a majority and name his cabinet, but will probably seek a vote of confidence in parliament later this week.

Renzi, who engineered the removal of a party rival from the premiership last week, plans a radical program to lift Italy out of its most serious economic slump since World War Two. However, he will have to deal with the same unwieldy coalition which he criticized for failing to pass major reforms under its previous leader.

"In this difficult situation, I will bring all the energy and commitment I am capable of," he told reporters after President Giorgio Napolitano gave him the mandate to form the next government.


Read more: Renzi poised to form Italian government, promises rapid change | Reuters

Italian parliament fails to establish coalition

The selection of a new pope has pushed the political chaos in Italy briefly out of the headlines. But the Italian parliament is still at it, seeking a majority and a government - any government at all. 

The selection of a new pope has pushed the political chaos in Italy briefly out of the headlines. But the Italian parliament is still at it, seeking a majority and a government - any government.

"Black smoke above parliament," Italian television broadcasters announced on Friday, March 15, drawing from the imagery of black or white smoke signaling, respectively, the unsuccessful or successful selection of a new pope. Neither the upper Senate of the Republic nor the lower Chamber of Deputies were successful in agreeing on a president on their first attempt since the elections.

The more-or-less equally represented social democrats, conservatives and "Five Star" protest movement are apparently irreconcilably at odds, as demonstrated by their inability to select the rather representative post of president. Three weeks after the general elections, the resulting party constellation threatens to create political deadlock.

Pier Luigi Bersani of the social democrats - which claims a majority in the Chamber of Deputies, but not in the Senate - sought nearly desperately to ally with the grillini, in order to gain at least a minority government. But despite an appeal from leftist intellectuals, Grillo rejected Bersani's overtures.

Although the grillini appear to want to decide policy on a case-by-case basis, Italy can only gain a prime minister through a vote of confidence in both the upper and lower houses of parliament. But social democratic parliamentarian Aniello Fornisano said that at the moment, this remains a "very difficult" proposal.


Read more: Italian parliament fails to establish coalition | Europe | DW.DE | 16.03.2013

Iraq Coalition Casualties: More than 1,280 civilians killed in September

For the complete report from the Iraq Coalition Casualties report click on this link

This past month (September) 63 US and two EU soldiers (one Roumanian and British) were killed.

This past Sunday alone, there were 35 civilians killed; Baghdad: 1 farmer killed by gunmen south of the capital; and 5 bodies found. Mosul: politician killed along with 3 bodyguards; 2 policemen killed by gunmen; 2 shot dead in market; 11 bodies found. Al-Uhaymer: 7 bodies found and taken to Baquba morgue. Haswa: 3 bodies.

In September there were 1,280 civilians killed. This brings the total of civilian deaths as a result of the violence to 81,119. The total number of "coalition" troop casualties since the beginning of the war now stands at 4053. A total of 36,943 soldiers have been wounded so far during the conflict and 122 coalition troops have committed suicide.