UK: British PM Liz Truss quits after only 44 days as PM

Liz Truss – once compared to Margaret Thatcher – is now the shortest-serving prime minister in British history. Her downfall came swiftly after the markets rejected her sweeping tax cuts.

Read more at:  https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp-video/mmvo151187013825

British Elections - Voodoo Economics: Sterling soars against dollar as traders bet on Johnson election win

The Pound raced to a seven-month high against the dollar on Wednesday as City traders bet that Boris Johnson was on course for victory in the general election.

Sterling jumped above $1.30 to hit 1.311, its highest level since May, while the euro rate moved above €1.18 from close to parity in the ummer when the Conservative leadership contest triggered a fresh round of Brexit uncertainty.

Read more at: Sterling soars against dollar as traders bet on Johnson election win | Business | The Guardian

Britain: Boris Johnson loses parliamentary majority after Philli0p Lee defects to Lib Dems

Read more at:
https://www.euronews.com/2019/09/03/boris-johnson-loses-parliamentary-majority-after-mp-phillip-lee-defects-to-lib-dems?fromBreakingNews=1

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Britain - Conservative party: Three severe blows to Johnson’s credibility

Boris Johnson has suffered three successive blows to his credibility since Friday, which call into question his title as the undisputed favourite to become the next leader of the Conservative Party and the man to succeed Theresa May in office.

Given a strong lead and strong media criticism, there is a perception that the former foreign secretary is avoiding public confrontation. The last-man-standing opponent — who prevailed over eight opponents — is foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt. Hunt called Johnson a “coward” on Monday morning.

 “On the question of debates, he is being a coward,” Hunt said on Sky television.

Meanwhile, The Guardian broke the story that the police showed up on Johnson’s residence on Friday morning, after neighbours heard a loud altercation between him and his girlfriend. Since, Johnson has been challenged to explain and he has insisted that this is a personal affair.

On Saturday, the Observer delivered another blow to Johnson’s credibility, publishing a video of Steve Bannon talking about his consultations Boris Johnson. In the video, Bannon boasts how he discussed with Johnson the talking points of his speech following his resignation as a foreign secretary. Johnson has always denied political ties to the former campaign manager of US President Donald Trump. The footage was filmed by US filmmaker Alison Klayman for a documentary entitled The Brink.

Perhaps the least damaging assault to Johnson’s credibility came from the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, who questioned his claim that the UK can avoid EU tariffs in a no-deal Brexit scenario. In an interview with the BBC, the Canadian who stirred monetary policy amid the Brexit crisis recalled that World Trade Organization rules require the EU to apply the same tariffs to all of their trading partners with whom they do not have a free trade agreement.  

That means that Johnson’s claim that “there will be no tariffs, there will be no quotas because what we want to do is to get a standstill in our current arrangements under GATT 24,” is inaccurate.

Read more at: Three severe blows to Johnson’s credibility

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Britain - Brexit - the election of the new leader of the conservative party: Boris Johnson is more like Netanyahu than Trump - by Anshel Pfeffer

Boris Johnson is set to win the leadership election of the Conservative party and become prime minister of the United Kingdom within weeks. Both the British and American media abound with comparisons of him to Donald Trump. And the comparison is apt, as far as it goes.

Both are gangly, large men wearing ill-fitting suits, with tousled fair-haired mops. Both have little more than a passing acquaintance with the truth and are happy to use racist dog-whistles to score cheap points. And both Trump and Johnson owe their entire fame and fortune to the media’s fawning attention over the decades, and now, when it fits their purpose, are treating the media like the enemy. And both men make bombastic promises they have no idea or plan for carrying out.

To get a better idea of how Johnson may act as prime minister, it would be more useful to compare him to another populist politician, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Like Johnson, Netanyahu also has quite a lot in common with Trump. But unlike Trump, and like Johnson, he is also extraordinarily clever and knowledgeable, and a lifetime politician.

Note EU-Digest: Often compared with Donald Trump, but far more dangerous than Trump, being not only a Populist and opportunist, but also a highly educated, life long politician, with a far greater intellectual capability than incoherent Donald Trump..

Read more at: Boris Johnson is more like Netanyahu than Trump - Europe - Haaretz.com

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Britain - conservative party: Final 10 announced in race to become British PM and Tory leader

Final 10 announced in race to become British PM and Tory leader

Read more at:
https://www.euronews.com/2019/06/01/who-is-in-the-running-to-be-uk-s-next-prime-minister-and-what-s-their-view-on-brexit

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Britain: Business community in Britain does not want Boris Johnson as PM

Read more at: 

https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/city-panics-at-prospect-of-boris-johnson-as-prime-minister-20190528

EU-European far-right political party risks collapse - by Nikolaj Nielsen

The future of a European far-right political party is in doubt following revelations that one of its members wishes to jump ship from the group.

On Thursday (22 February), the European Parliament's independent oversight authority, told EUobserver that it is verifying whether the Alliance of European National Movements (AEMN) still complies with the conditions for registration after one of its members told the Italian press he wants to withdraw his membership.
 
Read more: European far-right political party risks collapse

Britain: Why British PM Theresa May Just Called for a Snap Election- by Joshua Keating

British voters are getting one more chance to weigh in on Brexit—and prime minister Theresa May.

May’s move is risky. The election is likely to be a referendum on her approach to EU negotiations, which may not be the approach that many of the very slim majority of Brits who favored Brexit thought they were voting for—something Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party could potentially take advantage of if it could ever get its act together. British elections have also become very hard to predict, with traditional party loyalties breaking down, the rise of new populist challengers like the UK Independence Party, and the increasingly strong Scottish National Party. The Conservatives weren’t expected to win a majority at all in the close-fought 2015 election. The Brexit victory last summer also caught many experts by surprise.

Read more: Why British PM Theresa May Just Called for a Snap Election

Fillon wins centre-right primary, says France wants action - France - RFI

François Fillon comprehensively won the second round of the centre-right presidential primary defeating Alain Juppé by a wide margin. Partial results showed him winning 67 per cent of the vote with results counted from 9000 odd polling stations out of 10,229.

“France wants the truth and France wants action,” he told cheering supporters following Juppé’s concession speech, promising to “reach out to all those who want to serve the country.”

Read more: Fillon wins centre-right primary, says France wants action - France - RFI

Britain: Conservatives put to the test - by By Stephan Richter

The Jingoism of British Conservatives. Leading UK conservatives act as if they know everything. Really they know nothing about the world. Leading UK conservatively act as if they know everything. Really they know nothing about the world.

Read complete report

Britain's 2015 Election Polls Show Closest Result In a Generation - by Alastair Jamieson

Britain is less than three weeks away from voting in its closest general election for almost a quarter of a century, with no obvious winner emerging despite clear differences on austerity, immigration and tax.

Polls suggest Prime Minister David Cameron hasn't done enough to secure an outright majority for his Conservatives after five years of power-sharing with the smaller Liberal Democrats — even after returning the U.K. economy to steady, if unspectacular, growth. 

Nor has Britain's main opposition Labour Party, steered to the left by a faltering Ed Miliband, established enough momentum to secure the 326 seats needed for victory in the House of Commons, Britain's lower house of parliament. 

Miliband himself said he was fighting the "tightest general election for a generation" and The Economist magazine called it "wildly unpredictable."

Read more: Britain's 2015 Election Polls Show Closest Result In a Generation - NBC News.com

Britain - Economy: GDP grows but current account deficit near record high ahead of UK election

With the British election hurtling towards us the latest economic figures appear to offer ammunition for both of the two main parties.

The ruling Conservatives can point to faster than expected growth at the end of last year on the back of a mini export boom, and rising household incomes as proof their policies are working.

GDP grew by 2.8% in 2014, but this may not last as the dominant service sector is expected to slow in 2015. And the Labour opposition will point the higher current account deficit.

“The overall picture and the economic outlook for the UK still looks relatively rosy.

Unemployment falling,wages rising.that should keep consumer confidence quite strong for the foreseeable few months,” says FX Pro’s Angus Campbell.

David Cameron faces another uncertain election outcome when a new coalition may be needed, while Labour’s Ed Milliband may also be forced into partnership in the most unpredictable vote in decades.

Read more: GDP grows but current account deficit near record high ahead of UK election

Italy: Without Berlusconi Italian Conservative Party is lost says expert

The Italian Senate has voted to expel former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from parliament over his conviction for tax fraud. The 77-year-old politician could now face arrest over other criminal cases, as he has lost his immunity from prosecution. Ahead of the vote, Mr.Berlusconi warned, though, that he would remain in politics.

Mr.Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud in October 2012. He will have to serve a one-year sentence, probably under house arrest - because of his age. Anna Momigliano, an American-educated Italian journalist, currently based in Milan with main interest in international politics and new media, talked to Voice of Russia about the consequences of the event.

According to Ms Momigliano, “it is extremely unlikely that Berlusconi will actually go to jail.”
“Even if you were a common person, in Italy you don’t go to jail that easily if you are over 70 years of age, and he has a very good lawyer. So, the personal consequences for Berlusconi will be very-very slight. He might face one year of house arrest, but even that is unlikely. The consequences mainly are political.

He has led the Italian Conservative Party for more than 20 years and the Conservative Party without him is lost – they are split, they are withdrawn from the Government and they really don’t know where to put their heads,” - Ms Momigliano explained.

Talking about the plausible impact of Berlusconi’s party withdrawal from the Parliament, Ms Momigliano said: “In the immediate future the coalition Government will survive, because some Parliament members of Berlusconi’s party have split from the party and kept supporting the Government. This means that the left-wing Prime Minister Enrico Letta still has the number to govern. That said, this Government isn’t going to last very long, most likely we will have elections soon. And this is, of course, bad for Italy, because the economy, as you know, is very bad here and we keep having elections every one or two years and, of course, this is not good for business.”

Ms Momigliano said that it is hard to say whether Berlusconi still enjoys the support, because “over the years analysts have constantly underestimated Berlusconi’s popularity among the larger public. My general impression is that now people are very tired, they are worried about the economy, so his support isn’t as strong as it used to be. But I would not underestimate that.”

Read more: Without Berlusconi Italian Conservative Party is lost – expert - Analysis - Panorama | Armenian news

British PM hosted meals at family home for financial donors who gave a minimum of euro 299,000 to Conservative party

Britain's prime minister, facing new questions about party fundraising, disclosed Monday the names of major donors to his Conservative Party invited to intimate meals at his family's Downing Street apartment and his official countryside mansion.

David Cameron, whose aides had initially refused to divulge the details, published the lists of guests after the resignation of a fundraising aide caught boasting that he could organize access to Cameron in return for large donations.

Peter Cruddas, co-treasurer of the Conservative Party, quit after he was filmed telling undercover reporters from The Sunday Times newspaper that donors who pledged more than euro 299,000  (US$397,000) a year could join Cameron for meals, and press him over specific policies.

In three private dinners inside his apartment at Downing Street, Cameron hosted, among others, millionaire property tycoon David Rowland, Arbuthnot Banking Group chairman Henry Angest, hedge fund founder Michael Farmer, and Michael Spencer, chief executive of ICAP PLC, the world's largest broker of trades between banks.

For more: British PM hosted meals at family home for donors

British PM's fundraiser quits over cash for access claim - by Tim Castle

A senior fundraiser for Britain's ruling Conservative Party resigned on Sunday after being secretly filmed offering exclusive access to Prime Minister David Cameron in return for donations of 250,000 pounds a year.

The disclosure is damaging for Cameron's party which has tried to shake off an image of being too close to the interests of business and the rich as Britain undergoes a strict austerity program to cut its budget deficit.

The party's co-Treasurer Peter Cruddas stood down within hours of the Sunday Times newspaper publishing video of him telling undercover reporters, posing as international financiers, that the contributions would enable them to ask Cameron "practically any question you want".

The Sunday Times reporters had posed as Liechtenstein-based fund managers who wanted to develop contacts with Cameron and other ministers on behalf of their Middle East investors.

Cruddas told them the access would be "awesome for your business", adding some of the party's bigger donors had enjoyed dinner with Cameron and his wife Samantha in their private apartment at his Number 10 Downing Street office.

For more: British PM's fundraiser quits over cash for access claim | Reuters

NYT: French Minister Calls British Tories (Conservatives) ‘Pathetic’ - by Alan Cowell

For the complete report from the NYTimes.com click on this link

In an unusual spat that may foretell choppy relations across the English Channel, a French government minister attacked Britain’s opposition Conservatives months before an election, calling their policy on Europe “pathetic” and reflecting a “bizarre sense of autism.” Pierre Lellouche, the minister for European affairs, was speaking to The Guardian in Britain after the Conservative leader, David Cameron, promised on Wednesday to limit British integration in some areas of European Union policy if he came to power after elections that must be held by June. Mr. Cameron spoke one day after the Lisbon Treaty to strengthen the European Union cleared its last major hurdle. He announced that he would not hold a referendum on the accord if he became prime minister. “A made-up referendum might make people feel better for five minutes,” he said in a speech in London, “but my job is to put together a plan that lasts five years.” But Mr. Cameron, whose party (Conservatives) has historically displayed a powerful and often divisive streak of skepticism about Britain’s relationship with Europe, promised that any future European treaties would be put to referendums. He also pledged to seek to withdraw Britain from some aspects of European law relating to jobs, criminal law and other areas.

“They have one line, and they just repeat one line,” Mr. Lellouche was quoted as saying of Conservative policy. “It is a very bizarre sense of autism. He added: “It is time when the destiny of Europe is being defined — whether or not we will exist as a third of the world’s G.D.P. capable of fighting it out on climate, on trade, on every issue on the surface of the earth. We need to be united, otherwise we will be wiped out and marginalized.”

Guardian.uk: David Cameron ditches referendum and backs away from EU 'bust-up' - by Nicolas Watt

For the complete report from The Guardian click on this link

David Cameron today backed away from a full-scale confrontation with the EU when he outlined a six-point package of reforms but adopted a conciliatory tone by saying he wanted to avoid a "bust-up" with Britain's European partners. In his most significant statement on the EU since becoming Conservative leader, triggered this week by the final ratification of the Lisbon treaty, Cameron finally abandoned his pledge to hold a referendum on the measure in Britain. Flanked by the most senior members of the shadow cabinet, Cameron said he would instead demand six changes to ensure that powers are "never again" ceded by Britain to the EU without the agreement of the British people.

Note EU-Digest: Mr.Cameron had come under considerable attack for his earlier negative statements on the EU not only from members of his own party,but also from EU officials and even members of the US political establishment when he recently visited the US.