French president calls for new elections after Brexit
French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the lower house of parliament yesterday following a crushing defeat to far-right forces in the European Parliament elections. He called for legislative elections to begin on June 30th.
Mr Macron’s decision was a sign of just how disastrous the results of the European elections were, with his centrist party set to get roughly half the support of Marine Le Pen’s far-right Rally National, which was set to become France’s largest party.
“The rise of nationalists and demagogues is a danger to our country and to Europe,” Macron said. “From this day forward, we cannot act as if nothing happened.”
Early predictions for the upcoming European Parliament elections across the 27 EU member states have suggested that several far-right parties will make big gains. If this is true, the results will be a strong indicator of voter discontent and a scathing rebuke to the political mainstream. Check out the live results below.
“It’s a little hard to say for sure why Macron has decided to make this move now, as it was widely unexpected and its impact is still unclear,” said his France colleague Aurélien Breeden. “But his domestic policy has been hampered for the past two years by a weak majority in the National Assembly, and with strong support from the far-right, it seems the president has convinced himself that business as usual is no longer an option.”
The rise of the right: Right-wing parties gained ground as voters focused on issues of nationalism and identity, which are linked to immigration and culture war politics, and deep-rooted anger over the handling of the coronavirus pandemic may have also played a role.
More about France: Macron’s The decision comes just weeks before the Summer Olympics open in Paris in July and will usher in a period of deep political uncertainty in France.
In German: The far-right Alternative for Germany party, officially designated a “suspect” extremist group by German authorities, performed well and is projected to become Germany’s second-largest party.
Benny Gantz resigns from Israeli government
Benny Gantz, an Israeli politician and leading member of the War Cabinet, resigned from the government yesterday over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the Gaza war. While the move is unlikely to force Netanyahu out of office, Gantz’s moderate stance has helped boost the government’s international credibility.
Gantz threatened last month to resign if Netanyahu did not immediately answer key questions, including the return of hostages and future governance of Gaza. If Gantz’s party withdraws, his government would be made up of the right-wing Likud party, two far-right parties and two ultra-Orthodox Jewish factions. Analysts say Gantz’s resignation could embolden far-right ministers in his coalition.
war: Heavy Israeli air strikes and ground operations in an operation to rescue four hostages in central Gaza on Saturday killed more than 200 people, two hospital officials in the area said.
Israel: The joy of the rescue has quickly been replaced by a grim reality: About 120 captives remain in Gaza, and the Israelis fear time is running out to rescue the hostages. Israeli authorities have already said that about a quarter of the hostages are dead.
Gaza City Center: Satellite images show people who fled to Rafah now moving again, with new tent cities popping up.
PM Modi begins third term
Narendra Modi was sworn in for a third term as India’s prime minister yesterday with a sense of humility – he is adopting a more subdued demeanor now that he has been forced into a coalition government and lost his majority in parliament.
He struck a conciliatory tone in his speech on Friday: “You need a majority to run a government, but you need consensus to run a country.” He has also publicly put his key coalition partners forward. But the question remains: can Modi really be the consensus-builder he has failed to be despite more than two decades of elected office?
background: Here’s a map showing where he gained and lost support.
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Cricket T20 World Cup
India defeated Pakistan yesterday in the International Cricket Council Men’s T20 World Cup in Long Island, just outside New York City. India wins Down by 6: 119 for first to Pakistan’s 113.
The viewership was expected to be huge, as geopolitical tensions have intensified the cricketing rivalry between the two nations — matches between the two nations are rare and they don’t cooperate outside of ICC events due to political hostility — and it was expected to be watched by more than 400 million people, more than triple the viewership of this year’s Super Bowl.
New York may have been a surprise choice as the host city – the stadium was built for the tournament and will be demolished afterwards – but the US, along with the West Indies, are hosting the event in a bid to help develop cricket in America, with revenue from the New York matches going towards promoting the sport.
background: Pakistan suffered a shocking defeat to the United States team in what some commentators called one of the biggest upsets in sports history.
