European Politics

Croatia expelling one Russian diplomat. One. Everyone knows that expulsions are meant to shrink the embassy size, the lesser the embassy, the lower the amount of spies they could cover. One is just sending a message that we're NATO bitches. Just two months ago Russian NatGeo had Croatia topping the polls about tourist destinations. Russians do about 1% of the volume, tourism does 20% of our GDP. Even if it weren't so much cash, it was lost just by sending a message. Why? For some used choppers and military contracts whose return value through tax doesn't even come near...I don't know why we're doing this NATO shit at all.
 
Since 1343 and after more than 1500 mayor appointments Amsterdam now has a woman as mayor. For the first time. Plus: for the first time since 1946 from a different party.

Femke Halsema from Groen Links (Green Left).
266px-Femke_Halsema_2.jpg


* Not that there have been more than 1500 mayors in the capital. Until the end of the eighteenth century, the mayor's appointment looked very different. It happened every year and four mayors were appointed. One of them stayed seated, the rest was new. That was a kind of guarantee of continuity, they could also be rotated and re-elected, some of which were twelve or fourteen times.

A female mayor was not really an option at the time. The most important thing was that you came from an important, prominent family, that you had money, because it was an unpaid job, and importantly, a man, women were not eligible for any political position in the city hall at that time.

That changed in the twentieth century when women's suffrage was introduced. First in 1917 the passive suffrage (women were allowed to be elected), two years later women were allowed to vote themselves.
 
Meanwhile, the German government is about to collapse because one idiot puts his personal interests before a sustainable solution.
 
It's all falling into place.

In 1938 Germany were eliminated in the first round of the World Cup by Switzerland (on penalties!). World War II started the following year.

In 2018 Germany have been eliminated in the first round of the World Cup by Sweden and South Korea. The democratic German government is about to collapse and people of a different religion and ethnicity are being blamed for the country's problems.
 
His. By his I mean our interior minister. I thought this would have been news elsewhere.
 
The UK government's Brexit Secretary David Davis (dumb name) has quit, quickly followed by the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. I bet everyone in Europe is like:

giphy.gif
 
Isn't Boris Johnson the dude they compared to Trump due to his populist support? Seems him quiting is like, "Wait, I have to do some REAL government work? Fuck this!"
 
Onhell said:
Isn't Boris Johnson the dude they compared to Trump due to his populist support? Seems him quiting is like, "Wait, I have to do some REAL government work? Fuck this!"
Click to expand...
Nigel Farage might be the guy you're thinking of. He also campaigned with Trump. Boris Johnson is way too upper class to appeal to that sort of demographic, but he does have his moments of saying rather distasteful things.

I can't help but feel that this is the prelude to proper leadership race in the Conservative Party then probably another snap election. Just what we need. ::)
 
Boris is a self-styled comedy stereotype who's trying to go from playing the role of oafish eccentric public schoolboy with a sideline in politics, to being a major political player. Incidentally, I've no idea how Farage gets populist icon acclaim, either, he's the ultimate red-trousers-and-tweed-jacket wannabe country gent. Unless you assume that all Brits like that sort of thing.

Like Wiz says, this looks horribly like it's going to end up with another Conservative leadership battle and possibly an election. It bothers me that each upheaval in the party results in more viable political leaders quitting, and increasingly backward-looking, erratic and self-serving backbenchers moving in to fill the void. Regardless of public opinion, remember that the EU referendum ended up coming about as an attempt to reconcile Conservative backbenchers/defectors with the party leadership. The debate on Brexit strategy continues to be dominated by one party's internal struggles, despite regular claims that it's about the "will of the people". Too much is revolving around the bickering of a really small group of people.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top