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Short political reports of the KAS offices abroad

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IMAGO / ABACAPRESS

After the European elections in Poland

The EU policy of the Tusk government

The pro-European and liberal Civic Platform party won the European Parliament elections in June 2024. Its biggest competitor, the right-wing conservative Law and Justice party, came second with a result only 1% worse. What does the election result say about the Polish political scene and what consequences will it have? What can be expected for the direction of European policy after the election? The previous cabinet, formed by the Law and Justice party, was extremely skeptical about cooperation and tried to limit the integration process. Will Poland return to the European arena as a powerful player and what does the country have to offer Europe?

David Gregosz, Dr. Piotr Womela
July 2, 2024
Country Reports
IMAGO / TT

France moves to the far right

First round of the parliamentary elections

The right-wing populist party Rassemblement National (RN) and its allies led by Les Républicains (LR) President Eric Ciotti came out on top in the first round of the French parliamentary elections with 33.15% of the votes. This is according to the results announced by the Ministry of the Interior on the night of 30 June to 1 July. The RN is followed by the left-wing parties of the New Popular Front (27.99%) and the parties of the presidential majority grouped under the Ensemble alliance (20.04%). The last word has not yet been spoken on the composition of the new National Assembly. Much will depend on the electoral recommendations of the democratic parties in the constituencies in which they have been eliminated. In 306 constituencies, three candidates have also emerged for the second round of voting (triangulaires). It remains to be seen whether the democratic third parties will withdraw from the election campaign in order to maintain the firewall against the right-wing populists.

Anja Czymmeck, Nele Katharina Wissmann
July 1, 2024
Country Reports
Adobe Stock / bluebeat76 / Generiert mit KI

France ahead of the parliamentary elections

Nail-biter for Macron, France and Europe

The resounding victory of the Rassemblement National in the European elections on 9 July and the fact that the governing Renaissance party only received half as many votes as the right-wing populists led President Emmanuel Macron to the decision to dissolve the National Assembly on the evening of the election and announce new elections to be held on 30 June and 7 July. The parties had until 16 June just one week, to draw up their electoral lists and form possible electoral alliances. The early parliamentary elections, which will be held in two rounds, will be a nail biter for Macron, who is playing high stakes and gambling with his own political fate. France is in danger of reaching an impasse for the next legislative period. The scenario of cohabitation seems very realistic in view of current poll results. Europe would then be faced with a right-wing populist prime minister in one of the founding states of the EU. The Franco-German engine would stutter even more.

Anja Czymmeck, Nele Katharina Wissmann
June 26, 2024
Country Reports
IMAGO / Andreas Stroh

In Search of the Least Evil

The ÖVP between the European and National Council Elections

Around 6.4 million Austrians are among the 3.6 billion people worldwide who will be able to vote in the super election year of 2024, most of whom will be going to the ballot box several times – or have already done so. The focus of attention will be on the National Council election on September 29, which follows the recent European elections by a considerable margin. There are also state elections in Vorarlberg and Styria. Since June 9, the motto "after the election is before the election" has applied to federal politics, as for most of the Austrian parties, the European elections were merely a "preliminary skirmish", conducted with little enthusiasm, for the much more decisive election in the fall from an Austrian perspective. Nevertheless, the results of the European elections, which were surprising in many respects, could well have set the course for the National Council elections in the fall.

Sebastian Enskat, M.A., Johannes Spreitz
June 25, 2024
Country Reports
IMAGO / ITAR-TASS

Presidential Elections 2024 in Mauritania

A pillar of hope in the Sahel region

Presidential elections are due to be held in Mauritania on June 29, 2024. Despite general expecta-tions that the incumbent President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani will be re-elected, political tension remains, including for partners in Europe. This is because Mauritania has gained in importance for the EU in recent years in the Sahel region, which is experiencing coups. The European Union has concluded security and migration cooperation agreements with the only democratically elected government in the Sahel region. The desert state therefore plays an important role as a connecting country between the countries of the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa.

Steven Höfner, Denis Hoffmann
June 24, 2024
Country Reports
IMAGO / NurPhoto

GERB wins again in sixth parliamentary election in a row and is also victorious in the European elections

A country in search of political stability

On 9 June, parliamentary elections were held in Bulgaria for the sixth time in just over two years to coincide with the European elections, because GERB-SDS and PP-DB were unable to agree in March to continue their cooperation in the government by changing the prime minister after nine months. The incumbent Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov of PP-DB was to be replaced by Maria Gabriel of GERB, but this did not materialise due to internal contradictions within PP-DB.

Norbert Beckmann-Dierkes, Borislaw Wankow
June 21, 2024
Country Reports
IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

European elections in Spain and Portugal

Spanische PP gewinnt mit größtem Vorsprung zur PSOE seit 1999 – In Portugal stagnieren Sozialisten und Liberalkonservative, Rechtspopulisten und Liberale gewinnen erstmals Mandate

In Spain, the PP won against the PSOE by the clearest margin since 1999, by 4% and a lead of around 700,000 votes. Alberto Núñez Feijóo (PP) thus doubled his relative lead over Pedro Sánchez (PSOE) compared to the national elections on 23 July 2023, when he was only ahead by around 350,000 votes. The PP won the European elections in direct comparison in all Spanish provinces against the PSOE, except in the Basque Country, Navarre, Catalonia and the Canary Islands. Thanks to its shift to the left, the PSOE absorbed some of the voters of the regionalists and the far-left parties Podemos and Sumar. In Portugal, on the other hand, Aliança Democrática (PSD and CDS-PP), which has formed a minority government led by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro at national level since April, lost very narrowly to Pedro Nuno Santos' Socialists. Although he was able to make slight gains, Montenegro was therefore unable to make significant gains in just a few weeks since taking office. Despite 300,000 additional votes, the PSD and CDS-PP stagnated at seven seats. However, the Socialists also lost one mandate and ended up with eight seats. As a result, they also lost favour with voters. The transfer of votes goes to the new parties. Only the right-wing populist Chega and the Liberal Initiative grew, both entering the European Parliament for the first time and gaining two seats each.

Dr. Ludger Gruber, Martin Friedek
June 20, 2024
Country Reports
European Union (photo by Dominique Catton)

Geneva Telegram with key insights from UNHCR’s new global trends report

The "Geneva Telegram" explores events in Geneva-based multilateral organizations on a current topic. This time, the focus is on the new global trends report of the UNHCR.

On June 13, 2024, the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) presented its new report on global refugee trends. It focuses primarily on developments in the calendar year 2023, in which 117.3 million people were displaced, 8% more than in the previous year which represents the 12th consecutive annual increase in number of people forcibly displaced.

Sarah Ultes
June 17, 2024
Country Reports
Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e. V.

Ringen um den Fortschritt in Spanien

Inklusion weltweit – Aktueller Stand aus Spanien

Spanien scheint, dem ersten Eindruck nach, auf einem guten Weg hin zu Inklusion und Gleichberechtigung von Menschen mit Behinderung. Diese rund 4,3 Millionen Menschen, also 9 Prozent der spanischen Bevölkerung, werden von über 8000 Verbänden politisch und gesellschaftlich vertreten. Nur 20 Prozent der beeinträchtigten Spanierinnen und Spanier fühlen sich aufgrund ihrer Behinderung diskriminiert, Inklusion steht schon seit über vier Jahrzehnten auf der politischen Agenda. Doch wie gut sind Menschen mit Behinderung wirklich gesellschaftlich integriert? Und welche Chancen haben sie auf dem spanischen Arbeitsmarkt? Ein Blick auf Statistiken zeigt: Spanien hat immer noch einen weiten Weg vor sich.

Luisa Bernhardt, Dr. Ludger Gruber
June 15, 2024
Country reports with a difference

The European Elections from the Inside

Election coverage issued by the European Office of the Konrad- Adenauer-Stiftung on the 2024 European elections

The election report "European Elections from the Inside" presents the results of the 2024 elections to the European Parliament from a European and national perspective. Together with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung offices across Europe, a concise overview was compiled for each of the 27 member states of the European Union (EU), which analyses the results in the respective countries against the backdrop of current developments. The series of reports is intended to contribute to a deeper understanding of the overall outcome of the 2024 European elections.

Dr. Beatrice Gorawantschy, Kai Gläser, Domien te Riele, Meike Lenzner, Tom Körner
June 13, 2024
Country Reports
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The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung is a political foundation. Our offices abroad are in charge of over 200 projects in more than 120 countries. The country reports offer current analyses, exclusive evaluations, background information and forecasts - provided by our international staff.

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Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V.