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IMAGO / Rolf Simeon

Shift to the Right in Switzerland

SVP Wins on a Broad Front

While climate policy hardly played a role compared to the last Swiss parliamentary election, the SVP scored a clear election victory with its migration policy issue. It is followed by the SP, Die Mitte, the FDP, the Greens and the Green Liberals.

Andrea Ellen Ostheimer
October 23, 2023
Country Reports
Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

Parliamentary elections in New Zealand

The Nationals "Back on Track"

New Zealand has held general elections on 14 October. The National Party led by Christopher Luxon seems to have achieved the most votes. Pending the counting of the “special votes”, they will form New Zealand’s next government.

Eva Wagner
October 23, 2023
Country Reports
IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

A celebration of democracy

Pro-European opposition wins Polish parliamentary elections

Poland's national-conservative government has lost its political majority after eight years in power. After all votes were counted, the democratic opposition parties won the elections to the Polish Sejm and Senate on October 15th: Koalicja Obywatelska (Citizens' Coalition, KO), Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe (Polish People's Party, PSL) and Polska 2050 (Poland 2050) - the latter both running together in the electoral alliance Trzecia Droga (Third Way, TD) – and Lewica (Left). Observers describe this result as a historic turning point, which is marked by a record voter turnout of 74.38% - the highest since the political change in 1989. In the coming months, Poland will face important decisions regarding its domestic and foreign policy. 180-degree changes can be expected in European and German policy, in socio-political issues, and in the style and rhetoric of a new government. The economic and institutional environment remains challenging because financial leeway is becoming narrower and powerful veto players have to be taken into account. Furthermore, there are important local and European elections coming up next year, which is why there are fears that the election campaign will simply continue. The PiS in particular will make things anything but easy for the new government and will make every attempt to damage the three-party alliance.

David Gregosz, Thomas Behrens, Dr. Daniel Lemmen
October 20, 2023
Country Reports
IMAGO / Afrikimages

Niger after the coup

Should Europe cooperate with the military?

Three months after the coup in Niger, the putschists rest unchallenged in power. The new leaders managed to win over many Nigeriens by rejecting military intervention by ECOWAS and kicking out French troops. There are currently no talks with RCOWAS as both sided dig in their heels. European countries have frozen military and development cooperation with Niger, Together with tough ECOEWAS sanctions this has led to a rise in poverty levels. Jihadists are trying to exploit the situation by staging more attacks on the army. Russia meanwhile is seeking to exploit Western hesitancy to talk to the putschists by offering itself as new partner. Should Western countries open a dialogue with the new governmernt in Niamey?

Ulf Laessing
October 18, 2023
Country Reports
Lula Oficial / Flickr / CC BY-ND 2.0 Deed

India's G20 Presidency

A Review

India's G20 Presidency is coming to an end. The climax was the G20 summit, which took place on 9 and 10 September and turned the world's attention to the subcontinent. Surprisingly for many observers, Prime Minister Modi announced a diplomatically hard-fought final declaration on the very first day of the G20 summit. The most significant news surrounding the G20 summit came with the expansion of the G20 into a G21 with the admission of the African Union as a member. Another positive was the signing of a declaration of intent on the so-called India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which is seen by many observers as a viable alternative to China's Belt and Road Initiative. But apart from many positive but also negative news around the G20 summit and host India, it also revealed a lot about the domestic and foreign policy ambitions and concerns of the world's most populous country. The following G20 review looks at how India's current domestic and foreign policies are merging, something that has arguably never been more apparent than during this year's G20 presidency.

Elias Marini Schäfer
October 18, 2023
Country Reports
IMAGO / Agencia Prensa-Independiente

Decision on the political direction of Ecuador: Daniel Noboa becomes the new President

Center-right candidate Daniel Noboa, hopeful for a new political course, wins runoff election

On the election day of October 15, 2023, the young entrepreneur Daniel Noboa won 51.84 % of the votes with his non-confrontational appearance. In the extraordinary runoff election for the presidency, the majority of Ecuadorians voted against Luisa Gonzaléz, a candidate who stands for socialism of the XXI century and is considered a close confidant of Rafael Correa, who received 48.16 % of the vote. This is the third time in a row that Correísmo has lost presidential elections in a runoff. Noboa represents a course that seeks to free the population from the "Correísmo-Anti-Correísmo" scheme that has long paralyzed the country. However, the elect and soon-to-be Latin America's youngest president must reckon with powerful headwinds. For he faces a National Assembly that is dominated by deputies loyal to the Correa camp. In addition, the budget deficit at the end of the year will amount to four percent of gross domestic product and will probably put the brakes on many projects. Another complicating factor is that regular parliamentary and presidential elections are scheduled for May 2025, so the window of opportunity for implementing political measures is extremely limited.

Johannes Hügel
October 17, 2023
Country Reports
IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

Guatemalans fight for their democracy

Large parts of the country and the capital paralyzed in Guatemala

Guatemala cannot rest easy. Following Bernardo Arévalo's surprising success in the first round of the Guatemalan presidential elections and his convincing victory in the runoff elections on August 20, tensions are intensifying. Influential forces are doing everything they can to prevent the president-elect from taking power on January 14, 2024. The Guatemalan population is resisting this "coup d'état on the quiet" (Arévalo) more strongly by the day. Since the weekend, large parts of the country and the capital have been paralyzed. There is no end in sight to this power struggle.

Prof. Dr. Stefan Jost
October 10, 2023
Country Reports
Adobe Stock / Manuel Schönfeld

Human Dignity - New Challenges

Socio-political issues in the context of human dignity

The core issues of many political projects currently under discussion concern the inviolable dignity of the human person. This applies both to the recently enacted Self-Determination Act and to the government coalition's plan to regulate abortion outside the Criminal Code in the future. But in 2020, the Federal Constitutional Court also established the need for a new regulation of assisted suicide that is compatible with human dignity. How can human dignity be adequately taken into account in these borderline issues?

Klaus Mertes SJ
October 6, 2023
Facts and Findings
IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

McCarthy voted out - what next?

U.S. press comments on the historic recall of the Speaker of the House of Representatives

For the first time in U.S. history, a Speaker of the House of Representatives was voted out of office: Kevin McCarthy lost the post, eight members of his Republican caucus and all 208 Democrats present voted against him.

Jan Bösche
October 5, 2023
Country Reports
IMAGO / Scanpix

Crisis Cabinet Kallas III

Government Standstill in Estonia

With a "landslide victory," internationally popular Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas secured a third term in March. But Estonia's growing national debt is forcing the ruling center-left coalition to take unpopular measures. The resulting dispute between the government and the opposition has already paralyzed parliamentary work to such an extent that the government can only get laws through the Riigikogu (Estonian parliament) by means of votes of no confidence. Just when mediation seems possible, it becomes public that the husband of the "Russia hardliner" Kallas maintains business relations with Russia. The Estonian parliament is stuck in a deadlock with unattractive ways out. The Christian conservative Isamaa benefits from strength of content and is at an eight-year high.

Oliver Morwinsky, Andreas Geyer
October 5, 2023
Country Reports
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