Calling the situation of the centre-left parties in Central and Eastern Europe ‘difficult’ equals hiding behind a diplomatic langue de bois. In none of the countries of the region, Social Democrats are in government – neither at the helm of a coalition, nor as a partner in one. Sometimes they even failed to enter parliament […]
Romania
Politically, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is disappointing – but looking at it from outside of Europe it is a stunning economic success story. However, this success cannot be taken for granted – and its end could make the region even more politically disappointing. However, there are things Progressives could do. But they require political […]
To mark the start of the six-month EU Council presidency of Slovenia, a grandiose musical and ballet performance was arranged on Lake Bled. This reminded me of my own very first visit to Slovenia, which was also linked to music, though with a much more modest profile. As an unassuming clarinet player in the wind […]
The number one topic of the Romanian parliamentary elections in December 2020 was not, as one might have thought, the public health issues raised by the raging Covid-19 pandemic, but the fight against corruption. Both the National Liberals and the Save Romania Union (USR), along with the newly formed Alliance for the Union of Romanians […]
Romania’s Social Democratic Party (PSD) won the recent Romanian legislative elections, with around 30 percent of the votes and more than 34 percent of the seats in Parliament. Despite these results and the huge negative impact of the pandemic on Romania, we now have a political blockage. The conservative President, Klaus Iohannis, refuses to recognise […]
The relative victory for the Romanian Social-Democratic (PSD) party in the parliamentary elections on 6 December 2020 ended a two years cycle of European, presidential, and local elections. The low turnout and the rise of a new far-right party concludes an electoral campaign dominated by an increasing number of Covid-19 cases and by a liberal […]
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