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His party more than doubled in size in parliament to tower over mainstream parties that long specialized in marginalizing him. Suddenly on Thursday, there was hope in the air again for nationalist conservative populists, especially with an European Parliament election coming up in June. Earlier, Slovakia had already turned populist with Robert Fico’s Smer party winning a general election and setting up a coalition government with an ultranationalist party. Wilders calls for a “Nexit” referendum — a Dutch version of Brexit which saw the United Kingdom leave the EU. By nature, Dutch politics rely on coalitions between several parties and no other suitable party has followed Wilders on that.

Persons: Geert Wilders, firebrand Wilders, “, Alice Weidel, Wilders, Robert Fico’s Smer, Viktor Orbán, behemoth, Le Pen, ”, Hendrik Vos, Vos, Matteo Salvini Organizations: Party for Freedom, Law, European Union, EU, France, Inter, Ghent University, League Locations: BRUSSELS, Europe, Poland, Netherlands, Germany, Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungarian, France, United Kingdom, Italian, Italy

(AP) — Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis is refusing to condemn Elon Musk 's post endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory, maintaining Sunday that he wasn't familiar with the post despite it prompting major companies to pull advertising from the billionaire's X social media platform. “You have said the actual truth,” Musk tweeted in a reply Wednesday. “State of the Union” put Musk's post on the screen and host Jake Tapper read it to DeSantis before pressing him to condemn it — but the governor continued to demur. I have no idea what the context is,” said DeSantis who was joining the show via videoconference . “I know Elon Musk.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Elon Musk, ” DeSantis, ”, Elon, ” Musk, DeSantis, Union ”, Jake Tapper, “, Andrew Bates, Jamie Raskin, didn’t, ” Raskin, you've, Raskin Organizations: — Republican, Union, IBM, Disney, Twitter, White, Maryland Democratic, “ Locations: WILMINGTON, Del, Florida, “ State, America, Israel, DeSantis

☆ Opinion | Get to Know the Influential Conservative Intellectuals Who Help Explain G.O.P. Extremism
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-04 | by ( Damon Linker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Some catastrophists take it a step further and suggest that officials might contemplate overthrowing liberal democracy in favor of revolutionary regime change or even imposing a right-wing dictatorship on the country. It includes respected scholars at prestigious universities and influential think tanks. That makes this a crucial time to familiarize ourselves with and begin formulating a response to these ideas. If Mr. Trump manages to win the presidency again in 2024, many of these intellectual catastrophists could be ready and willing to justify deeds that could well bring American liberal democracy to its knees. The essay set the tone of life-or-death struggle (and related imagery) that is common among catastrophists.

Persons: Trump, Michael Anton, Anton’s, Hillary Clinton “, ” Mr, Anton, Rudy Giuliani, Rush Limbaugh Organizations: Claremont, catastrophists, Republican, Claremont Institute, National Security Council Locations: California

☆ Opinion | A Humanitarian Pause in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

After weeks of airstrikes by Israel and the continued firing of rockets by Hamas, civilians in Gaza have paid a grave price. A humanitarian pause, in contrast, would give some relief to Gazan civilians and allow Israel to make progress on another key part of its objectives: the release of hostages. A humanitarian pause would also allow more of the millions of civilians who remain in Gaza an opportunity to move to relative safety until the hostilities end. There is no guarantee that a humanitarian pause, particularly in a conflict with a terrorist group, will ensure the safe return of hostages or end the suffering of civilians. Israel’s leaders have tried from the outset of this conflict to prepare their country for a long war, and a humanitarian pause is unlikely to change that fact.

Persons: Israel, Hassan al, Banna, Biden, Antony Blinken, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Israel — Organizations: Hamas, The Times, UNICEF, Israel Defense Forces, White House Locations: Israel, United States, “ Israel, Gaza, East, Rafah, Egypt

☆ Opinion | The Laws of Campus Culture War
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( David French | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +15 min

They represent the moral and philosophical foundations for the concrete constitutional rules of culture war that directly apply on campus. One of the most powerful and compelling arguments for free speech in American history was born out of mob suppression. In 1860, Frederick Douglass wrote his “Plea for Free Speech in Boston” after a violent mob shut down an antislavery event. Every college and university — public or private — that receives federal funds has an affirmative duty to protect students’ civil rights. In the recent past, schools have sometimes been too enthusiastic about stopping harassment, defining the term so broadly that university anti-harassment policies actually violate students’ free speech rights.

Persons: George Washington, ”, “, Abraham, ” Washington, Johnson, Watts, they’re, Deactivating, Frederick Douglass, ” Douglass, Biden, Davis, VI, Scott Alexander’s, it’s, — Organizations: State University System of, Justice, Cooper Union, Cornell University, Trees School, . Ohio, Klan, Hamas, Civil, of Education, Cornell, Democratic Locations: State University System of Florida, Palestine, New York City, Ithaca, N.Y, ”, United States, America, Newport, R.I, Texas, Terminiello, Chicago, Brandenburg, ., Ohio, “, Gaza, Florida, Boston, Monroe County

☆ Opinion | Joe Biden Knows What It Actually Means to Be President
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( David French | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

There’s a gathering sense that President Biden’s response to the war in Gaza may cost him the 2024 election. On Friday my colleagues in the newsroom reported on a growing backlash against Biden coming from young and left-leaning voters. I don’t think so, and to understand why, it’s important to understand the core responsibilities of an American president. It was delivered most memorably by then-Vice President Biden, of all people, at the 2012 Democratic National Convention. Now fast-forward to August 2024, when Biden will speak on his own behalf in Chicago at the next Democratic convention.

Persons: Biden’s, Biden, Mitt Romney, Barack Obama’s, Obama, Osama, Romney, Laden, Will, Donald Trump Organizations: Gallup, Convention, General Motors, Democratic Locations: Gaza, Israel, Chicago, Europe, China, Taiwan

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Prime Minister Viktor Orbán compared Hungary's membership in the European Union to more than four decades of Soviet occupation of his country during a speech on Monday commemorating the anniversary of Hungary's 1956 anti-Soviet revolution. Yes, it happens that history repeats itself,” Orbán said at the event, from which all media were excluded except Hungary's state media. “We had to dance to the tune that Moscow whistled,” Orbán said of Hungary's days in the Eastern Bloc. On Monday, Orbán said that while the Soviet Union had been “hopeless,” he believed that governance in the EU could be reformed through an European Parliament election scheduled for June 2024. “Moscow was irreparable, but Brussels and the European Union can still be fixed,” he said.

Persons: Viktor Orbán, Orbán, ” Orbán, “, ”, Vladimir Putin’s, Putin Organizations: —, European Union, “, Soviet, Red Army, Eastern Bloc, NATO Locations: BUDAPEST, Hungary, Soviet, Veszprem, Brussels, Moscow, Hugnary's, Budapest, Ukraine, Beijing, United States, “ Hungary, Russia, Soviet Union, “ Moscow

☆ Hamas Attacks Are the Beginning of the End for Netanyahu
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( William A. Galston | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

William A. Galston writes the weekly Politics & Ideas column in the Wall Street Journal. He holds the Ezra K. Zilkha Chair in the Brookings Institution’s Governance Studies Program, where he serves as a senior fellow. A participant in six presidential campaigns, he served from 1993 to 1995 as Deputy Assistant to President Clinton for Domestic Policy. Mr. Galston is the author of 10 books and more than 100 articles in the fields of political theory, public policy, and American politics. A winner of the American Political Science Association’s Hubert H. Humphrey Award, he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2004.

Persons: William A, Galston, Ezra K, Saul Stern, Dean, Clinton, Association’s Hubert H, Humphrey Organizations: Street, Zilkha, Brookings Institution’s, Brookings, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Institute for Philosophy, Center for Information, Research, Civic, National Commission, Domestic, Liberal Pluralism, Public, Rowman & Littlefield, Liberal Democracy, Yale, American, American Academy of Arts and Sciences Locations: Brookings

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s immigration minister argued Tuesday that international refugee rules must be rewritten to reduce the number of people entitled to protection, as the Conservative government seeks international support for its tough stance on unauthorized migration. Britain’s government has adopted an increasingly punitive approach to people who arrive by unauthorized means such as small boats across the English Channel. Sonya Sceats, chief executive of campaign group Freedom from Torture, said: “LGBTQI+ people are tortured in many countries for who they are and who they love. The U.K. has sought international allies in its attempts to stop Channel crossings and toughen refugee laws, with limited success. British authorities also leased a barge to house migrants in a floating dormitory moored off England’s south coast.

Persons: Suella Braverman, ” Braverman, “, Braverman, ”, Braverman’s, Sonya Sceats, Alejandro Mayorkas, General Merrick Garland Organizations: —, Conservative, Nations Refugee Convention, American Enterprise Institute, Conservatives, U.S, Homeland Locations: Washington, Cambridge, Britain, France, Rwanda

☆ Opinion: The Netanyahu government’s next target: Israel’s free press
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Dan Perry | Gilead Sher | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

A cornerstone of those shared values is both countries’ historic commitments to a free press. Israel’s journalism, as in the United States, is freewheeling and independent, and reporters are famously skeptical and often critical of any government. Gilead Sher Courtesy Gilead SherAs in the United States, Israeli governments have always viewed a free press as inviolate because of the central role it plays in upholding democracy and fostering government transparency and accountability — until now. Missed so far, however, in most mainstream US news, are the government’s initiatives to erode Israel’s free press and gradually turn Israeli media into government propaganda vehicles. And indeed, as already stated, Netanyahu’s government has targeted much more than the free press.

Persons: Dan Perry, Gilead Sher, Ehud Barak, Benjamin Netanyahu, Joe Biden, Netanyahu, Gilead, Biden, Donald Trump, Viktor Orban, Orban, Israel Organizations: London, Associated Press, Israeli, CNN, UN, Assembly, BBC, Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, MSNBC, Fox News, Hungarian Locations: Cairo, Europe, Africa, Israel, United States, New York, America

☆ Opinion | What to Keep in Mind About Mitt Romney
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Jamelle Bouie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Reading the recent excerpt from McKay Coppins’s forthcoming biography of Mitt Romney of Utah, I was struck by the depth of the senator’s contempt and disdain for much of the Republican Party, including many of his colleagues in the Senate. He saved his harshest words, however, for those Republican senators who would do or say anything for political power and influence. What bothered Romney most about Hawley and his cohort was the oily disingenuousness. Hawley and Cruz “were making a calculation,” Romney told me, “that put politics above the interests of liberal democracy and the Constitution.”As for the latest crop of Republicans, Romney had this to say: “I don’t know that I can disrespect someone more than J.D. Romney was, after all, the first senator in American history to ever vote to remove a president of his own party from office.

Persons: McKay, Mitt Romney, “, Trump, ” Coppins, smarmily, ” Romney, Romney, Hawley, Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, ”, Cruz “, Vance, Donald Trump Organizations: Republican Party, Senate, ” Locations: Utah

☆ What the West Loses by Trading With Dictatorships
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Mathias Döpfner | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Officials from the EU and China celebrate the agreement admitting China to the World Trade Organization, May 2000. Photo: Alain BUU/Gamma-Rapho/Getty ImagesIn 1989, the political scientist Francis Fukuyama declared the end of history: “What we may be witnessing is not just the end of the Cold War, or the passing of a particular period of postwar history, but the end of history as such: that is, the end point of mankind’s ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.” Today we have to acknowledge: Fukuyama was wrong.

Persons: Alain BUU, Francis Fukuyama, Fukuyama Organizations: EU, China, World Trade Organization Locations: China

☆ Italy's PM says migration won't solve Europe's demographic crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sept 14 (Reuters) - Some legal migration can benefit European economies, but migration is not the solution to the continent's demographic crisis, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday as she met right-wing ally Viktor Orban in Budapest. Meloni was addressing a summit meeting on demography hosted by the Hungarian prime minister, a long-time political friend. Carlo Calenda, a centrist Italian opposition politician, called the reference to God "truly singular for the head of government of a liberal democracy. Meloni faces a mounting migration crisis at home, where the tiny, far-southern Italian island of Lampedusa has seen thousands of people coming ashore from Northern Africa over the last few days. Reporting by Federico Maccioni and Angelo Amante; editing by Alvise Armellini, Mark Heinrich and Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Viktor Orban, Meloni, Carlo Calenda, X, Orban, Federico Maccioni, Angelo Amante, Alvise Armellini, Mark Heinrich, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Italian, European Union, Thomson Locations: Budapest, Hungarian, Italian, Italy, Hungary, Europe, Brussels, Lampedusa, Northern Africa

☆ An A.I. Leader Urges Regulation and a Rethink
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Ravi Mattu | More About Ravi Mattu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Suleyman wants governments to regulate A.I. and appoint cabinet-level tech ministers, and says the United States should use its dominance in advanced chips to enforce global standards. He has also called for the creation of a governance regime modeled on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to make the work of private companies in A.I. Such arguments may be difficult to achieve at a time of growing global tensions, but they are timely as lawmakers unveil proposals about how A.I. Chuck Schumer, the Senate leader, will meet top tech executives, including Elon Musk and Satya Nadella, the C.E.O.

Persons: Suleyman, Chuck Schumer, Elon Musk, Satya Nadella, DealBook, ” Organizations: Elon, Microsoft Locations: United States, A.I

☆ Analysis: China's Xi Jinping skipping G20 may be part of his plan to reshape global governance
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Since its first leaders’ summit in 2008, China’s top leader has always attended the gathering – including by video link during the Covid pandemic. Now, “China sees the G20 space as increasingly oriented toward the US and its agenda, which Xi Jinping regards as hostile to China,” Werner said. Alternative governance structureXi last attended the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, in November last year, when he emerged from China’s Covid isolation and declared his return to the world stage. All the while, Xi has only made two trips abroad this year – and both are central to his attempt to reshape the global world order. Next month, the Chinese leader is expected to host the Belt and Road Forum to mark the 10th anniversary of his global infrastructure and trade initiative – a key element in Beijing’s new global governance structure.

Persons: Jinping, Premier Li Qiang, Beijing’s reticence, Xi, ”, George Magnus, I’m, I’ve, Jake Werner, ” Werner, Biden, Werner, Happymon Jacob, China’s, Shi Yinhong, Joe Biden –, Antony Blinken, Vladimir Putin –, Magnus, they’re, ” Magnus, –, “ It’s Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Premier, China Center, Oxford University, “, Quincy Institute in, Quincy Institute in Washington DC, Pacific NATO, ”, India, New, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Divisions, Renmin University, EU, Beijing, Global Security Initiative, Global Development Initiative, Civilization Initiative, Forum, Shanghai Cooperation Organization – Locations: Hong Kong, New Delhi, China, Xi’s, India, United States, Quincy Institute in Washington, Beijing, New, Washington, Pacific, Ukraine, Moscow, Bali , Indonesia, Germany, France, Brazil, Indonesia, Johannesburg, South Africa, BRICS

☆ Ron DeSantis’s Illiberal Education
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( William A. Galston | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

☆ The 2024 Election Will Break New Ground
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( William A. Galston | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

☆ The Strength of Israel’s Divided Democracy Protests - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Gershom Gorenberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

In central Jerusalem, thousands of people marched the short distance from the president’s residence to the prime minister’s house. The size of the protests has been possible because the main banner is defending Israel’s internal democracy, but also because people who oppose the occupation are intensely involved. That choice has allowed Israelis from the center right and right to join and even take leading roles. But for many other protesters, it makes no sense to talk about democracy while ignoring Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. And in principle, they’re right: There is an essential contradiction between liberal democracy and the denial of rights to Palestinians.

Persons: it’s, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, “, ”, I’d Organizations: —, West Bank Locations: Israel, Jerusalem, West Bank

☆ Merit Means More Than Grades and Tests
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( William A. Galston | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

☆ In Israel, the Hobbling of the Supreme Court Is Just the Start - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Adam Shinar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Existing agreements among the coalition are explicit about these goals and legislation reflecting this agenda has already been introduced. To this, we should add subtler but no less drastic changes to the civil service, once heralded as professional and nonpartisan. It is the unraveling of Israel’s basic identity, that of a Jewish and democratic state. Across Israel, there is growing alarm about the rise of religion in the public sphere and the privileging of Jewish interests inside Israel and in the occupied territories. So here goes: Since its establishment, Israel has become only more fragmented and polarized.

Persons: Itamar Ben, Ben Organizations: Netanyahu Locations: Israel

☆ Spain Votes on Sunday: Here’s What to Know
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Constant Méheut | More About Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

This outcome would have no major consequences if the Popular Party, which is leading the polls with about 34 percent of voting intentions, did not need Vox’s support to govern. But most studies suggest that it would, meaning that the far right could enter the Spanish government for the first time since the return of democracy in the 1970s. The Popular Party has refrained from saying whether it would seek to govern with Vox. But it has already forged several local coalition agreements with the far right after the May elections, in a move that many saw as a harbinger of a broader national alliance. The vote, Mr. Sánchez said, “will clarify if Spaniards want a government on the side of Joe Biden or Donald Trump, of Lula da Silva or Jair Bolsonaro.”

Persons: Sánchez, Vox, “, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Lula da Silva, Jair, ” Organizations: Popular Party, Vox

☆ Could Tim Scott Pull an Upset?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( William A. Galston | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

☆ After Affirmative Action, End Legacy Preferences
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( William A. Galston | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

☆ The United States and India Can Be Better Partners - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Idealism and pragmatism have long made rival claims on American foreign policy, forcing hard choices and sometimes leading to disappointment. For American presidents and policymakers, this poses a challenge; it is no longer enough to champion the ideals of liberal democracy and count on the rest of the world to follow. Advancing American ideals requires being pragmatic and even accommodating when our democratic partners fall short of the mark — and humility about where the United States falls short, too. Take India, and the quandary it poses for Washington, which is on display as Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes a state visit this week. India is a democracy in which the world’s biggest electorate openly and freely exercises the fundamental right to choose its leader.

Persons: —, Narendra Modi, Modi Organizations: Washington Locations: Soviet Union, Russia, China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, United States, India, Moscow

The series, “Wave Makers,” follows the fictitious lives of a team of campaign staffers in the run-up to a presidential election in Taiwan. The turn of events took the creators of “Wave Makers” by surprise. The main story line of "Wave Makers" features the solidarity and support between its two female protagonists. “Even the protagonists in ‘Wave Makers’ might not be able to persevere in our system,” said Kang at the National Chengchi University. These are people we must protect, not treat with prejudice.”For the show’s scriptwriters, Taiwan’s #MeToo moment has not fully arrived.

Persons: MeToo, ”, Tsai Ing, ” Tsai, Chien Li, Nina Peng, Wen, Let’s, “ Let’s, William Lai, Wang Dan, Wang, Kang Ting, Kang, “, Chien, Tsai, Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Taiwan’s, Liao, ” Kang, Lu Sheng, ” Peng Organizations: Taiwan CNN —, Netflix, Democratic Progressive Party, Kuomintang, KMT, “, National Chengchi University, Chinese Communist Party, Inter, Parliamentary Union, CNN, National Taiwan Normal University Locations: Taipei, Taiwan, Beijing, “, Asia

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