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Marine Tondelier, of Les Ecologistes party, talks to journalists next to colleagues as they leave a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Dec. 10. They had met with the French president as part of consultations aimed at appointing a new prime minister.
Macron works to end France’s political deadlock
France finds itself unable to form a government and pass a budget because Macron called an election for July that empowered both right- and left-wing hardliners with no political bloc winning a majority. France has no prime minister at the moment because these hardliners ousted Michel Barnier – who held his post for just 90 days – in a no-confidence vote. That’s the shortest tenure for any PM in the history of France’s Fifth Republic, which began in 1958.
For now, France’s Green Party says it won’t join a “national interest” government. The Socialists insist they will only support a left-wing prime minister, a non-starter for conservatives.
FILE PHOTO: Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly, and Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc, takes part in a press conference about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's investigation into "violent criminal activity in Canada with connections to India", on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada October 14, 2024.
The clock is ticking on Trudeau
When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plane touched down in Honolulu on his way back from a summit in Laos last Friday, reporters on the plane learned that a caucus revolt was underway in Canada.
While they were in the air, the Toronto Star had reported that dozens of backbench Liberal MPs were trying to figure out how to make the prime minister step down to make way for a new leader. It is no wonder why. Trudeau has been in power since 2015 but appears determined to lead his party into another election, despite polls that show a huge Conservative advantage.
Monday was Canadian Thanksgiving, so much of the political class spent the weekend exchanging feverish gossip about the behind-the-scenes plotting. Would Trudeau be forced to step down, making way for a new leader? Could the opposition bring him down in the House, sending the country to an election? Who are the plotters? Why aren’t they speaking openly?
On Tuesday, one MP did. Sean Casey, a backbencher from tiny Prince Edward Island, said it is time for Trudeau to go.
“The message that I’ve been getting loud and clear — and more and more strongly as time goes by — is that it is time for [Trudeau] to go. And I agree,” he told the CBC.
On Wednesday, CTV reported that MPs plan to ask Trudeau to step down at a high-stakes caucus meeting next week, and on Thursday, CBC reported four ministers announced they will not seek re-election. It’s not clear how it will end, but signs indicate there is growing pressure for Trudeau to go.Paris 2024 Paralympics - Closing Ceremony - Paris, France - September 8, 2024 France's Prime minister Michel Barnier, French President Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte Macron are seen ahead of the closing ceremony .
French fume at Macron’s pick for PM
Thousands of protesters marched across France on Saturday, furious over President Emmanuel Macron’s appointment of center-right politician Michel Barnier as prime minister. Leftist parties, led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s France Unbowed, accused Macron of ignoring this summer’s electoral results that left him without a clear majority andcalled for his resignation.Polls show 74% of French citizens believe Macron has disregarded the election results, and 55% feel the election was “stolen.”
“Democracy is accepting defeat, not just victory,”Mélenchon declared as protests erupted in 130 cities. Organizers claimed there were 300,000 demonstrators nationwide, including 160,000 in Paris, but police reported only 26,000 in the capital.
Barnier, the 73-year-old former EU Brexit negotiator, faces immediate pressure to form a coalition and fix the failing public health sector. Visiting a Paris hospital, Barnier pledged to make improvements butsaid he could not work “miracles.”
His first big test will be the upcoming budget in October, which could trigger a vote of no-confidence by both the New Popular Front and far-right National Rally, whoseleader, Jordan Bardella,warned, “Nothing can be done without us.”Taoiseach Leo Varadkar leaves after speaking to the media at Government Buildings in Dublin, he has announced he is to step down as Taoiseach and as leader of his party, Fine Gael. Picture date: Wednesday March 20, 2024.
Irish PM steps down
Leo Varadkar announced Wednesday that he will step down as Ireland’s Taoiseach, aka prime minister, after leading coalition governments twice – for five of the past seven years. When he came to power in 2017, he was Ireland’s youngest-ever and first openly gay Taoiseach, and the country’s first leader from an Indian background.
Echoing similar sentiments to other young leaders who have stepped down, likeSanna Marin andJacinda Ardern, the former physician cited both personal and political reasons for leaving office.
“One part of leadership is knowing when the time has come to pass on the baton to somebody else,” Varadkar said. “Politicians are human beings, and we have our limitations.”
During his political career, Varadkar pioneered some progressive policies in one of the most socially conservative countries in Europe. As minister of health, he advocated for the legalization of same-sex marriage ahead of the successful 2015 referendum, and while he was PM, Ireland repealed a strict abortion ban in 2018.
But recently, Varadkar’s government suffered an embarrassing defeat in two referendums aimed at modernizing the constitution’s definition of a family and the role of women at home. The largest referendum defeat in the country’s history is being blamed on lackluster, confusing messaging from Varadkar’s “yes” campaign and an energized coalition of dissatisfied “no” voters from across the political spectrum.
Varadkar’s resignation – which will not trigger a general election – will take place once his party chooses his replacement. But a general election must be held before March 2025, and his governing coalition is expected to suffer heavy losses against the nationalist Sinn Fein party.
For Varadkar, saying (a not-so-Irish) goodbye may be easier than facing the public once again.