Italy's Salvini pushes for a new election over deadlocks

August 09, 2019

MILAN (AP) — Italy faced a government crisis Thursday after Interior Minister Matteo Salvini of the right-wing League party called for a new election, saying his party's coalition with the populist 5-Star Movement had collapsed over policy differences.

Premier Giuseppe Conte said he would convene Parliament, as requested by Salvini to seek a confidence vote, but showed his anger over what he called Salvini's move to "abruptly interrupt the actions of the government." He urged Salvini to explain himself to voters.

The governing two parties have been at odds over a host of policy issues but tensions spiraled Wednesday after the Senate rejected a move by 5-Star to kill a EU-funded high-speed rail link with neighboring France. The big infrastructure project — known in Italy as TAV — is backed by the League and seeks to improve rail links across several European nations.

As tones hardened, Salvini met with Conte on Thursday. After the meeting, Salvini issued a statement saying the TAV vote clearly showed that the ruling coalition had collapsed and called for a speedy election.

"Let's go immediately to the Parliament and verify that there is no longer a majority, as was evident in the vote on the TAV, and quickly return the word to voters," Salvini said. If the government should lose a confidence vote, that could set the stage for a new election.

In remarks to journalists late Thursday, Conte chastized Salvini for urging lawmakers to interrupt their vacations for a speedy confidence vote. "It is not for the interior minister to decide the timing of a political crisis in which other institutional actors are involved," the premier said.

Conte said he would be in touch with the speakers of both houses to work out when to convene Parliament. "I already clarified with Salvini during our meetings that this crisis that he triggered will be the moist transparent crisis in the history of the republic," Conte said.

In the event of a vote of no-confidence, it would be up to Italy's president to call a new election if he found no way of salvaging the government. Both the League and the 5-Star Movement have said they don't want to see a government formed of non-political technocrats.

The timing of any election is critical, as Italy must submit a budget in the fall — and needs a working majority to work out terms. The EU's third-largest economy barely dodged an EU budget disciplinary process over its rising debt levels this year.

The 5-Star leader, Luigi Di Maio, responded to Salvini's statement by saying his populist party was ready to go to a new election. But while Salvini wants immediate vote, Di Maio sought to postpone it until after parliament gave its final approval to a reform reducing the number of lawmakers, a vote that had been scheduled for early September.

Earlier Thursday, the right-wing League issued a statement complaining of deadlock with the 5-Star Movement on a variety of issues, saying "it is useless to go on" adding that "the only alternative to this government" is for a new election.

The high-speed train vote laid bare the deep divisions in the Italy's 14-month-old government, with the 5-Stars opposing the rail link as costly and unnecessary and the League supporting it as necessary for the economy and its core base of northern entrepreneurs.

After the vote, Salvini told supporters in the coastal town of Sabaudia "that something broke in the last months" in the governing coalition. Besides the high-speed rail-link, the League listed other areas of contention between the two parties, including fiscal policies, energy, justice reform, regional autonomy and relations with Europe.

In his comments Wednesday, Salvini noted that the 5-Star's pet electoral promise, basic income, which the government passed, was a handout that did not create jobs. Salvini is coming off another victory this week with the passage of a new security law that fines humanitarian rescue ships up to 1 million euros ($1.1 million) if they enter Italian waters with migrants. Preventing such ships from docking has been Salvini's hallmark as interior minister.

After approving a basic minimum income and reversing an unpopular pension reform, the government bogged down during the European election campaign and never appeared to regain its footing. Salvini's anti-migrant, anti-NGO stance is credited with the League's surge in popularity. After claiming just 17% of the vote in last year's national election, the league won 34% in European elections this spring. Surveys put support for the party now at 38%.

The 5-Star Movement's fortunes have sunk conversely, from nearly 33% of the vote in the national elections, giving it more seats in parliament than its partners, to just 17% in the European elections. Its support hovers at 17% currently.

Conte, who celebrated his 55th birthday Thursday, appeared bitter that his government experience appeared to be coming to an end, and took some swipes at Salvini, noting that the League is under investigation for allegedly taking funding from Russia and commenting on the League leader's recent public appearances and press conferences on Italian beaches.

Most of all, he took issue with suggestions that the government was in a stalemate. "I will not allow the narrative of a government that doesn't function. Of a government of 'No.' This government in reality has always spoken little, and worked a lot," Conte said. "This government wasn't at the beach every day, but in the institutional seats to work from morning to night with respect for Italians."

Indonesian voters decide between moderate and ex-general

April 17, 2019

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Tens of millions of Indonesians voted in presidential and legislative elections Wednesday after a campaign that pitted the moderate incumbent against an ultranationalist former general whose fear-based rhetoric warned that the country would fall apart without his strongman leadership.

Polling booths closed first in easternmost provinces such as Papua followed an hour later by central regions including Bali, and finally western provinces and Jakarta, the capital. Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago of 17,000 islands and hundreds of ethnic groups, has three time zones.

Preliminary results based on so-called "quick counts" as votes are publicly tallied at polling stations were expected to start rolling in within two hours of the final poll closings. The quick counts from reputable survey organizations have been reliable in past elections.

About 193 million people were eligible to vote in elections that will decide who leads the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation and third-largest democracy after India and the U.S. Indonesians are voted for Senate and national, provincial and district legislatures.

The elections are a huge logistical exercise, with more than 800,000 polling stations and 17 million people involved in ensuring they run smoothly. Helicopters, boats and horses were used to get ballots to remote and inaccessible corners of the archipelago.

The presidential race is a choice between five more years of the steady progress achieved under Indonesia's first president from outside the Jakarta elite, Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, or electing Prabowo Subianto, who was a special forces general during the era of the Suharto military dictatorship.

Pre-election polls consistently gave a large lead of as much as 20 percentage points to Widodo and his running mate, conservative cleric Ma'ruf Amin, though analysts said the race was likely tighter. "I've voted for Jokowi because five years in office was not enough for him to complete his brilliant programs for infrastructure, health and education," said Eko Cahya Pratama, 43, after voting in Tangerang on the outskirts of Jakarta.

"For me, this country is better to be managed by a man with a clean track record rather than a dirty one in the past," he said. Widodo's campaign highlighted his progress in poverty reduction and improving Indonesia's inadequate infrastructure with new ports, toll roads, airports and mass rapid transit. The latter became a reality last month in chronically congested Jakarta with the opening of a subway.

A strident nationalist, Subianto ran a fear-based campaign, highlighting what he sees as Indonesia's weakness and the risk of exploitation by foreign powers or disintegration. "He deserves to get my vote because I was impressed with his commitment to create a clean government and a great nation," said Anneka Karoine, 43, after she and her husband voted for Subianto and his running mate, tycoon Sandiaga Uno. "I believe they will lead our country better than the current leader."

Subianto voted not long after 8 a.m. in Bogor in West Java province, one of his strongholds of support, and told reporters he was confident of winning despite trailing in the polls. "I promised that we will work for the good of the country," he said. "If it's chaos or not, it's not coming from us. But I guarantee that we don't want to be cheated anymore, that Indonesian people don't want to be cheated anymore."

Widodo, who voted in Jakarta, held up a finger dipped in inedible ink to show reporters and said his next stop was playing with his grandson and eating with his wife, Iriana Widodo. Asked if he was feeling optimistic about the results of Wednesday's vote, Widodo said: "Always. We should stay optimistic at work."

Voting in Indian elections reaches next-to-last phase

May 12, 2019

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indians are voting in the next-to-last round of 6-week-long national elections, marked by a highly acrimonious campaign with Prime Minister Narendra Modi flaying the opposition Congress party rival Rahul Gandh's family for the country's ills.

Sunday's voting in 59 constituencies, including seven in the Indian capital, will complete polling for 483 of 543 seats in the lower house of Parliament. The voting for the remaining 60 seats will be held on May 19.

Votes will be counted on May 23. India has a total of 900 million voters. Turnout in the first five phases averaged 67%, nearly the same as in 2014 elections that brought Modi to power. Opinion polls say Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party continues to be the front-runner, but it is likely to return with a lesser number of 282 seats. The BJP captured 31% of votes in 2014, but it won more than half the seats to wrest power from the Congress party in a first-past-the-post electoral system in which a candidate who receives the most votes wins.

Modi is running his campaign like a presidential race, a referendum on his five years of rule with claims of helping the poorest with doles, free health care, providing toilets in their homes and helping women get free or cheap cooking gas cylinders.

At the same time, he is banking on stirring Hindu nationalism by accusing the Congress party of being soft on nuclear-rival Pakistan and terrorism, pandering to minority Muslims for votes and pampering Kashmiri separatists.

Opposition parties accuse Modi of digressing from the main issues affecting nearly 70% of population living in villages and small towns. The opposition is challenging him over India's 6.1% unemployment rate — the highest in decades— and the economic difficulties of farmers hurt by low crop prices that led many to take own lives. Opposition officials have also alleged corruption in a deal for India to purchase French fighter jets.

"Modi personally has been the most visible prime minister," said Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a political commentator and biographer of Modi. But he adds, "There could be an element of fatigue also. People at the end of it are looking at their bottomline. I think the issues of employment and rural distress are very important."

Throughout the monthlong campaign, Modi has projected himself as a "chowkidar," or watchman, guarding the country's interests. Rahul Gandhi, 48-year-old scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family and the Congress party president, has accused Modi of buying 36 French Rafale fighters jets at an exorbitant price, and helping a private industrialist by promoting him as an offset partner of Dassault, the aircraft manufacturer.

Gandhi adopted a rallying cry of "Chowkidar Chor Hai," or "the watchman is a thief." Stung by the accusation, Modi accused Rajiv Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi's late father and former prime minister of India, of corruption — an apparent reference to the purchase by India of Swedish Bofors artillery guns in 1980s. Rajiv Gandhi was accused of receiving kickbacks for the deal, but the allegation was never proved in court.

Modi also is unsparing in his criticism of Rahul Gandhi's great-grandfather and India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, blaming him for the country's border disputes with China and Pakistan and a lack of development while he was at the helm 1947 to 1964.

Rahul reacted with a tweet: "Dear Mr Modi, Your recent statements, interviews & videos are giving India the distinct feeling that you're cracking under pressure." He has challenged Modi to a public debate over the Rafale aircraft deal. But Modi so far has ignored the challenge.

Gandhi's biggest political triumph since he joined politics 15 years ago was easily his party's win in assembly elections in December, wrangling power away from Modi's BJP in the states of Rajasthan, Madya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

The opposition has also accused Modi of a following a pattern of antagonism against Muslims since his government government came to power in 2014. Modi has adopted a nationalist pitch in trying to win votes from the country's Hindu majority by projecting a tough stance against Pakistan, India's Muslim-majority neighbor and archrival.

Human Rights Watch reported an increase in attacks by so-called cow vigilantes against Muslims and lower-caste Hindus suspected of illegally transporting cattle or eating beef in recent years. Hindus comprise more than 80% of India's 1.3 billion people and Muslims nearly 16%.

Gandhi scion comes into his own as India polls near finish

May 07, 2019

NEW DELHI (AP) — With India's general election inching toward the finish line, the battle for one seat in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh is being closely watched to see whether the scion of the country's most important modern political dynasty can retain his seat and revive his party's fortunes.

After 15 years in politics, Rahul Gandhi is beginning to articulate a vision for India that some observers say is making him a more credible leader. But it's unclear whether Gandhi, who is president of the opposition Congress party, has rallied enough support in time to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Gandhi, 48, has often been the object of derision from political rivals, who accuse him, despite his pedigree, of being a lightweight. In contrast to Modi, a tea seller's son who went on to become India's leader, Gandhi inherited his power, making him an easy target of charges of nepotism and dynasty politics.

For years, Modi and other leaders of his Bharatiya Janata Party have referred to Gandhi as the "shehzada," or prince. Critics accuse him of being aloof, a cosmopolitan elite detached from the harsh realities of India's legions of rural poor.

After the Congress party's hold in Parliament collapsed from 206 of 543 seats to a mere 44 seats in 2014 elections, Gandhi's political obituary was all but written. But with small businesses and farmers hurt by some of Modi's signature policies, and mob attacks on Muslims on the rise, Gandhi and the inclusive, secular politics the Congress party has long represented are starting to resonate.

Gandhi is seeking re-election for a fourth consecutive time in the Uttar Pradesh town of Amethi. The general election, which is being held in seven phases, ends May 19, and vote counting begins May 23.

"In finding his feet in politics, Gandhi has become a perfect foil for Modi," said political commentator Seema Mustafa. "He comes through as humble, democratic and responsive, and plays on love, peace and humanity as against hate and aggression. The smile against the wagging finger, the embrace against the threat — it is all now part of a persona, natural and yet crafted."

If Gandhi came across as a reluctant politician, the reasons are not hard to find. His family, starting with his great-grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, has produced three prime ministers. Two of them — his grandmother Indira Gandhi and father, Rajiv Gandhi — were assassinated in office.

"In my life, I have seen my grandmother die, I have seen my father die, I have seen my grandmother go to jail, and I have actually been through a tremendous amount of a pain as a child," Gandhi said in a 2014 interview with an Indian TV channel.

Even after becoming a lawmaker, he distanced himself from political life, refusing to even call himself a candidate for prime minister. In 2014, he was re-elected in Amethi, considered a Gandhi bastion, by only a thin margin.

Yet, under relentless public scrutiny, Gandhi has honed his public speaking and leadership skills. He now comes across as more confident, forceful and credible, according to political analysts. And he is also starting to come across as a vigorous and even pugnacious campaigner.

In Parliament, where he's represented Amethi since 2004, he had been a backbencher, leaving the party reins largely to his mother, Sonia Gandhi. But he's started to hit back. One recent barb in particular struck home — he taunted Modi for wearing a monogrammed suit worth $14,400, saying that Modi's "suit-boot" government was only for the rich.

Perhaps most important, Gandhi has shown he has the stomach for a fight, even challenging Modi, a much more experienced politician, to a public debate. Modi has ignored the challenge. Gandhi's biggest political triumph in 15 years was easily Congress' win in assembly elections in December, wrangling power away from Modi's BJP in the states of Rajasthan, Madya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Suddenly, the BJPs' preferred Gandhi jibe — "pappu," Hindi for greenhorn — began to fall flat. Suhsmita Dave, head of the Congress party's women's wing, said she has known Gandhi well for a decade and he's basically the same man. The only difference, she said, is that earlier, he held back out of respect for protocol, letting his mother run the party and Manmohan Singh lead the Congress-controlled government.

"He let them get on with their jobs. This gave the BJP a chance to paint him as a reluctant politician," Dave said. "But the truth is that he was never a leader in a hurry. He waited his turn. When it came, he took the bull by the horns and has been vocal and aggressive. There is no point firing your gun until the time is right."

Still, critics say there's a long way to go. Gandhi brought his sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, into the party, appointing her to oversee a post in the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh that includes Varanasi, the Hindu holy city where Modi is up for re-election as a member of Parliament. Her popularity has drawn huge crowds to campaign events, but it may not be enough to counter her brother's perceived sluggishness.

Gandhi has been criticized for his low attendance in the last Parliament, showing up just over half the time; for being abroad at critical moments; for describing power as "poison"; for not cultivating a younger generation of Congress leaders; and for failing to fulfill a promise to overhaul his party's hierarchy.

He also was unable to forge an alliance with two important opposition parties in vote-rich Uttar Pradesh to wrest power away from the BJP in the current election. In New Delhi, too, he was unable to tie up with the ruling party to combat the BJP.

Whatever the result of the election, Gandhi is now seen as a feisty opponent, most recently in an interview with the daily Indian Express newspaper. "That destruction of the idea of an invincible Mr. Modi, that destruction of the lie of Mr. Modi, is primarily the work of the Congress party," he said.

2nd phase of voting begins in India with Kashmir in lockdown

April 18, 2019

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Voting began in the second phase of India's general elections Thursday amid massive security and a lockdown in parts of the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Srinagar is one of 95 constituencies across 13 Indian states where voting was taking place.

Kashmiri Muslim separatist leaders who challenge India's sovereignty over the disputed region have called for a boycott of the vote, calling it an illegitimate exercise under military occupation. Most polling stations in the Srinagar and Budgam areas of Kashmir looked deserted in the morning, with more armed police, paramilitary soldiers and election staff than voters.

Authorities shut down mobile internet services and closed some roads with steel barricades and razor wire as armed soldiers and police in riot gear patrolled the streets. Voting was expected to be brisk in the Hindu-dominated Udhampur constituency of the region.

The Indian election is taking place in seven phases over six weeks in the country of 1.3 billion people. Some 900 million people are registered to vote for candidates to fill 543 seats in India's lower house of Parliament.

Voting concludes on May 19 and counting is scheduled for May 23. Also voting Thursday is Tamil Nadu state in the south, where tens of thousands lined up to cast their ballots for 37 seats. Voting was postponed for the Vellore seat following the seizure of 110 million ($1.57 million) in unaccounted cash allegedly from the home of a local opposition politician, Kathir Anand.

His party accused federal tax authorities of raiding the homes and offices of party leaders running against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party. The governing party in the state, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, is an ally of Modi's party.

The Election Commission said that authorities had recovered 2 billion rupees ($29 million) from leaders, workers and supporters of various political parties in the state in the past month. They suspect the money is for buying votes.

In vote-rich Uttar Pradesh state, election officials directed authorities to provide drinking water and sun shelters at polling stations to cope with the scorching summer heat, said Vekenteshwar Lu, the state's chief electoral officer.

The election, the world's largest democratic exercise, is seen as a referendum on Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party. Modi has used Kashmir as one of the top issues of his campaign and played up the threat of rival Pakistan, especially after the suicide bombing of a paramilitary convoy on Feb. 14 that killed 40 soldiers. The bombing brought nuclear rivals India and Pakistan close to the brink of war.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and both claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety. Rebels have been fighting Indian control since 1989. Most Kashmiris support the rebels' demand that the territory be united either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country, while also participating in civilian street protests against Indian control.

Anti-India unrest has risen significantly since Modi came to power in 2014 amid a rise in Hindu nationalism and attacks against Muslims and other minorities. Modi supporters say the tea seller's son from Gujarat state has improved the nation's standing. But critics say his party's Hindu nationalism has aggravated religious tensions in India.

Associated Press writers Ashok Sharma in Bew Delhi and Biswajeet Banerjee in Lucknow, India, contributed to this report.

India votes in 1st phase of long polls seen as test for Modi

April 11, 2019

NEW DELHI (AP) — Polls opened Thursday in the first phase of India's general elections, seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party. A festive spirit prevailed as men and women in colorful clothes made their way to heavily guarded voting stations in large numbers.

In the world's largest democratic exercise, voters in 18 Indian states and two Union Territories are casting ballots on Thursday, the first day of a seven-phase election staggered over six weeks in the country of 1.3 billion people.

Modi supporters say the tea seller's son from Gujarat state has improved the nation's standing. But critics say his party's Hindu nationalism has aggravated religious tensions in India. "I vote for the progress of my country," said businessman Manish Kumar. "And in our country, we want a prime minister like Narendra Modi," he said after casting his ballot in Ghaziabad district in Uttar Pradesh state.

Tapan Shome, an accountant, said he and his wife voted "to make India a good, prosperous country." Thursday's voting is important for the BJP as it had won only 32 of 91 seats in the previous 2014 elections. It is seeking to improve its tally this time.

Modi came to power in 2014 and the party invoked its Hindu nationalist roots before the elections, with Modi at the forefront against the threat of Pakistan, India's Muslim-majority archrival. Hindus comprise about 80% of India's 1.3 billion people.

Even though India continues to be one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, the Modi-led government's performance on the economy has come under criticism. The first item in the opposition Congress party's election manifesto describes a plan for creating jobs. It also promises an income subsidy program for the poorest families and for farmers.

Voting also began for two parliamentary seats in the Indian-controlled portion of disputed Kashmir amid tight security and a boycott call by Muslim separatists who say the polls are an illegitimate exercise. Armed police and paramilitary soldiers in riot gears guarded polling stations and nearby roads.

Shops, businesses and most schools were closed on Thursday in response to a strike called by separatist leaders who challenge India's sovereignty over Kashmir and seek right to self-determination for the entire territory as demanded by United Nations resolutions.

In the northern Baramulla area, many people said they came out to vote only against Modi's BJP, calling it an "anti-Muslim" and "anti-Kashmiri" party. They opposed the BJP's election manifesto, which promised to scrap decades-old special rights for the Kashmiris under India's Constitution. The special status prevents outsiders from buying property in the territory.

"I didn't want to vote but then there's an imminent threat by politicians like Modi who are up in arms against Kashmiris," said Abdul Qayoom, a voter in Baramulla town. "They've taken our rights, now they want to dispossess us from our land. We want to stop people like Modi."

The voting follows a sweeping crackdown with police arresting hundreds of Kashmiri leaders and activists. Authorities also banned the movement of civilian vehicles on a key highway to keep it open exclusively for military and paramilitary convoys two days a week during India's general election.

Some 900 million people are eligible to cast ballots at around a million polling stations across India. They will decide 543 seats in India's lower house of Parliament. Voting concludes on May 19 and counting is scheduled for May 23.

Associated Press writers Aijaz Hussain in Srinagar, India, Shonal Ganguly in New Delhi contributed to this report.

NRA's LaPierre fends off backlash, wins re-election as CEO

April 30, 2019

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The National Rifle Association, facing internal turmoil over its financial management, increasingly partisan tone, and legal threats from government regulators, beat back efforts to overhaul its operations. Wayne LaPierre, the public face of the gun lobbying group for decades, fended off a backlash and was re-appointment Monday as the gun lobby's CEO.

It was unclear if the debate that has roiled the 5-million-member organization in recent weeks would still lead to significant changes in its operations. In recent days, retired Lt. Col. Oliver North lost a bid for a second term as president and the next likely successor was passed over in favor of Carolyn Meadows. But most of the board remained intact and despite a very public tussle with its longtime public relations firm, which has received tens of millions of dollars to steer its message, the board did not formally sever ties with it.

Despite the turmoil, LaPierre struck a cheery tone in a statement after the board meeting: "United we stand. The NRA board of directors, our leadership team, and our more than 5 million members will come together as never before in support of our country's constitutional freedoms."

For the past two decades, the NRA has faced criticism from among its ranks that its leaders had become corrupted by the millions of dollars flowing into its coffers. The criticism has included allegations of self-dealing and excessive personal spending. Now the pressure has increased with New York's attorney general opening an investigation that could threaten the group's tax-exempt status.

The NRA's charter was originally filed in New York, giving authorities there broad latitude to investigate its operations. Newly elected New York Attorney General Letitia James has made no bones about her dislike of the NRA, calling it a "terrorist organization."

"I never thought this thing would ever get to the level it got," Joel Friedman, an NRA board member since 2002, told The Associated Press before the 76-member board met to decide whether organizational changes were needed to stave off punitive action by New York authorities.

Just last year, an investigation by the previous New York attorney general led President Donald Trump's charitable foundation to dissolve amid allegations it was operating as an extension of Trump's business empire and presidential campaign.

The prospect of scrutiny by New York authorities led the NRA last year to hire an outside law firm and to ask its vendors to provide documentation about its billings. The NRA in recent weeks sued Ackerman McQueen, the Oklahoma-based public relations firm that has earned tens of millions of dollars from the NRA since it began shaping the gun lobby's fierce talking points in the past two decades. The NRA accused Ackerman McQueen of refusing to provide the requested documents.

Ackerman McQueen turned the NRA from an organization focused on hunting and gun safety into a conservative political powerhouse. The firm created and operates NRATV, an online channel whose hosts often venture into political debates not directly related to firearms, such as immigration and diversity on children's TV.

The NRA has faced some financial struggles in recent years, losing a combined $64 million in 2016 and 2017, and that has prompted some to question whether the large sums spent on public relations and NRATV are worth the money. In its lawsuit, the NRA said some of its members have questioned NRATV's weighing in on "topics far afield of the Second Amendment."

The turmoil boiled over Saturday when retired Lt. Col. Oliver North, a conservative stalwart aligned with the public relations firm and host of NRATV's "American Heroes" segment, was essentially ousted from his role as NRA president after trying to force LaPierre out.

According to LaPierre, North tried to strong-arm him into resigning by threatening to expose damaging information about the NRA's finances — specifically, allegedly excessive staff travel expenses — as well as sexual harassment allegations against an employee and accusations that LaPierre had charged tens of thousands of dollars in wardrobe purchases to his expense account.

North's own contract with Ackerman McQueen raised alarm bells within the NRA about the costs and possible conflicts of interest. LaPierre, in a letter to the board, noted that of the 12 TV episodes Ackerman McQueen promised to deliver, only three have aired.

NRA insiders in recent weeks have described an operation with warring factions, a place where some are compensated richly, driving expensive cars and wearing fancy clothes, while most rank-and-file are paid so little that they hold down more than one job and risk being ostracized or fired if they question expenses.

"Right now, it looks like the NRA has become like a self-licking ice cream cone," Allen West, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, conservative commentator and relatively recent NRA board member said in a video interview with the website Tactical Rifleman. "A lot of money is being raised just to scratch the backs of certain — a cabal of cronyism."

"We've got one shot to fix this, and we've got one shot to make it right, which means there probably does have to be some personnel leadership changes," he said. "There also definitely has to be organizational reforms."

Trump weighed in Monday in defense of the NRA against New York authorities. "The NRA is under siege by Cuomo and the New York State A.G., who are illegally using the State's legal apparatus to take down and destroy this very important organization, & others. It must get its act together quickly, stop the internal fighting, & get back to GREATNESS - FAST!" he tweeted.

Chicago to elect first black female mayor in historic vote

By Daniel Uria
APRIL 2, 2019

April 2 (UPI) -- Chicago will make history on Tuesday by electing the city's first African-American female mayor.

Whether former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot or Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle emerges victorious, Chicago will become the largest city in the United States to elect a black woman as its leader.

Lightfoot edged out Preckwinkle by a point and a half in February and the two bested a field of a dozen other candidates to force Tuesday's runoff. Recent poll figures show Lightfoot with a lead over Preckwinkle.

In recent weeks, the campaigns have taken on a harsh tone as both Democrats vie for the opportunity to succeed Rahm Emanuel.

Both candidates share a similar progressive vision for Chicago, but their differing political backgrounds will likely set them apart in the eyes of the city's voters and each has touted their progressive credentials in what's been a fierce race for the last two months.

Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.

Lightfoot

Lightfoot, 56, most recently a senior equity partner in the Litigation and Conflict Resolution Group at Mayer Brown LLP, has a background as an assistant U.S. attorney in the criminal division. She has most notably been involved in oversight of the city's law enforcement, serving as chief administrator of the Office of Professional Standards, president of the Chicago Police Board and Chair of the Police Accountability Task Force. The task force released a report in 2016 that said Chicago's police force was plagued by public mistrust and institutional racism that led to the mistreatment of citizens, especially African Americans.

Lightfoot also worked as chief of staff of the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications and first deputy of the Chicago Department of Procurement Services, where she aimed to revise the city's minority and female-owned business certification and compliance programs.

Her mayoral platform centered around eliminating corruption in the police department and city government, as well as pro-immigrant stances. If elected, she would become the city's first openly gay mayor, and says she'd guarantee lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender participation in city government.

Lightfoot has positioned herself as a political outsider looking to shake up the political landscape, in contrast to Preckwinkle's image as a longtime member of the city government.

"The forces of the status quo are tough. The machine was built to last," she told supporters at an event on Saturday. "But we can overcome it if we unite together with our brothers and sisters all over this city and speak in one clear voice that change is coming."

Preckwinkle

Preckwinkle, 71, was elected alderwoman for Chicago's Fourth Ward in 1991 and served in the role for 20 years before she became president of the Cook County board, where she served until beginning her campaign for mayor.

Throughout her career, she worked to reduce the jail population in Cook County, supported decriminalization of marijuana -- and in a political misstep, she passed a penny-per-ounce soda tax that was repealed after heavy criticism that it negatively affected the poor.

She built her mayoral platform on many of the same ideas, in addition to calling on her roots as a school teacher to fight for an elected school board and against private charter schools.

Preckwinkle's campaign sought to paint her as a seasoned politician, but not part of the Chicago "machine." At a campaign event Saturday, the candidate -- who's 15 years older than Lightfoot -- questioned the potential pitfalls of her opponent's "inexperience."

"Are we going to have somebody in the mayor's office who spent their life in public service, or somebody who's spent their life protecting the powerful against the people?" she asked a crowd of supporters. "Are we going to have somebody in office who has had experience as a local elected official and managing a large organization, or somebody who is a newcomer and has never held office before?"

End of a fierce campaign

Lightfoot and Preckwinkle assailed each other's backgrounds in a truncated two-month campaign that was filled with public barbs. During the first round of voting, Lightfoot criticized Preckwinkle and a handful of other candidates for their connections to former Alderman Ed Burke, who was charged with attempted extortion in January.

"It's like cockroaches -- there's a light that's shined on them they scramble," she said.

As the runoff race began, Lightfoot accused Preckwinkle of falsely stating she received the endorsements of two City Council members who support President Donald Trump, and "blowing some kind of dog whistle" to conservative voters by mentioning her sexual orientation at a debate.

Preckwinkle's campaign seized on Lightfoot's work in corporate law and her efforts with the Chicago Police Department. She said during Lightfoot's law career she defended companies that had been accused of age and race discrimination.

One of Preckwinkle's supporters, Illinois Rep. Bobby Rush, went so far as to say Lightfoot played a role in the harmful relationship between Chicago's police force and minority communities.

"Everyone who votes for Lori [Lightfoot], the blood of the next young black man or black woman who is killed by the police is on your hands," he said.

On Saturday, the Rev. Jesse Jackson urged both candidates to sign a pledge for a "day of unity" after the election to settle the fierce nature of the divisive campaign.

"Tuesday, the race will be over," said Jackson. "The healing must begin."

Lightfoot and Preckwinkle signed the pledge in separate appearances at the headquarters of Jackson's Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.

"Whereas our task in running for office is done, we realize as leaders we must show Chicago and the nation how we can win with grace and lose with dignity. In a real sense, both of us are winners," the pledge stated.

Preckwinkle said she hopes they both can focus on reaching a common goal when the election is finally settled, no matter who wins.

"The commitment needs to be to work together for the interests of the people of the city of Chicago," she said.

Lightfoot expressed desire for a similar commitment.

"If I lose, I'm going to congratulate her and continue to fight for the things that are important," she said.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2019/04/02/Chicago-to-elect-first-black-female-mayor-in-historic-vote/7091554161066/.

Finland's election topics: Climate change, welfare, aging

April 13, 2019

HELSINKI (AP) — Finns will be voting Sunday to fill the country's 200-seat Eduskunta parliament after a campaign that saw debates over the country's generous welfare model, its rapidly aging population and how far to go to fight climate change.

Here's a look at the key issues and the main players in the election:

JUST THE FACTS

Some 4.5 million people are eligible to vote in Sunday's parliamentary election in Finland and will be choosing between 19 political parties and movements.

Early voting is popular. Over 1.5 million people, or 36% of eligible voters, have already cast their ballots in advance. The results of that early vote will be published as soon the polls have closed Sunday at 1700 GMT (1 p.m. EDT), and fuller preliminary results are expected a few hours later.

CLIMATE CHANGE TENSIONS

Tackling climate change is a priority in a Nordic country that has one-third of its territory above the Arctic Circle, but there are clear tensions over what path to choose.

Finland is boosting its nuclear energy production by launching a new plant next year and lawmakers last month voted to completely phase out burning coal by 2029. Many parties back actions to fight global warming, include boosting the number of electric vehicles, cutting meat consumption through taxes or switching to more vegetarian food in public places like schools.

The populist Finns Party, however, has broadened its support by appealing to those who reject such sacrifices in the name of climate change.

QUALITY OF LIFE AND OTHER ELECTION TOPICS

Finnish voters have also been debating how best to preserve the country's health and social system, which for years has topped global quality-of-life and happiness rankings and created a world-renowned education system.

There are some divisions over proposed reforms, which are getting more urgent since the country's population of 5.5 million is rapidly aging. One plan aims to improve efficiency and reduce public spending by offering Finnish municipalities more freedom to choose between public and private providers for social needs and health care.

FINLAND'S MAIN CONTENDERS

Finland's center-left Social Democratic Party tops a recent poll with 19% support, according to a poll this week commissioned by Finnish public broadcaster YLE. The party would still need to find coalition partners if it ended up trying to form the next government.

Led by Antti Rinne, a former finance minister, the Social Democrats plan to raise taxes and increase spending to preserve a welfare system that is under huge strain. The party has also vowed to continue the country's pro-European Union stance.

Other key parties include the populist Finns Party led by Jussi Halla-aho, which is focusing on voters angry at urban global elites, and the National Coalition Party led by Petteri Orpo. Those parties took second and third places in the poll with 16.3% and 15.9% support, respectively. They are trailed by the Center Party and the Greens, who have strong urban support and back moves to fight climate change.

Finland's outgoing center-right coalition government, led by Prime Minister Juha Sipila of the Center Party, pushed through an austerity package that has helped Finland return to growth after a three-year recession.

FINLAND'S OTHER BIG POLITICAL JOB

Finland will take over the rotating six-month presidency of the European Union on July 1.

Deals made at secretive EU summit deliver top job nominees

July 03, 2019

BRUSSELS (AP) — In the end, the European Union's top jobs jamboree had a familiar old-time ring to it. Instead of embracing a transparent future, leaders of the 28 EU nations repeated the past as they retreated behind closed doors to divvy up a half-dozen jobs for politicians who will be the public faces of the world's biggest trade bloc.

The process was completed on Wednesday, when little-known Italian socialist David Sassoli was picked as president of the European Parliament. Two of the three biggest groups in the EU legislature did not field candidates as part of the political compromise sealed by leaders at their secretive three-day summit.

Sassoli's election left a picture of presidents and prime ministers making backdoor deals, of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron throwing their weight around but also of smaller nations ganging up to exert influence. It left European legislators with little more than a cameo appearance.

"We cannot accept that the presidency of this house is being treated as a negotiating chip in old-school backroom Council negotiations," Greens leader Ska Keller said before she lost her bid for the Parliaments presidency to Sassoli, a legislator few had heard off outside of Italy before Wednesday.

Macron himself acknowledged the deficiencies as the whole selection process ground to a halt Monday after 28 leaders negotiated through the night in small huddles to push their interests. "When we have too many hidden agendas, we can't do it," Macron said.

It was not supposed to be like that this. Not after the European Parliament elections in May showed a marked increase in voter turnout and a new interest in EU politics. Parties promised closer relations with citizens and a listening ear for their complaints and aspirations.

A key element of the campaign had been that the lead candidates of the political groups also would be core candidates to head the EU's executive Commission, perhaps the most important job needing a new occupant by late fall.

Yet none of the lead candidates had gotten the big job they craved as of Wednesday, snubbed by animosities between leaders and geopolitics. German Manfred Weber, the lead candidate of the European People's Party, stood empty handed Wednesday even though his Christian Democrat party is the biggest in the EU Parliament. Weber clutched nothing more than a promise that he might become Parliament president in 2½ years.

Dutch politician Frans Timmermans, the lead candidate of the Socialists & Democrats, is set to remain a first vice president in the European Commission instead of advancing to the helm. The candidates for the four top posts are from Germany, France, Belgium and Italy, four of the EU's six original member states. The fifth is held by Spain.

The outcome nevertheless was a victory for the Visigrad 4 countries of Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia, some of whom Timmermans had accused of veering off the democratic path. For months, the V4 targeted Weber and Timmermans as being too critical of their national governments. The countries developed enough critical mass among the EU leaders to make clear that picking either man would not be worth the hassles it would cause.

"An important victory has been achieved, but new debates keep coming up in international politics," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said. "At least now, we have the strength to stand up for ourselves," Orban added.

Missing out on having an eastern European politician get one of the top posts seemed a small price to pay. Instead, the Visigrad 4 rallied behind the European Commission candidacy of German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, a late hour stand in for Timmermans.

Now it is up to the European Parliament to confirm von der Leyen in mid-July. On Wednesday, she was already at parliament to hobnob and muster support for her bid, shown around by no one less than the spurned Weber.

New president Sassoli insisted he would not automatically play by the rules that the Council of summit leaders had set out. "I want to make it clear that I am not the Council's man, I am the parliament's man," Sassoli said.

Karel Janicek contributed from Prague and Mike Corder from The Hague.

EU leaders break deadlock, nominate candidates for top posts

July 02, 2019

BRUSSELS (AP) — After three days of arduous negotiations, European Union leaders broke a deadlock Tuesday and nominated German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen to become the new president of the bloc's powerful executive arm, the European Commission, one of two women named to top EU posts for the first time.

In a series of tweets, European Council President Donald Tusk said that Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel would take over from him in the fall. Frenchwoman Christine Lagarde was proposed as president of the European Central Bank, while Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell was nominated to become EU foreign policy chief, meaning he would be charged with supervising the Iran nuclear deal, among other duties.

Only Michel can take up his post without other formalities. The others, notably von der Leyen — who will take over from Jean-Claude Juncker for the next five years — must be endorsed by the European Parliament. The assembly sits in Strasbourg, France on Wednesday to elect its own new president, and early signs suggest that lawmakers could contest the nominations.

"It is important that we were able to decide with great unity today, and that is important because it's about our future ability to work." German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters after the nominations — decided away from the cameras and media in a long series of meetings — were made public.

Several lawmakers have already objected to the leaders' package of nominations, and it remains to be seen whether the parliament will flex new found muscles following the massive turnout for EU-wide elections in May. Party leaders have said the vote has brought the assembly — the EU's only elected institution — even more democratic legitimacy.

"This backroom stich-up after days of talks is grotesque," said Greens group leader Ska Keller, describing the nomination process as "party power games." "After such a high turnout in the European elections and a real mandate for change, this is not what European citizens deserve," said Keller, who is in the running to become parliament president on Wednesday.

Juncker, who steps down on Oct. 31 as head of the commission, which proposes and enforces EU laws, conceded that "it won't be easy in parliament." Tusk said "it was worth waiting for such an outcome" and that he would do his best to explain to what could well be a tetchy parliament on Thursday how the nominations were made and what thought processes went into the move.

"It's always a huge question mark. This is why we have parliaments," Tusk said, with a wry smile. Von der Leyen would be the first woman in the commission job, and Merkel said this is "a good sign." So would Lagarde — currently chair of the International Monetary Fund — and she would serve for up to eight years if her nomination is endorsed.

"That's a very important statement that Europe leads on gender equality," Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said. "It might have taken three days, but it's a good outcome overall," he told reporters. The nominations came after one of the longest summits in recent years, outstripping even all-night negotiations during the Greek debt crisis.

Already plagued by crises like Brexit and deep divisions among nations over how best to manage migration, the leaders had been keen to show that they could take quick decisions and that the European project remains important to its citizens.

But they struggled to establish a delicate balance between population size and geography — an even mix of countries from the north and south, east and west, and ensure that at least two women were nominated. Tusk he said he hoped that someone from a central or eastern European member state would be voted in as president of the European Parliament.

Despite deep tensions, some tantrums by leaders behind the scenes and even public criticism of his handling of the summit, Tusk said: "Five years ago we needed three months to decide, and still some leaders were against. This year it was three days and nobody was against."

The Belgian prime minister said that he understands the challenges that lie ahead. "The next five years will be very important for the future of the European project and I am convinced that it will be very important to protect and to promote our unity, our diversity and especially also our solidarity," Michel told reporters, after one of the most acrimonious summits in recent memory.

AP writers Mike Corder in Brussels, and Geir Moulson and Frank Jordans in Berlin, contributed to this report.

Macron says 3 candidates for top EU job have been ruled out

June 21, 2019

BRUSSELS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron declared Friday that three top candidates to become head of the European Union's powerful executive arm, the European Commission, have been ruled out of the race by the bloc's leaders, but other leaders weren't so sure.

Speaking after a summit with his EU counterparts in Brussels, Macron told reporters that "the point was made that it is impossible for these three candidates to be retained." Center-right lead candidate Manfred Weber from Germany, center-left pick Dutchman Frans Timmermans and liberal choice Margrethe Vestager of Demark were considered most likely to be named to run the commission, the job currently led by Jean-Claude Juncker.

The three were backed by the European Parliament, but Macron opposes the system that made them favorites and wants someone else at the commission, which proposes EU laws and enforces them, for the next five years. Macron said talks have been launched "so that other names emerge."

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, however, said the three should still be up for consideration. "I think it would be strange to assume that among 500 million Europeans who can become commission president, there would be three who cannot get that job. That is crazy," Rutte said.

EU leaders failed overnight to narrow down candidates for the EU's top jobs and will hold a new summit in Brussels on June 30 to finalize the nominations.

The race is on: Candidates vie for top EU jobs

June 20, 2019

BRUSSELS (AP) — EU leaders on Thursday are seeking to fill up to five key jobs supervising the 28-nation bloc's policies that will be vacated in coming months. They include the post of Council President, held by Donald Tusk; president of the powerful executive Commission, now led by Jean-Claude Juncker; president of the European Parliament; chairman of the European Central Bank and the EU foreign policy chief.

Here are some of the leading candidates for the jobs in alphabetical order. Candidates may be considered for more than one job.

Michel Barnier, France Barnier, a 68-year-old Frenchman, has used a lifetime of diplomatic acumen to keep 27 EU nations together as they faced off with Britain over the Brexit divorce negotiations. From the Savoie area, Barnier was responsible for organizing the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympic Games before plunging fulltime into politics. He was France's European affairs, farm, fisheries and foreign ministers before becoming commission vice president. Yet because of the timing of the Brexit talks, he has not publicly campaigned for a new EU job.

Josep Borrell, Spain Borrell, the minister for foreign affairs, is being touted as a possible EU foreign policy chief or a commission vice president. The 72-year-old socialist was minister of finance and the economy and held other senior Spanish posts during the 1980s. Elected to the European Parliament in 2004, he was its president for five years.

Ska Keller, Germany Franziska Maria "Ska" Keller is president of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament and a candidate for the parliament presidency. The 37-year-old was born in what was then communist East Germany and has been a member of European Parliament since 2009. She is known for her commitment to fighting corruption and she also backs fair trade policies, welcoming refugees and ensuring legal migration is possible.

Dalia Grybauskaite, Lithuania

The 63-year-old former EU budget commissioner has served two consecutive terms as Lithuania's president — the first woman to do so. A political independent, Grybauskaite took office in 2009 when public anger over the economic downturn spilled into the streets with violent riots. Nicknamed Steel Magnolia for her tough stance on corruption and Russia, she has lobbied hard to free Lithuania from dependency on Gazprom energy supplies. Grybauskaite has been one of loudest advocates for NATO to prepare defense plans for the Baltic states.

Stefan Lofven, Sweden

Lofven has been Sweden's prime minister since 2014, two years after becoming the Social Democratic leader. In January, the 61-year-old skilled negotiator presented a two-party, center-left minority government. Lofven was at the helm when Sweden took in a record number of migrants from the Middle East and Africa in 2015 on top of the hundreds of thousands admitted before. He tightened immigration laws in a country that prides itself on welcoming migrants and refugees.

Angela Merkel, Germany Merkel, Germany's chancellor since 2005, is said to be a candidate for Council president. Germany's first female leader has said she does not plan to run again after her term ends in 2020. She was a central figure in European efforts to tame the Greek debt crisis, and won widespread praise — plus much criticism — for welcoming refugees in 2015. Merkel, who turns 65 next month, is a trained scientist but has been in politics with the Christian Democratic Union for decades.

Mark Rutte, Netherlands

Rutte is a three-term Dutch prime minister known for his bridge-building skills developed over years of forging coalitions in the Netherlands. A former human resources executive at Anglo-Dutch multinational Unilever, Rutte is a member of the pro-business Dutch People's Party for Freedom and Democracy who has steered the party to the right. He is pro-EU but wants the bloc reformed so it can focus on tackling major cross-border issues such as climate change and migration. Rutte has said previously he is not interested in a top EU job, but that has not dampened speculation.

Frans Timmermans, Netherlands

Timmermans is a former Dutch foreign minister who speaks several languages and has been the first vicepresident of the commission since 2014. He has wide experience in Europe, having been a Dutch minister for European affairs. The Labor Party politician earned respect at home in the aftermath of the shooting down of a Malaysia Airlines flight over Ukraine in July 2014 when he made a angry speech at the United Nations, saying the loss of nearly 200 Dutch citizens "left a hole in the heart of the Dutch nation."

Margrethe Vestager, Denmark

Vestager, the EU's competition chief since 2014, is being touted as a possible commission president. A former Danish deputy prime minister and economy minister, Vestager, 51, is best known for making headlines by repeatedly slapping heavy fines on big tech companies. She was elected to Denmark's Parliament in 2001 and became in 2007 the political leader of Denmark's Social Liberal Party for seven years.

Manfred Weber, Germany

The 46-year-old Bavarian is a member of the conservative Christian Social Union party in Germany, the partner of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union. He's the European People's Party candidate for commission president. Weber has been endorsed by Merkel but has struggled in campaigning, weakened by EPP losses in last month's EU elections. Weber has warned populists that they have no place in the European Parliament's largest political group unless they share its vision of an "integrated and more ambitious Europe."

Europe wakes up to climate concerns after green wave in vote

May 27, 2019

BERLIN (AP) — Green parties in Germany, France, Britain and elsewhere celebrated big gains in elections for the 751-seat European Parliament amid growing voter concerns over climate change, expressed in large-scale student protests over recent months.

Provisional results Monday showed the left-leaning Greens' bloc coming fourth in the election with 69 seats, an increase of 17 compared with 2014. If confirmed, the results could put the Greens in a position to tip the scales when it comes to choosing the next head of the European Commission.

The rise of the Greens, with their distinctly pro-European Union stance, marks a counterpoint to that of the far-right, anti-migrant parties that have been growing in popularity across Europe in recent years.

"Whoever wants legitimacy from us and the legitimacy of the many who went onto the streets will need to deliver now," said Sven Giegold, a leading candidate for the German Green party that scooped up more than 20% of the vote nationwide, an increase of almost 10% compared with 2014.

The drift from the traditional heavyweight parties to the Greens in Germany was particularly pronounced in large cities such as Berlin, Munich and Hamburg, and among young voters, where the party beat its bigger rivals among all voters under 60, according to the Infratest dimap research institute.

Armin Laschet, the governor of Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, and a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Union bloc, called the outcome "a wake-up call for politics."

In neighboring France, 25% of voters aged 18-25 voted for the Greens, compared with 15% for the far-right National Rally and 12% for President Emmanuel Macron's Republic on the Move, according to the Ifop polling organization. Overall, the French green party EELV received almost 13.5% of the vote, coming third.

Yannick Jadot, lead candidate of EELV, welcomed the "great green wave" in Europe. "The French sent us a very clear message: they want environment to be at the heart of our lives, at the heart of the political game and that message has been spread across Europe," he said.

"The very good score of the greens in Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and France sends a signal that the center of gravity of the European politics is shifting, that in addition to the populists and the pro-business (parties), there are the Greens," Jadot said.

Green parties also polled strongly in Austria, Sweden, Ireland, Denmark and the Netherlands. In Britain, the Greens — a largely insignificant force nationally — took 11 seats in the European Parliament vote.

"This was kind of a vote for all europhile and pro-integration positions the Greens have championed," Martin Florack, a political scientist at the University of Duisburg-Essen, told German public broadcaster ARD.

The enmity was reflected in comments by Alexander Gauland, the co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party, who declared the Greens "our main enemy" on Monday. "The Greens will destroy this country and our job must and will be to fight the Greens," said Gauland, whose party has claimed climate change isn't a man-made phenomenon but instead caused by factors such as solar activity, a theory most scientists dismiss.

A senior member of the anti-immigration and euroskeptic Danish People's Party, Kenneth Kristensen Berth, said the issues of the climate and the environment were "a bit hysterical" during the election, but insisted that Denmark's second-largest political group "is not a climate-denial party."

Among those celebrating the Greens' rise was Biggi Tran, a 26-year-old in Berlin. She attributed the result to young people's fears about global warming. "The climate issue is super important at the moment," Tran said.

Manuel Rivera, a Green party member in the Germany capital, said the European Parliament was the right place to tackle climate change. "I think people realize that there are issues you can't solve at the national level," he said.

Giegold, the German Greens' lead candidate, said voters expect the party to deliver on its environmental pledges, not secure powerful posts in the executive European Commission. "Across Europe this was a vote to protect the climate," he said. "People didn't take to the streets to elect or kick out a party, but for these problems to be solved."

Green lawmakers in the European Parliament plan to scrutinize the bloc's 200 billion euro ($223.7 billion) agriculture budget, which environmentalists say places too much emphasis on large-scale farming and not enough on eco-friendly agriculture, he said.

The Greens also want every law passed at the EU-level to undergo a climate check. The party has strongly backed scientists' calls for the bloc to end all greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century. Achieving this goal would require a drastic shift in Europe's economy, away from fossil fuels to clean energy and low-carbon lifestyles. Some measures proposed for cutting emissions have already faced strong headwind, including Macron's plan for a fuel tax hike in France that triggered protests from workers even as environmentalists accused the president of not doing enough for the climate.

Sylvie Corbet in Paris, and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, contributed to this report.

Angry voters abandon Conservatives, Labor in UK vote

May 27, 2019

LONDON (AP) — Nigel Farage, leader of the newly founded Brexit Party, said Monday that Britain should get ready to break free from the European Union even if there is no agreement on a divorce deal. His comments came after the Brexit Party and pro-EU forces trounced Britain's mainstream parties in the European Parliament election.

The U.K.'s governing Conservative Party was all but wiped out in the election to send lawmakers to Brussels, blamed by angry voters for leading Britain into a political impasse and failing to lead it out of the EU.

With results announced Monday for all regions in the U.K. except Northern Ireland, the Brexit Party had won 29 of the 73 British EU seats up for grabs and almost a third of the votes. On the pro-EU side, the Liberal Democrats took 20% of the vote and 16 seats — a dramatic increase from the single seat in won in the last EU election in 2014.

The opposition Labor Party came third with 14.1%, followed by the pro-European environmentalist Greens, who captured nearly 12.1%. The ruling Conservatives — apparently blamed by voters for failing to deliver Brexit in March as planned — were in fifth place with under 10% of the vote.

The election leaves Britain's EU exit ever more uncertain, with both Brexiteers and pro-EU "remainers" able to claim strong support. The result raises the likelihood of a chaotic "no deal" exit from the EU — but also the possibility of a new referendum that could reverse the decision to leave.

A triumphant Farage said his party would "stun everybody" in the next British general election if the country didn't leave the EU on the currently scheduled date of Oct. 31. He told a press conference Monday afternoon that it's not likely that a new Conservative prime minister will be strong enough to take Britain out of the EU by that date.

"The Conservative Party are bitterly divided and I consider it to be extremely unlikely that they will pick a leader who is able to take us out on the 31st October," he said. British Prime Minister Theresa May, who is stepping down as Conservative leader next month after failing to deliver Brexit, said the "disappointing" result of the European vote "shows the importance of finding a Brexit deal, and I sincerely hope these results focus minds in Parliament."

But the election is likely to harden the uncompromising stance of the candidates vying to succeed her. There are nine announced contenders thus far, with Home Secretary Sajid Javid announcing Monday he, too, will seek the top spot.

Most businesses and economists think leaving the EU with no agreement on departure terms and future relations would cause economic turmoil and plunge Britain into recession. But many Conservatives think embracing a no-deal Brexit may be the only way to win back voters from Farage's party.

Boris Johnson, the current favorite to replace May and become Britain's next prime minister, tweeted: "The message from last night's results is clear. It is time for us to deliver Brexit." Labour paid for a fence-sitting Brexit policy in which it dithered over whether to support a new referendum that could halt Brexit.

Some senior Labour figures said after the party's weak performance that it must now take a strong stance in favor of a second referendum on Brexit, but party leader Jeremy Corbyn has resisted making any clear commitment on this.

EU elections: Gutted center, high turnout, rising right

May 27, 2019

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union prides itself on being a brilliant mosaic of nations, but its parliamentary elections produced a hodgepodge of sometimes contradictory results that complicates the future of both the 28-country EU and the domestic politics of several members.

While issues like climate change, immigration and global trade dominated the campaign, voters' motivations were plainly parochial. And the domestic effect of the continent-wide elections was there for all to see, including at least one government coming apart at the seams.

VOTE EU, THINK LOCAL

No name is bigger than that of Germany's Angela Merkel, and her recipe for conservative, stable government suffered a blow when both her Christian Democrats CDU/CSU and her Socialist coalition partner lost big in the elections. Climate has been a big theme in Germany, and despite windmills dotting the landscape, industry continues to rely heavily on coal and other polluting energy sources. A government plan to close coal mines by 2038 only put it among the climate laggards. Disregard the issue at your peril in these days of climate marches and student protests, the surging Greens showed. The Christian Democrats and Socialists sank to historic lows amid talk their coalition could be in peril.

In Greece, the shock was even bigger, and climate change was not to blame. In Athens, voters lashed out against the hangover from the austerity imposed by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to avoid bankruptcy and a perilous exit from the euro currency four years ago. That was compounded by another national flashpoint: Tsipras lost appeal in northern Greece over his willingness to recognize the name of neighboring North Macedonia. His losses forced him to call for early elections.

Yet nowhere is a domestic issue bigger than in the United Kingdom, where an inability to deliver on Brexit, the 2016 referendum to leave the EU, caused the Conservatives of Prime Minister Theresa May and Labour to sink to historic lows.

YOU VOTE, THE EU LOVES YOU

Even if you voted for an anti-EU party, the EU still loves you because you took part in the election.

Every five years, the EU feared that fewer voters would show up. And every time, since the first direct elections in 1979, turnout was worse, dropping from 61.8% in 1979 to 42.6% five years ago. It went to their core business: How could the EU prove it was relevant if fewer people showed up to vote every time?

So even if the euroskeptic vote rose to unprecedented heights this year, there was still a certain giddiness around EU institutions as turnout figures kept on rising through the night. They finally reached 50.9%, the highest in two decades.

Socialist chief candidate Frans Timmermans gave "a big shout-out to the millions and millions of Europeans who took the trouble in the last couple of days to go out and vote," even though his group suffered major losses.

By comparison, turnout in the U.S. midterms last November stood at 53%, a four-decade high.

THE CENTER GUTTED

Western Europe's postwar system of free-market economies backed by strong social protections has largely been built by the Christian Democrat and Socialist families.

And together they have controlled the European Parliament, combining for a majority in the legislature since the first elections in 1979. Now, in line with increasing fragmentation and polarization on the continent, those days are over.

Together they are slated to have only 325 seats in the 751-seat legislature: 180 for the EPP Christian Democrats and 145 for the S&D Socialists, well short of the majority they have grown used to.

It will be a sea change that will complicate the already complicated decision-making in the EU. First up will be the appointment of top jobs.

Currently the EPP has the top three jobs, with Donald Tusk heading summit meetings, Jean-Claude Juncker the executive Commission and Antonio Tajani the Parliament.

There is no way they will be this lucky twice. The ALDE and Green groups already consider themselves kingmakers, ready to get in on the act. "The monopoly of power is broken," said Margrethe Vestager, an ALDE candidate for a top job.

FAR RIGHT RISING

It was not the big breakthrough they were hoping for, but the roots of the far-right and populist groups are extending deeper into Europe's democratic soil.

Italy's Matteo Salvini is already seeking to bring the many disparate parties under his umbrella with the goal of breaking the EU from within.

"Not only is the League the first party in Italy, but also Marine Le Pen is the first party in France, Nigel Farage is the first party in the UK," Salvini said, looking at the bright spots in the results. "It is the sign of a Europe that is changing."

Don't count on a smooth ride. The far-right and populist members of Parliament have proved abrasive and divided among themselves.

UK parties unveil election themes, Trump crashes the party

October 31, 2019

LONDON (AP) — The opposition Labor Party kicked off its campaign for Britain's December general election with one overriding message Thursday: It's not just about Brexit. Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn put the emphasis firmly on economic and social issues, calling the Dec. 12 vote a once-in-a-generation chance to transform the country.

Then U.S. President Donald Trump threw a curve ball into the campaign, popping up on a U.K. talk radio show Thursday to slam Corbyn and urge Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson to join forces with arch-Brexiteer and political rival, Nigel Farage.

Tossing aside the convention that foreign leaders shouldn't intervene in other countries' domestic politics, Trump told Farage on the British politician's own radio show that Corbyn would "be so bad for your country ... he'd take you into such bad places."

It was a surreal detour to a six-week campaign that won't even officially begin until next week. All seats in the 650-seat House of Commons are up for grabs in the early election, chosen by Britain's 46 million eligible voters.

Corbyn, in his first stump speech, declared that his left-of-center party's plan would take on "vested interests" and "born to rule" elites — a dig at Johnson and his Conservative party's big-business backers.

"We're going after the tax dodgers. We're going after the dodgy landlords. We're going after the bad bosses. We're going after the big polluters. Because we know whose side we're on," Corbyn told supporters at a rally in London. "Whose side are you on?"

Johnson sought this election, which is being held more than two years early, to break the political impasse over Britain's stalled departure from the European Union. He plans to campaign as the Brexit champion, blaming Corbyn's "dither and delay" for the country's failure to leave the EU on Thursday as scheduled.

While the Conservatives have a wide lead in most opinion polls, analysts say the election is unpredictable because Brexit cuts across traditional party loyalties. Corbyn wants to shift the election battleground away from Brexit and onto more comfortable terrain: the many versus the few. Labor is hoping that voters want to talk about issues such as health care, the environment and social welfare — all of which saw years of funding cuts by Conservative governments — instead of more Brexit debates.

Corbyn, a fierce critic of Trump, likely won't mind the U.S. president's intrusion but Johnson could be a different story. Speaking to Farage on radio station LBC, Trump slammed Corbyn and praised Johnson as "a fantastic man" — but urged Britain's Conservative leader to make an electoral pact with Farage's Brexit Party.

"I'd like to see you and Boris get together, because you would really have some numbers," Trump told Farage, the president's leading champion in Britain. "I know that you and him will end up doing something that could be terrific if you and he get together as, you know, an unstoppable force," Trump added.

Yet Trump also claimed that "certain aspects" of Johnson's EU divorce agreement would make it impossible for Britain to do a trade deal with the U.S. Johnson has already ruled out any electoral pact with Farage's Brexit Party, which wants to leave the EU without a deal on future relations and is vying with the Conservatives for Brexit-backing voters.

On the other side of the divide, the centrist Liberal Democrats, who want to cancel Brexit, are wooing pro-EU supporters from both the Conservatives and Labor in Britain's big cities and liberal university towns.

Sticking to his party's core issues, Corbyn on Thursday called out prominent business leaders — including media mogul Rupert Murdoch and aristocratic landowner the Duke of Westminster — as he painted Johnson's Conservatives as champions of the wealthy few.

Johnson once again banged the Brexit drum, ignoring his failure to get British lawmakers to pass his Brexit divorce deal and his previous vow to leave the EU by Oct. 31 "come what may." Earlier this week, the EU granted Britain a three-month Brexit delay, setting a new Jan. 31 deadline for the country to leave and imploring British politicians to use the extra time wisely.

"If you vote for us and we get our program through ... we can be out at the absolute latest by January next year," Johnson said Thursday as he visited a hospital. Johnson is also trying to steal some of Labour's thunder by promising more money for key public services such as hospitals, police and schools.

Labor is vulnerable over Brexit because the party is split. Some of its leaders, including Corbyn, are determined to go through with British voters' decision to leave the EU, while others want to remain. After much internal wrangling, Labor now says if it wins the election, it will negotiate a better Brexit divorce deal, then call a referendum that gives voters a choice between that deal and remaining in the EU. The party has not said which side it would support.

"Labor will get Brexit sorted within six months. We'll let the people decide whether to leave with a sensible deal or remain," Corbyn said. Corbyn shrugged off suggestions that he is dragging down the party's popularity. Critics say the 70-year-old socialist is wedded to archaic policies of nationalization and high taxes, and accuse him of failing to stamp out anti-Semitism within the party.

"It's not about me," Corbyn said Thursday. "It's not a presidential election. It is about each and every one of us (candidates)." Johnson's critics bash the 55-year-old for his long history of misrepresentations and broken promises, and a string of offensive comments that he has tried to shrug off as jokes.

More than three years after the Brexit referendum, Brexit positions have become entrenched and the debate has soured, with lawmakers on all sides receiving regular abuse online. The toxic political atmosphere has prompted some long-time lawmakers to drop out of the race, including Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan.

"Over the last couple of years, I have had to have a couple of people prosecuted for death threats," Morgan said. "We've got to tackle this culture of abuse."

Health care or Brexit? UK parties pick their election issues

October 31, 2019

LONDON (AP) — The opposition Labor Party kicked off its campaign for Britain's December general election with one overriding message Thursday: It's not just about Brexit. Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn put the emphasis firmly on economic and social issues, calling the Dec. 12 vote a once-in-a-generation chance to transform the country. All seats in the 650-seat House of Commons are up for grabs in the early election, chosen by Britain's 46 million eligible voters.

In his first stump speech of the six-week campaign, Corbyn outlined the left-of-center party's plan to take on the "vested interests" and "born to rule" elites that he said are hurting ordinary people. The stance was an attempt to pivot the election battle away from the political turmoil swirling around Britain's stalled departure from the European Union.

Returning to his party's core issues, Corbyn called out prominent business leaders — including media mogul Rupert Murdoch and aristocratic landowner the Duke of Westminster — as he painted Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservatives as champions of the wealthy few.

"We're going after the tax dodgers. We're going after the dodgy landlords. We're going after the bad bosses. We're going after the big polluters. Because we know whose side we're on," Corbyn told supporters at a rally in London. "Whose side are you on?"

Britain was supposed to leave the EU on Thursday, and Johnson spent months vowing that Brexit would happen on schedule, "come what may." But after Johnson failed to get British lawmakers to pass his Brexit divorce deal with the bloc, the EU granted Britain a three-month delay, setting a new Brexit deadline of Jan. 31.

Johnson pushed to have this election two years early in order to break the parliamentary deadlock over Brexit. While Johnson's Conservatives have a wide lead in most opinion polls, analysts say the election is unpredictable because Brexit cuts across traditional party loyalties. For many voters, their identities as "leavers" or "remainers" are more important than party affiliation.

The prime minister plans to campaign as a Brexit champion and blame his opponents for the delay. "Today should have been the day that Brexit was delivered and we finally left the EU," Johnson planned to say Thursday in later campaign stops, according to his office. "But despite the great new deal I agreed with the EU, Jeremy Corbyn refused to allow that to happen — insisting upon more dither, more delay and more uncertainty for families and business."

Labour is hoping that voters want to talk about issues such as health care, the environment and social welfare — all of which saw years of funding cuts by Conservative governments — instead of more Brexit debates.

The party is divided between those such as Corbyn, who are determined to go through with Brexit, and others who want to remain in the EU. After much internal wrangling, Labour now says if it wins the election, it will negotiate a better withdrawal agreement with the EU, then call a referendum where voters will be able to choose between that Brexit deal and remaining in the bloc. It has not said which side it would support.

"The prime minister wants you to believe that we're having this election because Brexit is being blocked by an establishment elite," Corbyn said. "People aren't fooled so easily. They know the Conservatives are the establishment elite."

"Labor will get Brexit sorted within six months. We'll let the people decide whether to leave with a sensible deal or remain," he said. "That really isn't complicated." Corbyn shrugged off suggestions that he is dragging down the party's popularity. Critics say the 70-year-old socialist is wedded to archaic policies of nationalization and high taxes, and accuse him of failing to stamp out anti-Semitism within the party.

"It's not about me," Corbyn said Thursday. "It's not a presidential election. It is about each and every one of us (candidates)." Many British voters are fed up as they face the third major electoral event in as many years, after the country's 2016 EU membership referendum and a 2017 election called by Johnson's predecessor Theresa May to try to strengthen her hand in negotiations with the EU.

May's move was a spectacular miscalculation that cost the Conservative Party its majority in Parliament. It left her unable to get her Brexit divorce plan approved by lawmakers, leading to her resignation and the rise of a new prime minister, Johnson, who took power in July.

More than three years after the Brexit referendum, Brexit positions have become entrenched and the debate has soured, with lawmakers on all sides receiving regular abuse online and in the streets. The toxic political atmosphere has prompted some long-time lawmakers to drop out of the race altogether. Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan of the Conservative Party is among those opting out, citing the abuse she had received over Brexit.

Conservative Party chairman James Cleverly tweeted: "MPs need to be resilient, we understand that a political life is unpredictable and very often stressful. But hearing so many good colleagues, particularly women, leaving Parliament because of online and physical abuse is heartbreaking."

UK opposition Labor Party to kick off election campaign

October 31, 2019

LONDON (AP) — Britain's Labor Party leader is set to kick off the party's election campaign, focusing on economic and social issues rather than Brexit. Jeremy Corbyn, during a Thursday speech in London, is expected to say that Labor plans to take on the "vested interests" by targeting tax dodgers, dodgy landlords, bad bosses and big polluters.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson sought the Dec. 12 election to break the parliamentary deadlock over Britain's plans to withdraw from the European Union. Johnson blames Corbyn for blocking his Brexit deal and says a Labor victory would lead to further delay.

Labor says that if it wins the election the party will negotiate a better withdrawal agreement with the European Union then call a referendum where voters will be able to choose between that deal and remaining in the bloc.

Democrats push candidates to fully commit to 2020 nominee

November 01, 2019

The Democratic National Committee is increasing pressure on its presidential candidates to commit to campaign actively for the party's nominee in 2020, going beyond a previous loyalty pledge for White House hopefuls.

The unity push from Chairman Tom Perez is part of a wide-ranging strategy designed to prevent the mistakes that cost Democrats the 2016 presidential election. It comes as the Republican National Committee continues to dwarf the Democratic Party in fundraising, while Democrats face the prospect of a bruising, expensive nominating fight that could last well into election year.

"We'll need every Democrat working together in order to defeat Donald Trump," Perez said, repeating his pledge for a full national campaign even as most Democrats remain focused on the primary campaign.

As an example, the DNC holds up former President Barack Obama, who is already raising money and remains neutral in a nominating fight that includes his vice president, Joe Biden, and who is already raising money for the party. An Oct. 25 email from Obama to grassroots donors produced the party's best online fundraising day of the cycle, the DNC said, and the former president will headline a fundraising gala in California in November.

DNC officials say Obama has already talked with party leaders about campaigning on behalf of the nominee, whoever it is. Perez is asking all candidates to commit, like Obama, to serve as surrogates, with a focus on battleground states in the weeks after the July 13-16 nominating convention in Milwaukee. And Perez wants each campaign, as candidates drop out, to designate a senior adviser to serve as a liaison to help the national party use the vestiges of individual candidates' campaigns to build out Democrats' general election campaign.

DNC officials say the effort isn't targeted at any campaign. But since President Donald Trump's 2016 election, Democratic power players have lamented the bitterness that lingered among many supporters of Bernie Sanders after he lost the nomination to Hillary Clinton. Sanders endorsed and campaigned for Clinton, but some of his supporters never fully embraced her candidacy, and some Clinton loyalists blamed them for her narrow losses in key states like Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

DNC officials say the overall purpose of what Perez calls a "unity effort" is to pool all Democratic resources, making them available to state parties in battleground states to benefit the presidential nominee and all other Democrats running for lower offices.

Perez already has required candidates to pledge explicitly to support the nominee. Candidates also have been asked to help the party raise money and, as a condition of getting the DNC's national voter file, pledge to give back the additional data they gather on voters once they drop out of the presidential race.

The DNC says 10 candidates to date have sent fundraising emails and 15 have participated in fundraising events. That list includes Elizabeth Warren, who has shunned high-dollar fundraisers for her own campaign but agreed to help the party. But it does not include Sanders, Warren's chief rival for the Democrats' progressive faction. Sanders' campaign says he would attend such events if he wins the nomination, provided they are open to low-dollar donors.

The data requirements, meanwhile, are part of Democrats' attempts to catch up to a Republican data operation that surprised the Clinton campaign in 2016 and to avoid the scenario under Obama, whose campaign ran its own sophisticated data operation but never fully integrated it with the party. Sanders also never turned over his voter data after ending his 2016 bid.

Source: Associated Press.

Berlin Wall's fall stokes memories of lost hopes in Russia

October 31, 2019

MOSCOW (AP) — When the Berlin Wall fell, the Soviet Union stepped back, letting East Germany's communist government collapse and then quickly accepting German unification. Russian President Vladimir Putin now blames the Soviet leadership for naivety that paved the way for NATO's expansion eastward.

Many in Russia share that view, seeing the collapse of the Berlin Wall and reunification of Germany as a moment when Moscow reached out to the West hoping to forge a new era of partnership but was cheated by Western powers.

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev encouraged the Communist leaders in Central and Eastern Europe to follow his lead in launching liberal reforms and took no action to shore up their regimes when they started to crumble under the pressure of pro-democracy forces.