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Post by Devil Wincarnate on May 17, 2024 9:33:42 GMT
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on May 17, 2024 9:00:25 GMT
Probably not a lot, but there will doubtless be attempts to drag in smaller parties on key matters. That the rumoured candidate for PM is a PvdA man would suggest this. Likewise the presence of a SGP member and a long-standing CDA appointee as informateurs. You could not be more wrong. Plasterk has been on a journey to the right from some time. Perhaps because he became a rich man through a questionable deal selling a patent that possibly wasn’t his and also because his party rather decidedly rejected his leadership campaign. He was a brilliant scientist, but generally viewed as a failure as Education Secretary and Home Affairs secretary. In between his two cabinet positions he was a MP for one short, two year term. He may still be a member, but probably only because he has not ended the direct debit yet. There is no way the left in general will be influenced by this candidature. Support from that quarter will be limited. All this has led to a weekly column in our most right wing newspaper De Telegraaf. In that column he’s been rather unpleasant about the PvdA, basically through what has been his style ever since years ago he was a columnist for a leftwing newspaper: taking a position from an opponent, making a caricature of it and then attacking the caricature. Add to that his long during feud with another former PVdA cabinet member, who just happens to be the leader of the GroenLinks-PvdA parliamentary party. These two hate each other with a vengeance. His chances of becoming PM are uncertain. He had a run-in with Omzigt during his period as ‘verkenner’ (literally scout). Omzigt apparently was not impressed by his sloppy work and Plasterk said something about Omzigt during a parliamentary debate that Omzigt saw as an insult. Omzigt is well known to be world champion at holding grudges. Plasterk apologized today in a letter, another cringeworthy moment in this neverending story. Fair enough. I knew Plasterk was a bit of an out-there character, but didn't realise he was that far removed. I saw that apology this morning. Very weird.
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on May 17, 2024 8:19:16 GMT
On a side note, the BBB leader Caroline van der Plas is half Irish, and her mother is a former CDA councillor. If you've ever wondered what Dutch sounds like with a gentle Irish lilt, here you go. One for CatholicLeft to enjoy.
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on May 17, 2024 7:56:41 GMT
Considering that the incoming administration doesn’t have a majority in the Senate exactly how much of its program will be actually implemented? Probably not a lot, but there will doubtless be attempts to drag in smaller parties on key matters. That the rumoured candidate for PM is a PvdA man would suggest this. Likewise the presence of a SGP member and a long-standing CDA appointee as informateurs.
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on May 16, 2024 21:22:29 GMT
I suspect that's exactly what they'll do. I doubt it, I suspect Christian Wolmar and Paul Mason will be shortlisted What is the appeal of Wolmar? He comes across as an obsessive who can't play nicely with the other children.
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on May 16, 2024 12:44:57 GMT
Sir Graham Watson, Liberal Democrats to the Stati Uniti d'Europa coalition in Italy.
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on May 15, 2024 16:36:12 GMT
PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB have agreed a common programme. Wilders will not be the PM. Rumour has it that former Labour Party minister Ronald Plasterk will lead it. Plasterk is a fascinating bloke. He was appointed by Wilders as informateur, but on the face of it, they are quite different. Plasterk is one of those old-fashioned, social democratic bruiser-intellectuals of the Helmut Schmidt type. carlton43 would approve!
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on May 14, 2024 19:01:29 GMT
I seem to remember that the westernmost bit of Austria wanted to join Switzerland a while ago I can’t remember why or how they didn’t (“a while” being several decades ago)
I went on a walking holiday in the Vorarlberg in 2021 I believe. Stunningly beutiful part of the world. I was told their German sounds foreign to other Austrians - basically Swiss. It's also very cut-off from the rest of the country.
It does indeed. You can hardly tell the difference. The Bregenzerwald in particular is fantastic.
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on May 14, 2024 17:18:59 GMT
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on May 13, 2024 20:20:13 GMT
Les engages 63%, ecolo 60% PTB 54% My French is good enough to understand all the questions, but not being Belgian I lack context. It appears I am a red-green with a concern for social cohesion.... It does depend on which version of Les Engagés turns up. On paper they are Christian democrats, but one wing or another dominates at different times.
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on May 13, 2024 17:04:10 GMT
Oh God, there's another one! Thankfully there does not appear to be a German one for the Eastern Cantons.
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on May 13, 2024 17:03:47 GMT
Ever wondered how you'd vote in Wallonia or Brussels? Wonder no more! www.rtbf.be/test-electoral#/introI got 55 per cent MR, 53 Les Engagés, 35 PS, 23 PTB, 21 Défi. The latter is probably because my answers on all constitutional matters tended towards the Flemish perspective, which is exactly what Défi were formed to counter. I'm more curious to see if I'm closer to VB or NVA. I've found the Flemish one and posted it under Pete's comment. I suspect that what you get will be determined by how frequently you answer yes to any question involving making people use Dutch.
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on May 13, 2024 16:59:02 GMT
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on May 13, 2024 15:41:40 GMT
Ever wondered how you'd vote in Wallonia or Brussels? Wonder no more! www.rtbf.be/test-electoral#/introI got 55 per cent MR, 53 Les Engagés, 35 PS, 23 PTB, 21 Défi. The latter is probably because my answers on all constitutional matters tended towards the Flemish perspective, which is exactly what Défi were formed to counter.
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on May 13, 2024 10:34:18 GMT
I've been reading up on Aliança Catala (AC) and they seem like an interesting party ideologically. They're not your usual hard right outfit. They're massively against all forms of immigration to Catalonia, particularly from Islamic countries. But they also want to kick out non-Catalan Spaniards, who they say don't integrate enough. But they seem to be strongly pro-LGBT causes and strongly pro-choice on the topic of abortion, so they're not what you'd expect from a right wing party from a Catholic country. Right now they have a tiny pocket of support on the Lleida/Girona border in the Pyrenees foothills where they originated. It will be interesting to see if they can expand further in the future. The Spanish far right does seem to have quirks. Vox are largely ok with legal immigrants from Latin America ("can be easily integrated") and have had one or two as candidates, but are opposed to Islamic immigration and African immigration (not sure whether that includes Equatorial Guinea.) It's really hard to imagine a British equivalent being ok with immigration from English-speaking Caribbean countries and getting much traction. One of Vox's leaders was/is Cuban, and one was Argentine or part Argentine.
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on May 13, 2024 7:27:06 GMT
All these defectors could form their own Khanate Does that make the Lib Dems the Golden Horde? Both have a lot of members who loudly object to housebuilding.
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on May 13, 2024 6:47:25 GMT
We're now a matter of weeks from this election. And only a matter of years from a government forming as a result. "Belgian government formation 2024-2041" as an incoming thread.
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on May 12, 2024 22:26:24 GMT
We're now a matter of weeks from this election.
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on May 12, 2024 22:06:53 GMT
Today I spotted a set of Volt Deutschland placards. They're all in English. Very curious and rather likely to annoy Germans.
Somebody from the commies in the DKP has been busy, there are placards everywhere.
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Post by Devil Wincarnate on May 12, 2024 19:55:21 GMT
owainsutton that Labour figure in Piccadilly would seem to back up the discussion we were having about the folly of throwing resources trying to dislodge Labour there!
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