Irish Examiner view: Irish soundly rejected the far right
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Argentina and America are the two most obvious non-European instances where there was a sharp swerve to the right by the electorate, following on from what has happened in recent times in Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, and many eastern European countries.
In the local elections last June, there were indications that an ultra-right nationalist mindset had established itself among the electorate with several successes, and quite a few near misses, among a loose coalition of those trumpeting anti-immigration and far-right bile.
Successful candidates loudly hailed “a fabulous result for the nationalist movement and the people of Ireland” and, given their polling accomplishment, they announced they were “taking our country back”.
Historically, we know that local elections and by-elections can throw up all manner of political curveballs and that people get elected on single-issue policies more so than in general elections.
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Of course, there have been occasions where specific issues — such as hospital closures and, latterly, the defective block crisis in Donegal — have brought success at the national polls.
This time around, there were huge concerns in certain quarters that the far right could gain traction and even get elected. But it would appear that the electorate, while offering a modicum of support, was not willing to embrace their policies and none of their candidates were successful.
More than 60 candidates who could be classed as inhabiting the extreme right of the political spectrum ran in Friday’s election: None were elected. Even the high-profile runners who sought office — including the six elected in the local elections — were soundly rejected at the polls.
It is true also to say that, instead of receiving hundreds of votes as they may have done in the past, this time they racked up votes in their thousands, making them relevant when their transfers were counted. This may have provided them with some succour, but the fact remains none succeeded.
We have a long way to go before a Government will be formed, but we can at least congratulate ourselves that the far right will have no part in the process and that Ireland has, collectively, rebuffed their bilious policies.
Yesterday saw the first strike in the 87-year history of German automotive giant Volkswagen. The moment possibly marks a turning point for the motor industry across Europe.
Plans to shut factories, lay off thousands of workers, and cut pay — for the first time on German soil — are indicative of the failure of Volkswagen bosses to successfully manage the transition to electric vehicles.
The VW Group, which includes the Audi and Porsche brands and employs 300,000 people across Germany, is struggling on a number of fronts. Weak customer demand, the cost of switching from internal combustion engines to electrics, and intense competition from China have all impacted on its bottom line.
A deep cost-cutting drive has resulted in a fundamental restructuring of a business model which had remained hugely successful since the Wolfsburg concern rose from the ashes of the Second World War. And the bad news is Volkswagen is not alone in facing these problems, although the other German motor industry behemoths, Mercedes and BMW, have not yet dispatched the distress flares.
Over the weekend, Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, the fourth-largest car maker in the world, was stood down from his position following the announcement of a steep fall in sales to October.
The company, which manufactures Peugeot, Fiat, and Opel products among others, has lost 40% of its share value this year and it too blames falling sales, EV investment, and Chinese competition as the main factors.
Profitability issues at motor giants such as Volkswagen and Stellantis are very worrying for the industry across Europe and these latest crises at both companies suggest they may not be alone in battling economic forces which could quickly get out of control.
Some 12 months into office and Donald Tusk’s coalition government in Poland has been stymied in many of its ambitions by the president, Andrzej Duda, who is aligned with the populist Law and Justice Party (PiS), which previously enjoyed eight years in power in Warsaw.
When he assumed power last December, Mr Tusk knew Mr Duda still had a year left in office and was likely to try and stymie the new government at every turn. He was right.
As the Polish government heads towards a new year, a presidential election will take place in May and Tusk and his coalition know it will be a make-or-break situation for them.
Depending on the result, the government will effectively be able to govern and reform, or it will not.
In the past few days, Tusk’s Civic Coalition announced that the liberal mayor of Warsaw, Rafal Trzaskowski, would be its candidate in next spring’s election. He has stood for the presidency, but lost narrowly to Mr Duda in 2020 when many of the levers of state and public media were stacked against him.
Poland remains deeply polarised and undoubtedly the election will be a close-run thing; other candidates will undoubtedly stand, but the contest is expected to boil down to a run-off between Mr Trzaskowski and the PiS nominee, Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
Since his election, Mr Tusk has largely failed to implement his ambitious aim of "100 tasks in 100 days" and while this is partly down to Mr Duda, internal conflict within Mr Tusk’s own coalition has also stymied progress, particularly so when it comes to abortion rights.
The coming months will see a divisive and bitter campaign, but for Mr Tusk and his allies, it is one they have to win if the full return to democracy in Poland is to be achieved.