All posts tagged: Democratic Party

Italy’s opposition sees its chance to beat Meloni. But it needs a leader, and a plan. – POLITICO

Italy’s opposition sees its chance to beat Meloni. But it needs a leader, and a plan. – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Impromptu alliances Campaigning against Meloni’s judicial reforms was an easy rallying point for the opposition, as they could all pile on the prime minister for attacking independent state institutions. In Rome’s Piazza Barberini on Monday night, opposition leaders and activists from several centrist and leftist parties gathered to celebrate a result few had considered likely just weeks earlier. Supporters waved party flags and chanted as leaders from across the political spectrum shared a stage in a rare display of unity. But the fraternity shown on the piazza masked deeper divisions: The coalition that came together to defeat Meloni in the referendum remains far from agreeing on a common national program, or a shared candidate for prime minister. The on-again-off-again grouping often diverges sharply on issues such as military spending and support for Ukraine, as well as economic policy, with a significant gap between the radical populist left and the more centrist Democratic Party.   Schlein argued on Wednesday that the opposition must focus on concrete proposals. “We can’t just be against the government, we have to …

5 things to watch as EU Parliament gears up for midterm reshuffle – POLITICO

5 things to watch as EU Parliament gears up for midterm reshuffle – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The push would put Metsola and the EPP on a collision course with the Socialists and Democrats, the Parliament’s second-biggest group, which claims it should get the presidency as part of a power-sharing arrangement signed at the beginning of the term. But the EPP has remained vague about whether they committed to any such deal. The S&D hasn’t yet pushed a candidate to replace Metsola — a fact that hasn’t escaped some of the party’s own allies. One Green lawmaker, when asked whether they would support the Socialists, said “I will think about it when they have a candidate, I cannot support a vague claim for a post.” All the infighting between the EPP and S&D has opened the door for Renew Europe, the third member of the centrist coalition, to start thinking about suggesting a compromise candidate, two Renew lawmakers said. Will far right secure leadership positions? The reshuffle will again test the so-called cordon sanitaire, an informal arrangement among centrist forces to keep the far right out of decision-making. In practice, that rule no …

Portuguese leaders defy floods and far right to hold Sunday presidential runoff

Portuguese leaders defy floods and far right to hold Sunday presidential runoff

Published by Sam Flores

Portuguese voters head back to the polls for the runoff round of the country’s presidential election on Sunday despite an ongoing state of emergency amid devastating storms.  More than 7,000 people have been evacuated in Spain and Portugal since early February and at least two people died after torrential rain and flooding hit the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal has declared a state of emergency in 69 of its 308 municipalities, and thousands of residents remain without power. Far-right leader André Ventura, the runner-up candidate heading into the deciding round, has spent the past week calling for the election to be postponed until order can be restored. “It is neither unfair nor disproportionate to say that a large part of the country is in a state of calamity, we are reaching brutal levels of need, and we are not capable of holding elections in this environment,” he said. As of Saturday, 19 especially hard-hit municipalities — home to 31,862 voters — have been given permission to delay the vote by one week. But outgoing President Marcelo Rebelo …

Why the potential return of a popular Alaska congresswoman could spell doom for Senate Republicans

Why the potential return of a popular Alaska congresswoman could spell doom for Senate Republicans

Published by Sam Flores

A popular Alaska congresswoman who narrowly lost re-election last year is expected to jump into the race for Sen. Dan Sullivan’s seat later this month, tossing a firecracker into the already chaotic scramble for control of the upper chamber set to play out in 2026. Mary Peltola was defeated in her bid to represent Alaska’s at-large congressional district for a second term in 2024, with her Republican opponent winning by slightly more than two percentage points. That defeat came amid a wave election year that devastated the Democratic caucuses in the House and Senate, and showed the congresswoman’s formidable electoral strength relative to her party’s national brand. Now, Axios reports that Peltola is in the early stages of launching a bid for Senate and is expected to formally do so later in January. Her entrance into the race would firmly place Sullivan’s Republican-held seat into play and give the Democratic Party one more avenue to obtain control of the upper chamber in a midterm sweep — the party is already slightly favored to take the …

Democratic Excellence | Corey Robin

Democratic Excellence | Corey Robin

Published by José Betancourt

This essay is part of a series in which writers reflect on Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration as the mayor of New York City.  Illustration by Stuart Davis Zohran Mamdani has introduced several changes to American politics—joining ideological maximalism to policy minimalism, crafting a winning political identity as a Muslim socialist, taking a stand on Palestine, listening to voters. One innovation has not received the attention it deserves: his pledge, on election night, to “leave mediocrity in our past” and make “excellence…the expectation across government.” Since the French Revolution, professions of excellence and proscriptions of mediocrity have been mostly the preserve of the right. “To obey a real superior,” declared the English conservative (and uncle of Virginia Woolf) James Fitzjames Stephen, is “a virtue absolutely essential to the attainment of anything great and lasting.” True to form, Mamdani’s conservative opponents have warned that socialism will send the city slouching toward shabbiness. Since the 1970s, Democrats have largely ceded this rhetorical ground to the right. Instead of offering an alternative vision of excellence or mounting a robust case …