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Right wing politics

Macron Protested Over Appointment Of Right-Wing Prime Minister

French President Emmanuel Macron has finally nominated a new Prime Minister. However, his choice is not someone from the New Popular Front (NFP), the left-progressive alliance that won the most seats in the recent snap election. Instead, Macron opted for Michel Barnier, a conservative former EU official and Brexit negotiator, igniting yet more anger among left and progressive circles in France. Barnier comes from the ranks of The Republicans, a Gaullist party that garnered approximately 6% of the vote in the recent election. The French president has described him as a choice that will be able to build stability and communication among most parties.

How Sinclair Sneaks Right-Wing Spin Into Millions Of Households

With the presidential contest in full swing, the Sinclair Broadcast Group appears to be ramping up its right-wing propaganda again. While millions of Americans are subjected to the TV network’s electioneering, few know it. That’s because, like a chameleon, Sinclair blends into the woodwork. Turn on your local news and you may well be watching a Sinclair station, even though it appears on your screen under the imprimatur of a major network like CBS, NBC or Fox. Here in the DC area, I occasionally tune into the local ABC affiliate, WJLA. Its newscasters are personable, and I like the weather forecasts. But then I remember that WJLA is owned by Sinclair.

France, Its Far-right, And Africa

Elections for the European Parliament took place on June 9, 2024. These elections are generally shunned by the French electorate, and the latest was no exception with nearly 50% abstaining from voting. This is one of the highest abstention rates in the region - a clear sign of the disconnect between the people and its institutions. The results[1] were clear-cut: over 30% of votes for France's main far-right party, the Rassemblement National (and around 10% more for the various conservative and nationalist right-wing movements),  less than 15% for the party of the current government, and less than 25% overall for the two main left-wing parties presented.

Right-Wing Network Manufacturing The War Against Higher Education

A recent white paper by Isaac Kamola, director of the Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom, details the ongoing culture-war backlash against higher education in America, largely in response to the grassroots activism of Black Lives Matter in 2020 and increasing LGBTQ+ visibility. More than 150 bills seeking to undermine academic freedom and intervene in university governance were introduced in state legislatures across the country during 2021-2023. While these bills are typically interpreted as an “organic” consequence of increasing polarization among Americans, the current wave of legislation targeting higher education is a coordinated effort between wealthy elites, a network of right-wing and libertarian think tanks, and Republican politicians at the state level.

Far-Right Surge In Elections Shakes Up European Parliament

The European Union woke up to a grim reality, albeit with few surprises, after the European Parliament elections concluded on Sunday, June 9. As predicted by polls, far-right parties emerged gleeful. According to preliminary results, combined, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and Identity and Democracy (ID) groups secured only four fewer seats than the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the second-largest group in parliament. Including mandates won by unaffiliated parties close to ECR and ID, the far-right easily overtakes the center. The conservative European People’s Party (EPP) received 186 of the 720 seats, and remains the largest group in parliament.

Is India’s Economy Truly Thriving? Or Is It Exaggerating Its Growth?

As many of you will know, general elections are currently underway in India, elections which the ruling BJP and the Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, are expected to win easily. Victory would give Modi a third term in government, a feat previously accomplished only by the country’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Sections of the Western media and most of the Indian media are poised to attribute any such victory to Modi’s economic management, which has allegedly made the Indian economy boom as never before. However, as the elections proceed, this near-certain victory is receding into the distance, and a very different reality is coming into view. With us to discuss this is a most distinguished guest, Professor C.P. Chandrasekhar.

Argentine Court Invalidates President Milei’s Labor Reform

On Tuesday, the National Chamber of Labor Appeals declared the constitutional invalidity of the labor reform included by President Javier Milei in the Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) signed in December. During a press conference at the Pink House, Presidential Spokesperson Manuel Adorni said that Milei will appeal this decision at all necessary levels, including the Supreme Court. "The reform is essential to create employment, for companies to hire, and to have a much more friendly labor market for both parties," he said, attempting to justify a pro-corporations proposal that has been strongly rejected by the population on the streets.

Milei Threatens Argentina’s Public Sector Workers

The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, lashed out at Argentina’s public sector workers, threatening to deduct their salary if they join the upcoming national strike that was called by the General Confederation of Workers (CGT) for January 24. In a statement to the press, presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni announced that the government made the decision to deduct the working day from public sector workers who go on strike. “The salary is a consideration and whoever does not work, it is reasonable that he/she does not get paid,” Adorni said. He further stated that in his opinion there is no reason for the strike. He even described as “childish” the reasons given by the groups of workers for adopting the measure in protest.

Latin America And The Caribbean Stand With Palestine

The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, with a few notable exceptions, have been critical of Israel’s ongoing campaign of genocide in Gaza. Perhaps more than any other region, they have expressed their solidarity with Palestine. Most recognize that the partnership between US imperialism and Israeli Zionism applies not only to Palestine, but also to Israel’s role as attendant to US domination in this hemisphere.  President Gabriel Boric of Chile condemned Israeli’s attacks on Palestinians in Gaza. The largest Palestinian population outside of the Middle East (more properly West Asia) resides in Chile. Belize and Peru, likewise, joined the denunciation of Israel.

ALEC’s Funding Revealed

For years, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has claimed to be “committed to transparency”—yet it refuses to disclose its donors on its website. When asked about this, ALEC’s CEO Lisa Nelson told the press that donor information is available in tax filings published on its website. But a review of those filings shows that although the organization’s Schedule B does include donation amounts, all donors’ names are redacted.So who funds ALEC? A review of hundreds of tax filings by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) has uncovered 39%—or $16.4 million—of the $41.7 million ALEC received in contributions between 2017 and 2021. Most 2022 IRS filings are not yet publicly available.

Projects To Shift Media Further Rightward Get Kid Glove Treatment

Quill is the magazine of the oldest press organization in the United States, the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), which describes itself as having “roughly 6,000 members” and being “the nation’s most broad-based journalism organization.” It features a five-page story  in its current issue (Summer/23) headlined “Refreshing the Pool: Right-Leaning Organizations Keep the Conservative Press Pipeline Flowing.” The piece, touted on Quill‘s cover, is a largely uncritical and superficial look at efforts to push journalism further to the right. It begins with Corey Walker, who “didn’t major in journalism” and only “took one journalism class” at the University of Michigan, but “got more journalism experience and training through Campus Reform and the College Fix, organizations that help students prepare for careers in conservative media.”

The Rise And Rise Of Far-Right In Germany

The political class in Germany is stunned by the findings of a YouGov poll published on Friday that 20% of voters would give their vote to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), making it the second-strongest party behind the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) (28%) and ahead of center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) (19%). There is no mistaking that it is a political earthquake. Given Germany’s proportional representative system — which is unlike the US or the UK where, too, politics is fractious but is protected by the first-past-the-pole voting system — it is reasonable to estimate that the current “traffic-light” coalition between the SPD, the Greens (who polled 15%) and the neo-liberal Free Democrats or FDP (7%) no longer has a mandate to rule, after only one and a half years in office.

To Resist Push For ‘Parents’ Rights,’ Focus On Youth Liberation

In this season of parent-celebrating days, many of the parents making top headlines are those pushing violent agendas under the mantle of “parents’ rights.” Deep-pocketed groups like Moms for Liberty and Parents Defending Education are asserting the rights of parents as a justification for their right-wing, anti-trans, anti-Black, anti-immigrant, ableist onslaught. The Republican “Parents Bill of Rights Act” that passed the House this spring combines an attack on students’ right to gender self-expression with measures targeting curricula and libraries. As Amy Nagopaleen wrote for Truthout, the bill (which, thankfully, is unlikely to advance in the Senate) had “nothing to do with empowering parents, and everything to do with bringing the mounting Republican moral panic over schools to the national stage.”

South Korea: Building A Powerful General Strike Is Urgent

South Korea’s right-wing government, led by president Yoon Suk-yeol, has been increasing attacks on workers’ rights and unions in recent months. The government has been anti-worker and anti-union since it took power last May, with President Yoon frequently emphasizing that his administration would “strictly respond to any illegal [labor] activities. But these traits have become blatant since successfully repressing truck drivers’ second strike last November to December, which demanded the expansion of a standard-fare system that means a minimum wage for ostensibly self-employed truck drivers.

Peacenik Extremists And Liberal Warmongers On NATO Expansion

We are one year on from the projected Ukraine-Russia peace deal. Ukraine was to have become a neutral state, one unable to own nuclear weapons, with internationally guaranteed independence. It would have rolled back the Russian advance to February 23, for the loss of Russian Crimea and part of Donbas, which the Ukraine government had anyway bombed for years, killing thousands. So, were a hundred thousand lives saved? No. Like a role-play US envoy, on April 9 Boris Johnson appeared on the scene and “urged” Ukraine not to negotiate because its Western backers were not ready for a deal. As the US Democratic Party’s Adam Schiff said before the war, “The United States aids Ukraine and her people so that they can fight Russia over there, and we don’t have to fight Russia here.”
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