On Wednesday, 05 June Denmark took to the polls for the second time in a fortnight. This time the Danish electorate chose a new Parliament or Folketing, as it’s known in Denmark. Background Denmark is a constitutional monarchy with a Prime Minister who acts as head of government and a monarch as head of state. …
After five exciting days of counting, the 13 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) elected by people in Ireland have not yet been fully confirmed, and might not be for up to another month. This is because a full recount will be carried out in the Ireland South constituency, since only 327 votes separated two…
Lithuania held two rounds of voting in May to replace Dalia Grybauskaitė, the seventh and first female President since its Restoration of Independence in 1990. On 26 May, the ‘independent candidate’ Gitanas Nauseda was elected as the country’s new President. Background Lithuania operates under a ‘semi-presidential’ system, whereby executive control is split between the President and…
Sunday, 26 May turned out to be a very eventful day for Belgian politics. Not only did the Belgian electorate select 21 MEPs to represent them in the European Parliament, but voters also took to the polls to elect regional and federal parliaments. Introduction Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy with elections taking place every…
No one can be sure who will be the next European Commission President, replacing the current incumbent Jean-Claude Juncker. But this is not only because of uncertainty about the results of the forthcoming European Parliament elections across the EU from 23-26 May (Ireland votes on 24 May). It is also because the procedure for appointing…
On Sunday, 28 April, Spain held its third general election in just over three years. Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister and leader of the socialist PSOE (Spanish Social Workers Party), called a snap election after his budget was rejected in February. Background Spain is a parliamentary monarchy, with King Felipe VI serving as the official…
Introduction On Friday, 8 March, just one month before Finland’s Parliamentary Elections, Finland’s coalition government collapsed. Prime Minister, Juha Sipilä announced his resignation taking the blame for his government’s inability to reform Finland’s health care and social systems. With one of the most rapidly ageing populations in the world, reform of its health system has…
Brexit has become a journey as much as a destination. At their emergency summit in Brussels this week, the UK and the 27 remaining EU governments agreed to delay Brexit – for a second time – until 31 October (with some caveats). This new extension means that the Brexit journey now resembles travelling on a…
The Slovakian electorate went to the polls over two rounds in March to elect Slovakia’s 5th President since gaining independence in 1993. On Saturday, 30 March Zuzana Čaputová became the country’s first ever female president. Background Slovakia is a parliamentary republic with a prime minister, who holds most executive powers, and a president, who…
The weekend just gone was supposed to be Brexit weekend. But the UK government and the EU agreed at a recent summit to shift the Brexit date to at least April 12, and perhaps longer depending on what happens at Westminster. Even so, it is worth reflecting on the lessons of Brexit since the 2016…