British media have leapt to the defense of beleaguered BP following attacks by the White House over its handling of the Gulf Coast disaster.
06/4/2010
— Filed under: Politics
Tags: BP, media attack, Obama, UK
Italian police said Tuesday they arrested 52 members of the Calabrian mafia suspected of skimming money off the construction contract for expanding a motorway.
06/3/2010
— Filed under: Crime
Tags: Calabrian mafia, police
Britain’s Conservatives and Labor parties vied for support of the nation’s smaller parties Friday after an election failed to produce an outright winner for the first time in almost 40 years.
The uncertainty of a «hung parliament» left Britain with the potential of a prolonged political and financial crisis as parties haggled over alliances and Britons debated the need for a new election.
David Cameron’s opposition Conservatives won the most seats at 292 but are short of a clear majority of 326, creating the first hung parliament since 1974.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, as the incumbent leader of the government, traditionally would have the first shot at forming a new administration, but his ruling Labor party only has 251 seats.
Brown’s hopes of staying in power were dented by Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, who surprised Britain by saying the party that had gained the most seats and the most votes should have «the first right to seek to govern.»
«I think it is now for the Conservative Party to prove that it is capable of seeking to govern in the national interest,» saud Clegg, whose party won 52 seats.
Clegg’s Liberal Democrats are generally seen as a better coalition fit with Brown’s left-of-center Labor Party and it was not immediately clear why Clegg seemed to be shifting alliances.
That raises the previously unlikely possibility of the center-right Conservatives, or Tories, teaming up with the Liberal Democrats.
The two parties are poles apart on many issues, with the Liberal Democrats’ electoral reform policies rejected by the Tories, while Clegg’s party is pro-European, which is anathema to the Conservatives.
Even if Labor were to team up with the Liberal Democrats, who have 52 seats, they would be well short of the magic 326 figure, meaning they may also need to bring on board smaller parties such as Scottish and Welsh nationalists.
Brown vowed to «play my part in Britain having a strong, stable» government and indicated he would seek an alliance with the Liberal Democrats, pledging action on election reform — a key demand of his would-be partners.
Days, possibly weeks, of political horse-trading involving a large number of parties with conflicting interests loomed ahead.
The uncertain election leaves British leadership in limbo and creates potential chaos in financial markets. As the pound fell sharply, pressure mounted for a quick solution.
«There’s a limit to how long can that this go on,» said Victoria Honeyman, a lecturer in politics at the University of Leeds. «The pound will start to crash.»
In London, bond trading started in the middle of the night — six hours earlier than normal — as traders tried to make sense of the election results. Britain’s main stock index also dropped as investors reacted to the inconclusive result against a backdrop of global market turbulence.
The last time Britain elected a hung parliament, in February 1974, a second election was called in October of that year.
Oxford elections expert David Butler predicted a similar scenario this time «because I don’t see the compromises that are necessary for a coalition.»
Informal talks between the parties were said to have started with Queen Elizabeth monitoring events.
The period of political confusion could unsettle global markets already reeling from the Greek debt crisis and fears of wider debt contagion in Europe. Britain’s budget gap is expected to eclipse that of Greece next year, and whoever winds up in power faces the daunting challenge of introducing big government spending cuts to slash the country’s huge deficit.
Under Brown, who took over from Tony Blair three years ago, Britain’s economy has run into hard times. At least 1,3 million people have been laid off and tens of thousands have lost their homes in a crushing recession.
06/2/2010
— Filed under: Politics
Tags: Conservative Party, David Cameron, Parliament
For the French press and opposition, French Labour Minister Eric Woerth and his wife got too close to the super-rich L’Oreal heiress, accused of plotting to evade taxes. Bad timing when Woerth is trying to institute unpopular pensions reforms.
06/1/2010
— Filed under: Business
Tags: L’Oreal, scandal, tax
