Hungary's Slide

.

21-9-4 How Viktator Orbán rigged Hungary's Democracy - Into > . skip > .

24-1-22 How [Viktator] Orbán Took Over Hungary - Context Matters > .

23-7-31 Iron Curtain to Iron Fist: Viktor Orbán Redefining Hungary - Pers > .

22-12-2 Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia - Danube & Europe's Future - Kraut > .

22-10-14 HUNGARY | The West's Enemy Within? - J K-L > .

22-6-2 Hungarian Economy & Viktator Orbán's popularity - VisPol > . skip > .

Territorial Evolution Of HUNGARY - Knowledge > .

> EU >> 

Extremists & Authoritarians - Tzu Pow >> .

Ideological Dysfunction - Bonum V. Mālum >> .

Ruscism - Guy Lewis >> .

Cliodynamic Analysis of History: End Times (2023) ..

Democratic Backsliding, Competitive Authoritarianism (Europe, 21st) ⇻

Diktator Orbán & Fidesz .. 

Hungary's Slide .. 

Undermining Democracy ..

Italy Crisis→Mario Draghi

22-7-21 Political turmoil in Italy - Draghi resigns after coalition falls apart | DW > .
2021 Italy's Economic Disaster (ante/post COVID) - VisPol > . skip ad > .

Impact of Mounting Sovereign Debts - "Autodidact" - Goodfellows > .

2021 Which Countries Have The Biggest National Debt? - General Knowledge > .

2001-2021 Global Shift in Nation Debt as % of GDP - General Knowledge > .

Mario Draghi OMRI (born 3 September 1947) is an Italian economist, banker, academic, civil servant, and politician who has been serving as Prime Minister of Italy since 13 February 2021. He previously served as President of the European Central Bank from 2011 until 2019. Draghi was also Chair of the Financial Stability Board from 2009 to 2011 and Governor of the Bank of Italy from 2006 to 2011.

After a lengthy career as an academic economist in Italy, Draghi worked for the World Bank in Washington, D.C., throughout the 1980s, and in 1991 returned to Rome to become Director General of the Italian Treasury. He left that role after a decade to join Goldman Sachs, where he remained until his appointment as Governor of the Bank of Italy in 2006. His tenure as Governor coincided with the 2008 Great Recession, and in the midst of this he was selected to become the first Chair of the Financial Stability Board, the global standard-setter that replaced the Financial Stability Forum.

He left those roles after his nomination by the European Council in 2011 to serve as President of the European Central Bank. He presided over the institution during the Eurozone crisis, becoming famous throughout Europe for saying that he would be prepared to do "whatever it takes" to prevent the euro from failing. In 2014, Draghi was listed by Forbes magazine as the eighth-most powerful person in the world. In 2015, Fortune magazine ranked him as the world's "second greatest leader". In 2019, Paul Krugman described him as "the greatest central banker of modern times". Moreover, thanks to his monetary policies, he is widely considered the "savior of the euro" during the European debt crisis. He has been nicknamed Super Mario by some media, a nickname that was popularised during his time as President of the European Central Bank, when he was credited by numerous sources as having played a key role in combatting the Eurozone crisis.

After Draghi's term as ECB President ended in 2019, he initially returned to private life. On 3 February 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Draghi was invited by Italian President Sergio Mattarella to form a government of national unity, following the resignation of Giuseppe Conte. After successful negotiations with parties including the League, the Five Star Movement, the Democratic Party and Forza Italia, Draghi was sworn in as Prime Minister on 13 February, pledging to oversee effective implementation of COVID-19 economic stimulus.

"Kurdistan"

23-5-11 Turkey Votes. Erdoğan’s Last Dance? - gtbt > . skip > .

24-1-2 Stans: Why Central Asia Is So Big Yet So Weak - Versed > .

23-9-23 How Erdoğan's Turkey is Rebuilding the Ottoman Empire - Real > .

23-7-25 Why US Troops Fought Wagner Mercenaries in Syria - T&P > .

23-6-3 Iraq, Iran, Syria, Hezbollah - Invasion +20 Years - gtbt > .

23-1-26 Pan-Turkism & Turkey's Ambitions in Central Asia - gtbt > .

22-12-30 [Kurds] Why Turkey is Preparing to Invade Syria (Again) - Real > .

22-7-19 Central Asia ⇌ Russia, China, Iran, Turkey, USA - gtbt > . 

22-1-27 How Erdoğan Destroyed Turkey (doc) - My Take > .

22-1-10 Mapping Rise of Turkey's Military Reach - CaspianReport > .

2021 Can Turkey Expand Its Influence to Central Asia [Stans]? - Mad > .

> Border Issues >>

24-2-10 Borders: Some Countries Are Nearly Impossible to Escape - Map > .

>> Iran, XIR >>> > Iran - Allies, Enemies >>  > Iran >>  > Iran~ >> 

24-8-25 [Iran: Geography & Military] Hard to Defeat - Caspian > .  

24-4-16 [XIR] Iran's use of [terrorist] proxies to [harm] USA and Israel - Caspian > .

24-3-28 5 reasons Iran is involved in so many global conflicts - BBC > .

> Iraq >> 

24-8-30 [Potential Impacts of Iraq-Turkey 'Development Road'] - Caspian > .

24-6-11 [Water-stressed] Iraq is dying = a global problem - CaspianReport > .

Erdostan - Auver >> .

Turkey - Graydations >> .

Turkey - Present >> .

Receptistan - Praeparet >> .

Kurdistan is a controversial name that is disliked by Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. The Kurds are one of the indigenous peoples of the Middle East plains and the mountains [of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran]. This nation couldn't establish its state and live under difficult conditions for many decades.

Black Sea - Operation Sea Breeze (NATO 2021) ..

Londependence?

1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion...
2 - https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2...
3 - https://www.politico.eu/article/poll-...
4 - https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/po...
5 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_...
6 - http://blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/electionsi...
7 - https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/...
8 - https://www.ft.com/content/f20a3310-2...
9 - https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/govern...
10 - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/...
11 - https://www.ft.com/content/09d9dab4-3...
12 - https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpo...
13 - https://www.centreforcities.org/wp-co...
14 - https://web.archive.org/web/201606251...

Macron's Rise, Ambitions

2021-5 Emmanuel Macron's Election Bet - Into Europe > .

24-7-1 French [Snap, Round 1] Election Results Explained - Simple > . comment .

24-5-27 Emmanuel Macron's Russia Strategy: 4D Chess or [Bluff]? > .

23-5-14 French Defence Strategy & Rearmament - strategic autonomy - Perun > .

23-4-29 [Macron's Xina Visit = Worse and Worse] - Baltic World > .

23-1-3 Macron's Neo-Gaullism - plans for hegemony - Caspian Report > .

22-12-30 Most disappointing politicians - VisPol > .

22-7-26 France's Geostrategic Choices in Central Europe - gtbt > .

22-6-19 Macron loses absolute majority in French parliament | DW > .

22-5-9 Macron's Plan to Revive France - VisPol > .

22-4-25 Far-right Far-wrong Le Pen plots parliament win after loss to Macron > .

22-4-24 Phew! Macron re-elected French president with 58.2% of the vote > .

Centrist incumbent president Emmanuel Macron has been re-elected French president with an estimated 58.2% of the vote, while his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen, took 41.8%. After a fractious campaign that has seen the far right come its closest yet to winning power.

> France Geopolitics >>

> French Armed Forces >>

EU 2023 ..

Macron Kowtows (2023) ..

22-4-15 Russo-Ukrainian War - New Security Politics in Europe - gtbt > .

22-4-14 Will Le Pen win the French presidency? | French elections 2022 - EU > .

22-4-8 Why the râleur French are fed up (impact on Macron) | The Economist > .

22-4-8 French election: Far-right-wrong Le Pen closes in on Macron - BBC > .

22-4-7 Far-Right-Wrong France: The Battle for the Soul of France | ABC Aus > .

22-4-3 French Presidential election in shadow of Russia's war in Ukraine | DW > .

22-4-2 NATO extremist division in France's upcoming presidential election - WaPo > .

2022 Why 2022 could see the end of Macron’s European dream - Telegraph > .

22-2-21 Why Macron will win again | French Elections 2022 - EU Simple > .

2022 Why 2022 could see the end of Macron’s European dream - Telegraph > .

21-10-1 French Fury as Australia Scraps Sub Contract - Caspian > .

21-6-29 [Wrong]-wing populist Marine Le Pen experiences a clear defeat – Outside > .

2021-5 President Macron’s fight to win over conservatives in France - BBC > .

2021-5 Will France Make Europe Become a Superpower? - gtbt > .

2021 France = World's 5th Biggest Country - Real > .

2018 Is Emmanuel Macron the EU's most powerful politician? | Economist > .

Emmanuel Macron faces a difficult election: his shift to the right and his pursuit of a neo-liberal agenda have lost him the center-left. He is now openly competing with Marine le Pen for the right-wing [and wrong-wing] voters ahead of the 2022 election.

 
Continued terrorist attacks in France and mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic have damaged his economic reformer credentials.

A year away from France’s next presidential election, President Emmanuel Macron is fighting for conservative voters, in the face of growing confidence from his far-right far-wrong rival, Marine Le Pen.

 
With his promise to unite France’s centre-left and centre-right crumbling, and polls suggesting the likelihood of another – much closer – duel between the two rivals in May next year, Macron’s government has been talking tough on security and secularism.

21-9-19 AUKUS pact delivers France some hard truths: 

When they have picked themselves up from their humiliation, the French will need to gather their sangfroid and confront some cruel verities. 

Number one: there is no sentiment in geostrategy. The French must see there is no point in wailing about having been shoddily treated. Who ever heard of a nation short-changing its defence priorities out of not wanting to give offence? The fact is that the Australians calculated they had underestimated the Chinese threat and so needed to boost their level of deterrence. They acted with steely disregard for French concerns but, when it comes to the crunch, that is what nations do.

The second painful truth exposed by the AUKUS affair is that the US no longer has any great interest in the outdated behemoth that is NATO. [Presumably because Biden cannot imagine that Putin could take advantage of the US's pivot away from the Atlantic.] Nor does it the US harbour any particular loyalty to those who have stood by its side. [Vichy France?]

Gaullists in France - and President Emmanuel Macron is one of them - dream of their country as a fully independent power, exercising its force for good thanks to a global presence and nuclear-backed military strength. In practice, and not without considerable reserve, France has bound itself to the US-led alliance because that seemed both moral and expedient. But now the questions echo around Paris: Why did we bother? What was in it for us?

Of Macron: "And he made the effort not just with Biden - but with tRUMP too! [And a truly nauseating spectacle, that was!] All that, and then this. No reward at all. Treated like dogs." [Canceling a contract known to besought with troubles is scarcely being like dogs. Such whiny hyperbole.]

The French will now be re-evaluating their role in NATO. Their military participation in the organisation was suspended by De Gaulle in 1966 and only restored by Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009. There is no talk, yet, of a second withdrawal. But remember, Emmanuel Macron is the man who described NATO two years ago as "brain-dead". He will not have changed his mind.

The third harsh truth is that there is no obvious other way for France to fulfil its global ambitions. The lesson of the last week is that France by itself is too small to make much of a dent in strategic affairs. Every four years the Chinese build as many ships as there are in the entire French fleet. When it came to the crunch, the Australians preferred to be close to a superpower, not a minipower.

21-6-27 France elections: Far-right-wrong National Rally loses key battleground states - poll .

https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/arti...
https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/arti...
https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/arti...
https://www.lemonde.fr/election-presi...
https://www.politico.eu/article/emman...
https://www.lesechos.fr/2015/01/emman...
https://storage.googleapis.com/en-mar...
https://www.theguardian.com/world/201...
https://www.dw.com/en/prosecutor-requ...
https://www.theguardian.com/world/201...
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/art...
https://www.ft.com/content/94eab3dd-1...
https://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/...
https://www.europe1.fr/politique/les-...
https://www.theguardian.com/world/201...
https://www.france24.com/en/20161209-...
https://www.francetvinfo.fr/politique...
https://www.internationalinvestment.n...
https://www.theguardian.com/world/201...
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-1...
https://time.com/5902121/samuel-paty-...
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/20...