09.11.2015
POLAND – RIGHT-WING AS (N)EVER!

In Poland, Right-wing parties (PiS) won the parliamentary elections on 25th October, leaving the centre-Right coalition (PO and PSL) that led the country for eight years in the opposition, and the Left out of the Parliament completely. But elections do not tell the whole story. The Polish political scene is changing. Parties of change and changes of parties animated the elections of this year. Citizens cast their complaints in the ballot box. Greens will need to draw lessons and determine their angle of attack for the future.

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29.10.2015
Austrian Greens need support they can count on

Although Greens in Austria have made considerable electoral breakthroughs, the recent municipal elections in Vienna showed that a considerable portion of this support is liable to abandon Greens when circumstances change and the discourse becomes more polarised. If Greens are to cement their place in the political landscape, they need to consolidate this support base and expand it in a way that is sustainable.

EN
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15.10.2015
Turkey goes to the polls amid human rights fears

It’s election time in an unstable Turkey. The people in Turkey go to the polls on 1st November despite a series of violent attacks targeting the HDP. How can free and fair elections be expected to take place in a political climate where parties cannot campaign without fearing for their safety?

EN
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29.06.2015
Proportional representation: the people’s democracy

Almost three months after the 2015 General Election, a feeling of disbelief at the Conservative majority result remains afresh in the UK. The results, which were a far cry from the outcome predicted by the polls in the run-up to the vote, have given rise to a heated debate about the system of voting in the UK, and calls for a more proportional system, though this transition remains an uphill struggle.

EN
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16.06.2015
From social activism to political activism: citizen candidates to local elections in Spain

The Spanish citizenry has organised the so-called “convergence list of candidates” for the local elections in May 2015. These lists have integrated political parties, civil society and independent citizens aiming to regenerate the local policy from a political, social, economic and ecological point of view. What are the common points of such lists?

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09.06.2015
The Only Mobility is Downward Mobility – How the Far Right Exploits Societies’ Deepest Fears

The left is ideologically exhausted. But this is just as true for the right, no matter where you’re looking, whether it’s at the buzzwords of the FPÖ (Freedom Party of Austria), at UKIP, the Front National or the radical-primitive opposition of the Tea Party in the United States.

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12.05.2015
The Greens and the UK General Election

It was a pleasure to keep counting the Green vote and realising that we have a lot to celebrate: Caroline Lucas’ well-deserved win, Darren Hall’s massive increase in the Green vote, and the fact that the #GreenSurge held fast and delivered over 1 million votes for the Greens across the UK in spite of an electoral system stacked against us.

EN
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18.03.2015
Observing elections in Honduras – a tool for the EU to promote human rights

Since 2000, the EU has deployed about 140 election observation missions. Below you can read my experiences as EU EOM-Chief Observer for the 2013 general elections in Honduras.

EN
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12.03.2015
SYRIZA and the search for Europe’s alternatives

Even if SYRIZA is defeated at the end, forced to comply with Europe’s inflexible neoliberal doxa, it has already achieved a first small victory: political disagreement, that is at the very heart of democratic dialogue.

EN
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17.02.2015
Greece: Austerity is Over, Fasten your Seat-belts

By electing a new radical left government determined to oppose the corruption, clientelism and tax-evasion, the Greek people have opted to exit the vicious circle of austerity that has left the country with no prospect for recovery. However, it is not only Greece at the crossroads but Europe as a whole. The new Greek paradigm is not written in stone and it is therefore inviting all those who are interested in the political future of the European Union.

EN
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