Roundup: June 2024
Edition IV
Dear all,
I hope you’re having a lovely Sunday evening. If you’re currently watching the first-round results of the French election, you might find the Europe-France political focus in this edition particularly interesting.
For May and June, all subscriptions will be donated to Clarissa’s Campaign for Cambridge Hearts, an amazing fundraising effort in memory of Clarissa to raise money for ECG Heart Screening days for Cambridge students.
Once again, thank you for your donations, and I hope you enjoy this edition 🫶.
Constance
WORLD & GEOPOLITICS
The G7 summit this month was described by Politico as featuring “arguably the weakest gathering of leaders the group has mustered for years”. In the UK, Rishi Sunak is predicted to suffer a major defeat in the upcoming elections. France’s Emmanuel Macron, after a significant loss in the European parliamentary elections, called for a snap election. Japan’s Fumio Kishida is facing internal party pressure to step down. In contrast, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who succeeded in the European elections, stood out and, as The Guardian reported, observed the “procession of dead men walking”.
EUROPE
Almost 400 million people participated in an election expected to indicate whether the global populist trend observed in the US and South America would extend to the European bloc. In recent years, European media have frequently highlighted the rise of the right and populist movements. This month’s European Parliamentary election results clearly demonstrated the broad political shift across Europe. The UK, however, remains an outlier, with Keir Starmer of the Labour Party likely preparing to take up residence at Downing Street.