Posts Tagged: Senate

Italy’s Renzi tries to bridge the gap

March 11, 2024 by Matt Taylor in Europe.

A giant papier-mache float representing Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi (R) and comedian politician beppe Grillo (L) moves through the streets of Viareggio during the traditional Carnival parade on March 9, 2024 in Viareggio, Italy. (Laura Lezza/Getty Images)

Powerful and promising, the ambitious new P.M. faces a critical stretch over the next few weeks where his reform agenda will continue to gather steam or collapse entirely.

Renzi gets his shot atop Italy’s government

February 18, 2024 by Matt Taylor in Europe.

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Former Mayor of Florence, Matteo Renzi at the Quirinale on February 17, 2024 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Giorgio Cosulich/Getty Images)

The young center-left leader is formally tasked with forming a new coalition, meaning the Florence mayor will need to add some policy proposals to his unifying anti-incumbent rhetoric.

Kerry reminds Obama why he didn’t pick him the first time around

February 3, 2024 by Matt Taylor in Middle East, U.S..

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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during the 50th Munich Security Conference at the Bayerischer Hof hotel on February 1, 2014. (Photo by Joerg Koch/Getty Images)

The secretary of state knows the issues, but still lacks a certain touch for the delicate domestic politics of foreign policy.

Italy’s Renzi makes his move

January 28, 2024 by Matt Taylor in Europe.

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Leader of Italy's centre-left Democratic party and mayor of Florence Matteo Renzi attends a press conference at the end of his meeting with former Italian Prime Minister and President of Forza Italia Silvio Berlusconi at the PD 's headquarters on January 18, 2024 in Rome, Italy. (Franco Origlia/Getty Images)

The rising center-left star is pinning his hopes of national viability on a gentlemen’s agreement with none other than Silvio Berlusconi.

Thai anti-corruption purge fuels protest fire

January 9, 2024 by Matt Taylor in Asia-Pacific.

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Anti-government protesters take part in a large march organised by the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) on January 7, 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand. (Photo by Rufus David Cox/Getty Images)

News that hundreds of lawmakers are under scrutiny is exactly the sort of story anti-government crusaders need to validate their struggle.

NSA court ruling adds to Obama’s surveillance woes

December 17, 2024 by Matt Taylor in U.S..

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U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (L) listens to President Barack Obama at the White House. REUTERS/Jason Reed

An explosive rift in the Democratic Party could even grow wider if judges continue to validate liberal skepticism of the far-reaching security state.

Obamacare showing signs of life?

December 3, 2024 by Matt Taylor in U.S..

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U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about the Affordable Care Act at the White House in Washington December 3, 2013. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

The web portal to purchase health insurance under the president’s signature policy program is back online, but his fellow Democrats — not to mention his legacy — are still at risk.

The Thai protests, explained

December 2, 2024 by Matt Taylor in Asia-Pacific.

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Anti-government protesters are treated after Thai riot police fired tear gas as protesters attacked Government House in Bangkok December 2, 2013. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

Though it shares some characteristics of the Arab Spring protest explosion, the uprising in Thailand is confined to the urban middle class that is mired in opposition to a popular incumbent.

Beyond Berlusconi: Italy moves on?

November 28, 2024 by Matt Taylor in Europe.

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Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi delivers a speech from the stage in downtown Rome November 27, 2013. The Italian Senate on Wednesday expelled Silvio Berlusconi from parliament following his conviction for tax fraud, in what the centre-right leader called a day of mourning for Italian democracy.

Silvio Berlusconi, the media mogul and three-time prime minister whose center-right movement has dominated Italian politics for decades, was expelled from the Senate on Wednesday.