michelgub

Macron was re-elected with 58.5 percent of the vote, but 63 percent of the French hope he loses the National Assembly elections in June.

A strange map emerged yesterday in the second round of the French presidential election. On the face of it, the incumbent centrist president, Emmanuel Macron, defeated his far-right challenger, Marine Le Pen, by 58.5 percent of the vote against 41.5 percent. However, the closer one looksat the picture, the more intriguing the pattern.

 » Read more about: A THIRD ROUND IN FRANCE, AND THEN A FOURTH ?  »

Naftali Bennett destroyed Benjamin Netanyahu, or he thinks he did. But he must destroy Lapid as well, in order to merely survive.

MICHEL GURFINKIEL

Ten years ago, Neftali Bennett entered Israeli politics as the champion of a rejuvenated National-Religious Zionism. Once a peripheral subgroup in a predominantly secular society, the National-Religious Israelis (Datiyim Leumim in Hebrew) – who blend Jewish tradition with Israeli modernity – are now routinely described as as one of the nation’s « four tribes »,

 » Read more about: Bennett’s Double Gambit  »

In electoral terms, Israel is emerging as the most conservative nation in the democratic world

MICHEL GURFINKIEL

FIRST THINGS, April 20, 2021

On the face of it, the latest Israeli general election, which took place on March 23, was just further confirmation of systemic political deadlock. For the fourth time in less than two years, the Knesset seems evenly divided between supporters and adversaries of Benjamin Netanyahu, and the prospects for a viable parliamentary coalition or a stable national unity administration look dim. As usual, many are blaming the country’s

 » Read more about: Israel, The Longer View  »