France elected a new President a few weeks ago, and its not just a change of faces but a full change of attitude, policies, and direction for the Fifth Republic. Left-of-center, socialist President François Hollande took office on May 15th, and has been on a flurry of global functions ever since, including now hanging out in the US for the G-8 Summit followed by a NATO Summit. The Professor discussed some of the big policy changes that are already occurring due to this political shift from right to left in France, including economic policy favoring spending, Eurobonds, and the pulling out of French troops from Afghanistan, and perhaps NATO leadership too!
2012 is a big election year…everywhere! The Professor takes a brief world tour to catch you up on the hot spots of political power transition happening right now across the planet.Russians are at the polls today to likely re-elect Vladimir Putin; a presidential run-off is in play in Senegal; Iran just wiped out political support for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; Nicolas Sarkozy of France is getting ready to be trounced; and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela is a big question mark as a second round of cancer treatment calls into question his ability to stand again for office. Democratic change is afoot, Watson!
A bunch of seemingly unrelated stories are unfolding concurrently in Europe that really get at the heart of the struggle for the future of the European Union. Protests for/against states rights in Hungary; a referendum for EU membership in Croatia; and even a downgrading of credit rating to most of the Eurozone countries all play into a broader picture of where the European Union as a unit is heading. Will it become the “United States of Europe,” or will countries start bailing out of the organization altogether? Only time will tell, but get the latest lowdown on the EU from the Professor right here!
Keywords: EU, European Union, Hungary, protests, Croatia, referendum, membership, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, UK,
As promised last podcast, the Professor now looks forward to the new year of 2012 to inform you of the details of the significant shift of world leadership going down in the next 365 days. From new leaders to be tested in North Korea, Italy and Spain; to election cycles in US, Mexico, France, Russia, and Taiwan; to major turnovers in China, Palestine and possibly Pakistan, Syria, and Yemen…the parade of new faces started in 2011 is going to be accelerated significantly in the coming year, and the Professor wants you to be in the know!
Happy New Year’s Eve! The Professor takes some time on the brink of 2012 to look back at what happened to world leaders from around the globe in 2011. It was a tough year to be in charge this year, as evidenced by the demise of dictators, the overthrow of or attacks on authoritarian regimes, plagues of personal health, and even the decline in support of significant democratic leaders all over the planet. Sometimes “it’s good to be da’ king!”....but not in 2011 it wasn’t!!!!
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