Honduran Presidential
Elections
The
conservative ruling party of Honduras
retained power, despite economic problems and a high crime rate, as a
conservative was elected to replace the outgoing conservative President. The party had taken power after the Chavist
former president was removed from power after trying to extend his term
unconstitutionally. The conservative
victory prevents the leftists inspired by former Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez
from gaining more ground in Latin America . The incoming leader is expected to work
aggressively to address Honduras ’
problems. Honduras
will continue to work with the United
States in anti-drug efforts.
Nepalese
Parliamentary Elections
No party won
a majority in the Nepalese parliamentary elections. Of the three main parties, neither the Maoist
Communists, nor the Marxist-Leninist Communists gained a plurality, while the old
republican opposition party won the most votes.
The result means the ruling Maoists, who had abolished the monarchy,
will be unable to turn Nepal
into a totalitarian state. As the
monarchists also lost, Nepal
will remain a republic, at least for now, as the elections produced no clear
direction of leadership.
Formation of the German
Government
Chancellor
Angela Merkel, the leader of the conservative Christian Democrats, was finally
able to form a grand coalition government with the left in order to retain
power, as I had predicted. Although her
party won the most votes in the German parliamentary elections, it came up
short of a majority. Merkel had previously
led a coalition government. Germany ’s policies,
which are of critical importance for the European Monetary Union amidst its
debt crisis, are expected to continue.
Withdrawal of Forza
Italia from the Italian Government
As
expected, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi removed his newly-re-formed
Forza Italia party from the Government of Premier Enrico Letta after the vote
in the Senate to remove him from his seat in the upper chamber of the Italian
Parliament because of his conviction for fraud.
Letta’s center-left-right executive will remain in power, however, as
several ministers from Berlusconi’s old party, the center-right People of
Liberty Party, remained loyal to the grand coalition, as did a sufficient number of Members of Parliament to secure the confidence vote for the Government. Letta's Government will continue its policies of
fiscal responsibility through a mix of spending cuts, economically stimulative
spending programs and tax cuts, as well as electoral reform.
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