Sunday, May 19, 2019

Foreign Digest: Venezuela, Austria and Australia


Venezuela
            Socialist regime associates were arrested after occupying the Venezuelan Embassy to the United States in an effort to block the transfer of the embassy to diplomats loyal to the de jure President Juan Guaido.

Austria
            The far-right Vice-Chancellor of Austria resigned yesterday after a hidden videotape surfaced of him arranging for political contributions from Russia.  His far-right party is the junior partner of the leading center-right party in the government coalition.  The Russian Federation’s authoritarian and kleptocratic tyrant, Vladimir Putin, supports not only far-left parties in Europe, but also far-right nationalist ones.  The scandal has led the Chancellor to ask the President for elections as soon as possible and also effect next week’s European parliamentary elections, where “sovranist” parties are trying to gain a plurality.  The President today set elections for September, although not with a specific date.  The Government had enjoyed majority support, but now the center-right ruling party can no longer remain in coalition with the far-right party it needed in order to obtain the majority of parliamentary seats necessary to govern.

Australia 
           The conservative coalition won an upset in the Australian parliamentary elections yesterday over the liberal party, although slightly shy of a majority, so far.  Prime Minister Scott Morrison has held office for only four months after the change in leadership of the main center-right party.  Australia has been a strong ally of the United States in the War on Terrorism and against other threats, as it had been during the Cold War.

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