66.2 F
Florida
Thursday, November 14, 2024
Citizens Journal Florida
HomeGovernmentForeign RelationsTimmerman: More Elections

Timmerman: More Elections

Family Styles
 
Subscribe Free

Opinion

Ken Timmerman’s Threat Watch, www.kentimmerman.com, 7-5-24

Britain’s Labour Party swept into power this week with the largest parliamentary majority in history. Normally, you might be hearing alarm bells going off. But not this time.

Incoming prime minister (and by the time you get this, he will already be installed at 10 Downing Street!) Sir Keir Starmer, is a newcomer to politics.

A barrister and public prosecutor by trade, he first ran for MP in 2015. Just four years later, he successfully challenged Jeremy Corbyn to become party leader. (Corbyn was a notorious anti-Semite who had dragged Labour into the ditch).

At the time, Starmer ran on a left-wing agenda, vowing to renationalize banks and industries. This go-round he ditched the extremist stuff and vowed merely to reform the National Health Service, which most Britains agree has become a disgrace.

He has promised some kind of green new deal, less immigration, and support for Israel – until hard-pressed by the Left to call for a ceasefire.

To me, he seems the type of common-sense waffler Brits like to elect after bouts of more flamboyant leaders. Call him the hang-over Prime Minister.

The French elections, on the contrary, have been full of fireworks.

The French go to the polls for the second round of snap parliamentary elections this Sunday. President Macron, as I have predicted, is attempting a quarterback sneak up the center. On Tuesday, he announced a deal with his political enemies on the Left, whereby Macron’s candidate would stand-down if the Lefty was ahead in the run-off, and vice-versa.

This led commentators here in France to exercise their verbal muscles to find a new term for Macron’s flip-flops. From political “chameleon,” Le Figaro’s top editorialist now calls him a “political contortionist,” because the deal he offered the Left was intended solely to bar the “extreme right” National Rally party from winning an absolute majority in Parliament (289 seats), a goal that on Monday seemed attainable.

Macron said openly that he had no intention of actually governing with the Left, or bringing any of them into a post-election government. What a great rallying cry, eh? Vote for me so the really really bad guy doesn’t win, and then I’ll toss you into Outer Slobovia.

If Macron is successful and the NR fails to win a majority, there are three possible outcomes that I am hearing here in France.

First, Macron could appoint a caretaker government with no known political figures, to carry out ordinary business but no major reforms.

Second, he could just reappoint sitting prime minister Gabriel Attal or another presidential lackey, an in-your-face move that would be entirely in character for Macron. This would mean that every piece of legislation would face a no-confidence vote by about 60% of the parliament. Way to go.

Third, he could appoint Jordan Bardella of the National Rally. Now, Bardella has told his electorate he will not accept to be prime minister unless he has an absolute majority, but as one commentator put it, ever so delicately, that was before the second round of the elections. Afterwards? The prime ministership is a powerful drug.

Bardella is just 28 years old. Even if he can only pass a small portion of the legislation he has been promising (such as lowering taxes on gasoline), a stint as prime minister will season him for the future.

Meanwhile, the second round of the Iranian elections is finishing up as I write this. By Saturday, we should know whether the Revolutionary Guard has once again installed one of their own as president, or whether the sputtering flame of the reformists has revived.

Reformist candidate Masoud Pesheskian has pledged to improve relations with the U.S., in hopes of jump-starting Iran’s economy. But don’t count the old Ayatollah out. He is entirely capable of pulling off a 2009 putsch all over again, declaring his own candidate the victor regardless of the vote. And if that happens, all bets are off.

Revolutions often begin with the smallest of sparks.

I discuss all of this, as well as Iran’s expanding nuclear program and Jill Biden’s astonishing access to classified intelligence information on this week’s Prophecy Today Weekend. As always, you can listen live at 1 PM on Saturday on 104.90 FM or 550 AM in the Jacksonville, Fl, area, or on the Jacksonville Way Radio app. And if you miss it, tune into the podcast here.
Ken Timmerman’s 12th book of non-fiction, AND THE REST IS HISTORY: Tales of Hostages, Arms Dealers, Dirty Tricks, and Spies, can be ordered by clicking here or by viewing my author’s page, here. 

Raising Olives in Provence, can be ordered by clicking here.


– Senior Fellow, America First Policy Institute (current)
– Republican nominee for Congress, Maryland District 8 (2012)
– President & CEO, Foundation for Democracy in Iran, www.iran.org
– Nobel Peace Prize nominee, 2006
Cell: 301-675-7922
Follow me on Twitter @kentimmerman
#TheElectionHeist
Facebook: ken timmerman
Reply to: [email protected]
Website: kentimmerman.com
ShareTweetForwardShareCopyright © 2024 Middle East Data Project, Inc., All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you signed up to receive automatic updates from me. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message by placing “Unsubscribe” in the Subject line.

Our mailing address is:
Middle East Data Project, Inc.861306 N Hampton Club WayFernandina Beach, Fl 32034

The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal Florida

Education Crusade
 
Knotty Line Sunglasses
 
Firesail Adventures
RELATED ARTICLES
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Most Popular

 
The Bike Cop

Recent Comments

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x