Category: Politics

After the judiciary dissolved the legislature earlier this year, Kuwaitis voted for the third time in three years on Tuesday, with little chance of resolving a lengthy impasse between the ruling family and aggressive legislators.

Only Kuwait has a democratically elected assembly that checks the royal family. In recent years, infighting has crippled the political system, preventing even basic improvements.

“People on the ground are not very optimistic right now about change, and that’s why you see this frustration and probably a low voter turnout and low number of people running,” said Dania Thafer, executive director of the Gulf International Forum, a Washington think tank.

Results are anticipated Wednesday after polls close at 8 p.m.

Eight months ago, 27 conservative Islamists and two women were elected to the 50-member legislature with a mandate for change. Some were ex-MPs.

In March, Kuwait’s Constitutional Court overturned the 2020 parliament’s dissolution. The Al Sabah family disbanded parliament again a few weeks later, setting up this week’s vote.

After the 2020 death of Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, a seasoned diplomat who controlled the kingdom for nearly 15 years, the royal family split, according to Kristin Diwan, senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, his ill half-brother, replaced the 91-year-old, with Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah running the country. Both are 80, and the succession after Sheikh Meshal is unknown.

Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al Sabah, the present emir’s son, became prime minister in 2022 but has drawn criticism.

Diwan said the top lacks direction and enthusiasm. “There is an overall vacuum where other political institutions and social forces kind of take advantage and step into that gap.”

The emir chooses the prime minister and Cabinet and can dissolve parliament at will. However, parliament can approve or oppose legislation and question and remove ministers. No parties.

Two former parliamentary speakers want to return.

The 2020 assembly was chaired by Marzouq al-Ghanim, a renowned businessman from a strong family. He recently called the prime minister a “danger to the country,” further eroding his authority.

Diwan claimed al-Ghanim “was willing to use all the tools that he had within the parliament to really concentrate power… in a way that was more authoritarian” as speaker. She said his severe criticism of the prime minister, a senior governing family member, was “really striking.”

He will likely face Ahmed al-Saadoun, a seasoned politician who united a wide range of opposition legislators in parliament last year. They have advocated for debt relief for consumer loans, which the government considers economically unsustainable.

Kuwait has 1.5 million residents and the sixth biggest oil reserves in the world. However, many believe the government has underinvested in education, healthcare, and other services.

Opposition politicians have also advocated for election reforms to get more women and young people into the assembly, including a return to a system where district voters may vote for several candidates.

“If people have only one vote, it forces political blocs to make a lot of difficult decisions about who to run,” said London School of Economics and Political Science scholar Courtney Freer.

“It makes it harder for women candidates, who are already disadvantaged,” she remarked.

Raivis Dzintars, head of the National Alliance, told Latvian Television on June 6 that the government’s work will slow down if new, ideologically distinct partners join.

Dzintars disagreed with Krišjānis Kariš (fresh Unity)’s claim that the reform process needed fresh dynamics.

For instance, if the coalition must agree on fiscal concerns. Which number makes unanimity easier? Three, four, five? [..] Attracting someone politically different and more disagreeable reduces dynamism. “Absurd arguments are being used,” claimed Dzintars.

“It looks like New Unity and Union of Greens and Farmers are caught in bed and everything is obvious, but they say in all seriousness that it’s not,” Dzintars added.

He also said the NA could not fulfill its promises to voters by working in a single administration with the Progressives due to “huge differences.”

“The core values, the basic orientation, are incompatible with the fundamental values of the National Alliance,” said Dzintars. Antoina tenaševa of the Progressives also told Latvian Radio Tuesday that National Alliance collaboration was improbable.

The ambitious electoral reform proposals, which include increasing voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds and prisoners and restricting political donations, split politicians.

The provisional proposals, which fall under six topics and aim to make voting fairer, are open for public comment until July 17. The impartial group will provide the justice minister its final recommendations in November following the election.

ACT Party leader David Seymour branded it a “grab bag” of Green Party principles, while panel chair Deborah Hart stressed its independence.

She stated, “We are centred on the job we have been given to independently review our electoral system and we are not concerned at the politics, we are concerned at the principles (fairness and encouraging participation)”.

Disagreement among political parties exists over the interim recommendations of an electoral review

Green Party electoral reform spokesman Golriz Ghahraman advised her colleagues to listen to professionals and not politicize the matter.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins claimed he wouldn’t reduce the voting age because National and ACT wouldn’t support it. A supermajority vote will not reach 75%.

I know many active, aware 16- and 17-year-olds who would make smart, informed voting selections. He acknowledged that Parliament does not have a supermajority supporting it.

The group also suggested a referendum on extending the legislative term to four years and two MMP changes: lowering the party vote threshold to 3.5% and eliminating the one electorate seat criterion.

Hipkins stated MMP works well presently.

“I’d like to see more discussion across parliament about declaring donations and whether there should be further restrictions on who can donate.”

Defence Minister Andrew Little suggested referenduming a four-year parliamentary term. “Three years is off.”

Since the Supreme Court had ruled it unconstitutional, there had to be “good reasons” to deny young people the vote.

I think 16- and 17-year-olds have a significant future investment. We should listen closely and I think they have a voice.”

He also supported giving all inmates the vote.

“I think a criminal who goes to prison should be imprisoned, not denied democratic rights.”

National Party leader Christopher Luxon supports efforts to extend the legislative term to four years, but electoral reform is not the topic ahead of October’s election.

Luxon opposed most of its interim suggestions, including giving all inmates the vote, allowing 16- and 17-year-olds vote, and changing MMP.

“New Zealanders are struggling, and education, health, and crime must be prioritized. That’s New Zealanders’ true concern.”

Mark Mitchell, National’s police spokesperson, said voting was a privilege.

Prisoners lose their freedom, travel, and voting rights. I think that’s a privilege, not a right.”

Because the legal system doesn’t recognize 16-year-olds as adults, he didn’t think they should vote either.

Ghahraman said the Labour Government could restore prisoner voting rights without National or ACT MP support, adding there was no criminal justice basis to take them away.

Where do we end if we start taking away fundamental rights when individuals go to prison? “It stops being about public safety and degrading those in there,” she added.

In a free and democratic society, our government’s constraints on our rights must be reasonable.

The government might restrict political donations to registered voters and cap them at $30,000 every election cycle.

“It’s too late for this election but not for the government to pick this up for the next round.”

Seymour rejected all suggestions. “None of the recommendations solve a New Zealand problem. “It’s a grab bag of Green Party policies that won’t improve anyone’s life,” he added.

“Electoral rules are fine. Policymaking using rules and regulations is problematic.”

On Tuesday, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Aerospace Force presented a hypersonic ballistic missile with enhanced capabilities that had been produced by the force.

At a ceremony in Tehran that was attended by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) revealed their hypersonic missile that has been given the name “Fattah.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, was responsible for selecting the name for the missile, and it has a range of 1,400 kilometers.

Hypersonic Missile Revealed by IRGC

The warhead of the missile is equipped with a spherical engine that operates on solid fuel and has a variable nozzle, therefore enabling the missile to go in any direction.

The domestic hypersonic ballistic missile has successfully completed all testing, according to the commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who spoke last week.

He went on to say that the new missile is capable of penetrating all air defense missile systems and destroying the anti-missile systems used by the enemy.

According to the commander, the projectile’s creation was a “huge leap” for Iran’s missile industry, and the missile’s ability to move below and above the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of Mach 13 was one of the missile’s most impressive features.

Top Chinese and French diplomats have signaled that they will continue to seek a political resolution to the Ukraine conflict, despite the fact that China’s recent peacemaking mission to Europe was largely unsuccessful.

According to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry, Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission, and Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, “coordinated positions” on the Ukraine conflict over the phone on Monday.

The phone conversation occurred a few days after Li Hui, China’s special envoy for Eurasian affairs, concluded his tour of European capitals, including Paris, to promote peace negotiations. During a press briefing on Friday, he stated that Beijing was contemplating a second mission while recognizing the difficulty of peace negotiations.

As Li conferred with senior officials in Kiev, Moscow, Warsaw, Paris, Berlin, and Brussels, he stated that there were still many unknowns but that Beijing was “willing to do anything conducive to easing tensions and advancing negotiations.”

Wang and Bonne promised to “consistently create conditions for the beginning of a political settlement.”

Before Macron’s April visit to China, he reportedly entrusted Bonne with establishing a framework for future negotiations with Wang, and the two had multiple conversations on the topic of Ukraine.

During the call on Monday, Wang, the top diplomat in the Chinese party system, “expressed appreciation” for Macron’s demonstration of diplomatic independence on international platforms and for Beijing and Europe’s increased engagement.

“As the two driving forces of a multipolar world, China and Europe have more common interests than differences and should focus more on cooperation than competition,” he said, adding that China and France should work toward a “comprehensive strategic partnership”.

In pursuit of a “partnership relationship,” France believed that Europe should maintain its unity and strategic independence, Bonne was quoted as saying, reiterating the French leader’s long-standing position.

France has been one of the principal European powers attempting to persuade China to use its influence over Russia to end the Ukraine conflict. Macron was accompanied on his April trip to China by the head of the European Union Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in an effort to achieve this objective.

In recent months, China has increased its profile as a peace mediator in international crises while attempting to strengthen its ties with Europe. After Wang visited Europe in February and met with Macron to discuss the Ukraine conflict, China’s foreign minister Qin Gang traveled to Paris in May to advocate cooperation on “global challenges.”

As competition between China and the United States intensifies, Beijing applauds Macron’s call for “strategic autonomy” in Europe. During the visit of the French president to China, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized that China views Europe as “an independent pole in a multipolar world” and as being strategically independent from “any third party.”

Brussels has initiated a “de-risking” strategy against China; however, Beijing has issued a warning against it.

Thursday in Beijing, Wang met with German foreign and security policy adviser Jens Plotner to discuss the conflict in Ukraine.

Today, the Queen, a rugby coach, and the previous prime minister got honors, but only one was criticized beyond their position.

Dame Grand Companion Jacinda Ardern, former prime minister, received New Zealand’s highest honor on King’s Birthday.

Her damehood has been applauded, but social media around the nation today was negative.

Stuff hasn’t repeated the internet abuse, but former prime minister Sir John Key said “it comes with the territory”.

Key said he doesn’t recall any bad criticism after his 2017 knighthood, but he wouldn’t read it.

I don’t remember, but I don’t read all online comments. I wouldn’t have noticed.”

“I’m sure politics made some people critical, but I don’t recall it.”

Key said he wasn’t shocked that certain political parties criticized the damehood since it was politics.

I think if you’re a former prime minister, people will be for or against you no matter what. The norm.

Prime ministership is difficult. During Covid, Ardern took that position.

Ardern was honored with several prior prime ministers.

Sir Bill English and Key were knighted. Jim Bolger, another National prime minister, earned an Order of New Zealand in 1998 without a title but opposed knighthoods.

Sir Robert Muldoon became the second prime minister (after Sir Keith Holyoake) to be knighted while in office in 1984.

Helen Clark, Labour’s three-term prime minister, received the Order of New Zealand in 2010.

After becoming prime minister in 1999, she abolished the honours system in 2000. Her deputy Sir Michael Cullen was knighted.

In 2009, nine years after Clark’s Labour government abolished knights and dames, Key reinstated them.

He said internet criticism and debate about prior prime leaders obtaining the distinction were unwarranted since it is a rite of passage for the post.

“It’s very standard that a former prime minister receives a significant honour and I think most people wouldn’t begrudge that,” adds Key.

“I think every single one has received one, in my memory they have had a level of recognition with the honours system.”

Clark, who couldn’t be contacted, had expressed regret over Ardern’s resignation in January and recognized a new degree of “hatred” for the PM.

“The pressures on prime ministers are always great, but in this era of social media, clickbait, and 24/7 media cycles, Jacinda has faced a level of hatred and vitriol which in my experience is unprecedented in our country,” she remarked at the time.

“Our society could now usefully reflect on whether it wants to continue to tolerate the excessive polarisation which is making politics an increasingly unattractive calling.”

Ardern said she was undecided about accepting the damehood.

“But I have heard it from so many Kiwis I have encouraged to accept an accolade over the years. This is my way of thanking my family and coworkers.”

Key said he was “extremely proud” to get a knighthood since it represented his government’s nine-year efforts.

“I think they (honours) reflect what was a huge team contribution, on many levels, from a very talented group of people that formed our government over the nine-year period.”

“I am a proud New Zealander, and I was and always will feel very humbled to have received that honour.”

Ardern declined to comment on her damehood’s reception.

However, former colleague and current Prime Minister Chris Hipkins stated the honor was for her work amid “some of the greatest challenges our country has faced in modern times”.

“Leading New Zealand’s response to the 2019 terrorist attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic represented periods of intense challenge for our 40th prime minister, during which time I saw firsthand that her commitment to New Zealand remained absolute.”

After the 2019 terrorist incident, Dame Jacinda banned most semiautomatic firearms and assault rifles one month later.

Fernando González Urbaneja. Politicians want power. Democracy is based on mathematics, i.e., getting the right number of votes to gain power.

Two concepts we’ll see in municipal councils and automated governments replacing them in the coming weeks. After the 23 July votes are counted to form Parliament and the executive, they will be used.

Pedro Sánchez stated before the November 2019 elections that he would not rule with Podemos or Bildu. Math and power drove his ambitions. You rectify to enter government. In Castilla y León, arithmetic pushed the PP and Vox to form a regional government with Abascal’s party. All done.

After the May and July elections, improbable pairings have lost audience.

The PP criticizes Sánchez for partnering with Bildu. Socialists call the Popular Party the Siamese twins of VOX (all extreme right). All this throughout the municipal and regional pacts and state election campaign.

Declarations are fleeting. Arithmetic—adding up to get power—is what matters. Everyone will make deals with everyone to obtain or take power.

The historical partnership of PNV/socialists in the Basque Country, where pact-making is well-established, was strengthened by the 28 May results. The PP also keeps Bildu supporters out of institutions when needed. Math rules.

In Navarre, adding up takes longer. In Catalonia, voters are abandoning experiences for the real and familiar, and the “indepes” are changing.

Feijóo acknowledges pragmatism when he gives regional and local leaders the task of expressing the arithmetic-based pacts that fit them.

Age isn’t Joe Biden’s problem. This distinction matters because they often differ.

My experience suggests they often go together. Though younger than the President, I see my knees and body deteriorating. According to my peers, memorizing names, which are usually unconnected to analytical threads, is harder.

In an intellectual discourse, I may read Why Liberalism Failed or another volume verbatim and dispute its concepts by, by, by… that person, whatshisname? If someone says “Deneen,” I may add “Patrick Deneen” and explain why I didn’t like the book, largely because it’s too rationalistic and treats politics like abstract notions.

I’m ok. I remember unreal experiences. On 9/11, a well-behaved crowd left the Capitol, where we were hosting a long-planned Sudan event. Many individuals informed me that we left the Rayburn House Office Building, not the Capitol.

This was a block away, so the main principles are genuine, but my memory had blurred something crucial, probably for drama. Politicians and renowned journalists who exaggerate or fake their criticism encounter this syndrome.

Mental capacities deteriorate with aging.

Did I say…?

Age is only one aspect.

My story follows 1930 Mississippi sharecropper John Perkins. He writes almost a book a year—more than me.

At 73, Konrad Adenauer became the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, tasked with rebuilding a nation that had been ravaged four years before. Foreign military masters left him a divided, loathed nation. At 87, he retired.

He headed the CDU, which he co-founded, until he was 90. He was competent, regardless of your views. His critics said that he made most major decisions and used his ministers as tools. He was apolitical.

Longtime Pentagon Office of Net Assessment chief Andy Marshall. DoD think tank. It was a core organization—hence the “net” assessment—that combined resources to offer a global view. Brilliant Defense Department Yoda.

Major General Chen Zhou, the lead author of four Chinese defense white papers, claimed Marshall was one of the most important people in Chinese defense thought in the 1990s and 2000s in a 2012 interview. Defense policy’s “Yoda” was his Washington Post obituary. 94-year-old retired in 2015.

On May 27, Henry Kissinger turned 100. Though incorrect, he’s not done. He may still advise.

Nancy Pelosi was Speaker until 2022. She served until 81, two years after the President. CNN called her prime. Republicans, irritated by her political talents, may have wished she had emphasized more of Biden’s weaknesses, but she didn’t.

Her scurrilous tweets show she drinks a lot. If so, Democrats should follow Lincoln. In 1863, the New York Times reported that Lincoln told Gen. Grant that if he could find out what brand of whiskey he drank, he would send a barrel to all the commanders.

My location?

President Biden’s mental and physical health matter more than his age. He may stay awake. His formal morning and afternoon regimen is light. What if a Ukraine-released F-16 strikes Russian territory and Putin responds with a tactical nuclear strike on a sparsely populated area?

American presidents would have a horrible decision. FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, and Reagan—even at their best—could not respond. A drowsy, disoriented President receiving the return query is more frightening.

Avoid the American fixation with youth and urge to reject the elderly because they are old, as if this planet were founded yesterday and we can learn nothing from history. Elders may teach youth.

Older politicians succeed. Young people lack experience. Real-life Yodas are needed. We regret failing.

President Biden’s age shouldn’t concern us. His mental degeneration matters. Ability, not age, matters.

Thai artisanal beer is illegal. You might discover some, but it’s likely craft beer revolutionaries’ illicit brew.

Bangkok’s rolling markets sell clandestine bottles of hand-labeled artisan beers, but uploading a photo of one may get you arrested.

ThaiBev, which makes Chang beer, and Boon Rawd Brewery, which makes Singha and Leo, control 90% to 95% of the Thai beer market.

The government and rules restrict “small homegrown operators from entering the fray,” according to Channel News Asia.

Thai law requires beer factories to produce 10 million liters per year, or 30,000 bottles, which is intimidating for novice brewers.

Thai legislation requires new breweries to have US$300,000 in upfront cash, which is unattainable for most starting companies in that country.

The government worries about revenue and cleanliness.

When just a few huge beer brands dominate a country that also prevents smaller rivals from entering the market, you have to question about its political leadership and who’s taking who out to lunch.

Thai brewer-turned-politician Taopiphop Limjittrakorn wants to remove the alcohol duopoly.

Limjittrakorn told Reuters that his party’s election success may allow him to break up Boon Rawd Brewery and ThaiBev’s duopoly.

According to Drinks Business, Limjittrakorn, who was imprisoned for unlawful brewing, has achieved a deal with coalition partners to “abolish monopolies and promote fair competition in all industries, such as alcoholic beverages”.

Limjittrakorn called the progressive alcohol bill a political enterprise. Since we’re no longer the opposition, I’m convening all stakeholders to make this policy happen easily. We govern.”

Limjittrakorn also said he wanted to drink nice beer.

Rep. Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, Utah’s House Majority Leader, is that the legislature shortens the special election legal deadline to fill the 2nd District Congressional seat in four months instead of six.

Gov. Cox or lawmakers can summon a special session. Schultz doubted lawmakers would call.

Utah law requires 180 days to finalize extraordinary primary and general election schedules. Gov. Cox must schedule the election 90 days before the primary. The legislation also mandates 90 days between the primary and general elections.

The legislation also requires elections on particular election days unless the legislature funds a change.

Unless the legislature intervenes, the general election cannot be conducted until March 2024.

Schultz was asked on the Take 2 Podcast if the special election will be conducted November 7th or earlier.

Shultz predicted it would happen sooner. “The Chaffetz race was 60 days,” he remarked. He meant the 2017 special election when former Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz resigned.

Maura Carabello, presenter of Take 2 Podcast and KSL At Night, said parties need 21 to 28 days to prepare and hold their conventions and collect signatures.

“You think you can speed that [total election time] quicker than 4 months?” she said. “Yes,” Shultz responded.

“Maybe not quicker than 4 months but about that timeline,” he said.

How Utah special election legislation must change

Lawmakers might reduce the period between the Governor’s call and the primary and general elections to arrange a primary special election before November.

They might choose the dates while following their new, perhaps shorter timeline. They must still budget for moving dates.

Moving the primary would cost taxpayers less than moving both elections. Schultz’s 60-day scenario calls for a summer primary and November 7th general election. August 15 is the municipal primary election this year.

Shultz favours fall special elections. The legislature would give a primary “plenty of time,” he said.

Last Monday, Utah GOP Chair Robert Axson told KSL NewsRadio this chronology. Party conventions on July 4th worry him too.

Shultz repeated his comments on the Inside Utah Politics Podcast this weekend.

Schultz predicted a March 2024 extraordinary general election would not last long.

The host of Inside Utah Politics questioned Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, if Democrats would reject it.