Trudi West

Europe has developed a pretty interesting definition of “protecting democracy.” 🇷🇴 Romania annulled a presidential election after Călin Georgescu finished first, then barred him from the rerun. 🇭🇺 Hungary’s new government rewrote the constitution with retroactive limits that block Viktor Orbán from becoming PM again and later approved rules barring long-serving MPs from the next parliamentary election. 🇩🇪 Germany’s domestic intelligence service classified the AfD as extremist, opening the door to much heavier surveillance of the country’s biggest opposition party. 🇫🇷 France upheld Marine Le Pen’s conviction, kept restrictions on her political future and ordered her to wear an electronic ankle tag. 🇪🇸 In Spain, more than a dozen people tied to Pedro Sánchez’s political and personal circle have been investigated or prosecuted in separate corruption cases, while Sánchez himself has not been charged. 🇬🇧 Britain postponed local elections during a sweeping reorganization of local government, triggering a petition accusing the government of voter suppression. 🇵🇱 And now Poland has police surrounding its Constitutional Tribunal while the government and opposition accuse each other of trying to seize control of the court. The real red line in Europe may not be democracy... It may be leaving the club. Writer: Sol