Monday, 17 August 2026Europe · Analysis
Independent · Brussels & Berlin
Politics · page 6 of 14
The Free Democrats poll at 4, 5 percent days before Sunday's election, risking their first ever exit from the southwestern state parliament and raising doubts about the party's national survival after last year's federal wipeout.
With Marine Le Pen or Jordan Bardella favoured to win next year's presidential election, Berlin, Brussels and Kyiv are accelerating nuclear, budget and enlargement agreements that a National Rally government could unpick.
Janez Janša's SDS leads Robert Golob's Freedom Movement by eight points with three weeks to vote, exposing a fragmented centre-left and a healthcare crisis that has become a proxy for state capacity.
Ursula von der Leyen and Kaja Kallas issued competing statements within minutes as Tehran came under attack, exposing a long-running power struggle between the Commission and the External Action Service.
Hannah Spencer takes 40.7% of the vote in a seat Labour held with 51% last July, while Reform UK pushes the governing party into third place for the first time.
Mette Frederiksen asks King Frederik X to dissolve parliament eight months early, betting that her handling of Donald Trump's Arctic territorial claims has reversed Social Democrat fortunes after November's municipal rout.
Trailing by eight points weeks before the April vote, Hungary's prime minister blocks €90 billion in EU aid for Ukraine and brands his rival a foreign stooge. Péter Magyar refuses the bait.
Democrats 66 leader forms minority coalition with VVD and CDA after October election, facing vote-by-vote negotiations on €19bn defence spending and asylum reforms.
Reykjavik considers moving a planned 2027 vote to August as Trump tariffs and Greenland ambitions reshape security calculations for the North Atlantic island.
President Iliana Iotova sets April 19 vote after appointing caretaker government, marking eighth parliamentary election since 2021 as no prime minister has completed a full term
Prime minister uses state-of-the-nation address to frame April vote as existential choice while trailing opposition by double digits and welcoming Trump endorsement and Rubio visit.
Centre-left candidate leads polls by two-to-one margin in Sunday's vote, while far-right Chega leader fails to consolidate conservative support despite historic first-round showing.
Messages from 2018 and 2019 show Trump's former strategist asked Jeffrey Epstein to bankroll Marine Le Pen and Matteo Salvini ahead of European elections, while Italian and French politicians demand transparency.
With Viktor Orban trailing in polls before April's vote, Fidesz warns EU diplomats against interference while courting Trump's endorsement, but the US president has already rejected Orban's request for an economic backstop.
Foreign Minister David van Weel says the new minority coalition will treat NATO as the cornerstone of security while pushing the EU to build its own military capacity, as Trump's Greenland demands fracture transatlantic trust.
D66, CDA and VVD will govern with 66 seats, ten short of a majority, after October election ended PVV-led coalition.
D66, Christian Democrats and VVD agree governing pact but must seek opposition support for every bill in both parliamentary chambers.
NATO secretary-general dismisses European strategic autonomy as a dream and warns that going alone would require 10 percent of GDP, not the 5 percent allies have pledged.
Emergency summit in Brussels reveals frayed transatlantic trust as Kaja Kallas warns of a 'big blow' while member states disagree on how firmly to respond to US volatility.
European leaders ended emergency talks in Brussels welcoming the US president's retreat from tariff threats while signalling they will not dismantle the anti-coercion instrument until the Arctic dispute is formally settled.
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