Europe

The new leader of the German Social Democrats (SPD), Saskia Esken, has been accused of spying on her own employees in the past by German media.Ms Esken, who recently was elected co-leader of the SPD alongside Norbert Walter-Borjans, is said to have spied on former employees’ email accounts when she worked at the State Parents Advisory Board of Baden-Württemberg, German tabloid Bild reports. According to Christian Bucksch, who was chairman of the organization when Esken was elected to its board in 2011, Esken had access to employee email passwords and read their correspondence. Gabi Wengenroth, a former employee, claims that because she had kept in contact with Bucksch after he had left the company, she was accused of disloyalty and had received an email from Ms Esken informing her of her termination as a result. The woman told her story to broadcaster ARD who spoke to a labour lawyer who told them that the dismissal was likely illegal due to the … [Read more...] about Anti-Breitbart German Social Democrat Leader Accused of Spying on Past Employees

Populist leader Marine Le Pen and her Rassemblement National (National Rally, or RN) have triumphed over sitting French president Emmanuel Macron in the European Parliament elections, according to exit polls.Ms Le Pen declared victory following exit polls showing the RN winning around 24 per cent of the vote, compared to Macron’s La Republique En Marche! (LREM) who, according to projections, has come in second with 22.5 percent of the vote, French newspaper Le Figaro reports. Declaring victory, the RN leader said, “The trust we have been given by the French in designating us as the first party in France but especially as that of the future alternation is an immense honour.” She went on to call for Macron to dissolve the French parliament, saying “it is up to the President of the Republic to draw the consequences” and calling for fresh elections, stating that Macron put his own presidency on the line in the vote. France, Elabe projection: RN-ENF: … [Read more...] about Le Pen Triumphs Over Macron in EU Election Exit Poll, Calls for Fresh National Elections

Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has hinted at the possibility of new national Italian elections as populist Interior Minister Matteo Salvini speaks of “common battles” for the two parties in Europe.Berlusconi, who leads the centre-right Forza Italia, has hinted at reviving the centre-right alliance which broke up following the coalition deal between Salvini’s Lega and the Five Star Movement last year. The former Italian Prime Minister has repeatedly attacked the coalition and called on Salvini to return to the centre-right project, newspaper Il Giornale reports. “Lega and the Brothers of Italy also realized that alone in Europe they would remain in the corner or they would not count for anything. Our mission starts with changing alliances with the European left. We must build, also with my presence in the EPP, a new alliance with the moderate right parties and also with Orban and Salvini,” Berlusconi said. Orban’s Fidesz party was … [Read more...] about Berlusconi and Salvini Hint At Possible Cooperation Following Euro Elections

The League party of populist Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini continues to dominate polling projections for this month’s European Parliament elections as a new alliance with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán begins to take shape.According to a new poll released by Index Research, Salvini’s League is still firmly the most popular party in Italy going into this month’s election with 32.8 per cent, with the second largest party, the League’s populist coalition partner the Five Star Movement (M5S), polling more than ten points behind at 22 per cent, Il Giornale reports. The Democratic Party, which formed the previous national government, are just behind the M5S at 20.5 per cent while former conservative Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia (Forward Italy) sits at 9.3 per cent. While Salvini’s League is the largest party in the poll, around 36 per cent of Italians said they were either undecided or would … [Read more...] about Salvini Tops Polls in Italy Ahead of EU Election as Orban Alliance Takes Shape

South Korea has cast off most of the trappings of a developing economy over the past decade, but it is heading into the 2020s with a currency that is still distinctly emerging market. The Korean won can only be directly exchanged with the dollar and the Chinese currency, with trading overseas limited to the yuan in Shanghai. What's more, the country's $50 billion foreign-exchange market opens for just six-and-a-half hours a day. The country's restricted currency-trading regime -- a hallmark of many emerging markets -- arguably doesn't fit the country's current economic reality. "Authorities are reluctant to let the won trade offshore," said Lee Jang Young, a former deputy governor of the Financial Supervisory Service. "They're scared that any vulnerabilities will be exploited by foreign investors to launch 'speculative attacks' on our markets," said Lee, who is now an senior adviser at law firm Kim & Chang in Seoul. Their fears have deep roots in the Asian financial crisis of the … [Read more...] about Why South Korea has first-world economy and developing-market currency