Page 2 - Right Wing

Poland's voters reject their right-wing govt, but many challenges lie ahead

Poland's voters delivered a clear verdict. After eight years of rule by a right-wing government, they have had enough. While the conservative ruling Law and Justice party won more votes than any other single party in a parliamentary election on Sunday, it lost its majority and will not hold enough seats to govern the country. Three opposition groups who waged an energetic campaign on promises to help restore national unity, rule of law and cooperative ties with the European Union and other allies, are poised to get their turn to steer the Central European nation of 38 million people. But the path ahead will be demanding. Here are five challenges facing the country in its transition. Transition of power Some Poles have voiced concerns that the ruling party, like former President Donald Trump in the United States and supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, might resist the verdict of the voters. Some anxiety was triggered by words uttered Sunday night by party leader

Spain's early poll could put far right in power for 1st time since Franco

Spain's general election on Sunday could make the country the latest European Union member swing to the populist right, a shift that would represent a major upheaval after five years under a left-wing government. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the early election after his Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and its small far-left coalition partner, Unidas Podemos ("United We Can"), took a beating in local and regional elections. The center-right Popular Party emerged from the May 28 elections with the most votes. Polls for the general election have consistently put the PP in first place but likely needing support from the far-right Vox party to form a government. Such a coalition would return a far-right force to the Spanish government for the first time since the country transitioned to democracy following the 1975 death of Gen. Francisco Franco, the dictator who ruled Spain for nearly 40 years. The Popular Party and Vox have agreed to govern together in some 140 cities and tow

Finding a fine balance: For BJP, RSS' organisational heft is a prized asset

The core message of the RSS' top decision-making body at its recent meeting was its unreserved support to its affiliate, BJP, marking a break from the past

Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu advances judicial changes despite uproar

Israel's government on Monday was pressing ahead with a contentious plan to overhaul the country's legal system, despite an unprecedented uproar that has included mass protests, warnings from military and business leaders and calls for restraint by the United States. Thousands of demonstrators were expected to gather outside the parliament, or Knesset, for a second straight week to rally against the plan as lawmakers prepared to hold an initial vote. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies, a collection of ultra-religious and ultranationalist lawmakers, say the plan is meant to fix a system that has given the courts and government legal advisers too much say in how legislation is crafted and decisions are made. Critics say it will upend the country's system of checks and balances and concentrate power in the hands of the prime minister. They also say that Netanyahu, who is on trial for a series of corruption charges, has a conflict of interest. The standoff has plunged Isr

An illusion that divides

Every debate is recast in left vs right terms in the urban mindscape, but it is hard to tell one from the other

Thousands of Israelis rally against Netanyahu government in Tel Aviv

Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered in central Tel Aviv on Saturday night to protest plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new government to overhaul the legal system and weaken the Supreme Court a step that critics say will destroy the country's democratic system of checks and balances. The protest presented an early challenge to Netanyahu and his ultranationalist national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has ordered police to take tough action if protesters block roads or display Palestinian flags. Israeli media, citing police, said the crowd at Tel Aviv's Habima Square swelled to at least 80,000 people, despite cool, rainy weather. Protesters, many covered by umbrellas, held Israeli flags and signs saying Criminal Government," The End of Democracy and other slogans. They are trying to destroy the checks and balances of the Israeli democracy. This will not work, said Asaf Steinberg, a protester from the Tel Aviv suburb of Herzliya. And we will fight until the ver

German coup plot fuelled by conspiracy claims, Covid-19 measures

Reich Citizens consider the partition of Germany by Allied powers after World War II and the subsequent democratic states that followed to have been illegal

Twitter bans two right-wing accounts as Musk promotes free speech

Twitter permanently suspended accounts of Mike Lindell and Dr Vladimir "Zev" Zelenko shortly after the duo rejoined with creating new Twitter handles, for violating platform rules against evading bans

On BJP foundation day eve, PM asks MPs to dedicate themselves to 'seva'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday laid down a detailed programme for them for every day during the 14-day long exercise.

Why right-wing historians could learn from D D Kosambi

The problem with writing history to please the piper, however, is that no one bothers with the whys

Twitter amplifies politically right-leaning tweets more, says study

Microblogging platform Twitter uses an algorithm that amplifies the reach of politically right-leaning sources more than that of politically left-leaning sources, suggested a study.Twitter uses the algorithm to personalize the content its users see on their home timelines.Cambridge University professor Ferenc Huszar and his colleagues quantified whether Twitter's algorithm amplifies left-leaning or right-leaning content using a randomized control group of nearly two million daily active Twitter users chosen by the platform to receive content in reverse-chronological order without personalization and a treatment group representing 4 per cent of all other accounts with personalized timelines.The authors analyzed the algorithmic amplification effect on tweets made by 3,634 elected politicians from major political parties in seven countries that are highly represented on Twitter.The authors also measured the algorithmic amplification of 6.2 million political news articles shared in the ...

Letter to the Editor: Identifying Indian Right

Strong nationalism is always a defining feature of our ideological leaning, says BJP spokesperson

Searching for the Indian right

Mr Modi's supporters are eager to call themselves right-wing, but what do they stand for really?

Best of BS Opinion: The real oximeter, why poor are leaning right & more

Here are the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for Monday

Why the poor are leaning right

How support for left and right-leaning parties is changing in social composition

The discovery of Modi's India

Narendra Modi's is not a picture of a leader concerned about the well-being of the country he governs but of fulfilling a personal and political agenda in spite of it

America's alt-right turn

Book review of Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America. A Recent History

America's alt-right turn

Book review of Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America. A Recent History

Controversy over Tanishq advertisement: Who said what & the story so far

Listen to the Podcast to know about the much talked about Tanishq ad controversy, which has attracted criticism as well as support from across the country

Missing oneness

Tatas should have stayed firm on the Tanishq ad