Guns, lies and audiotape: How Bidenโs family ties could lead to another pardon
For decades, a scandal-plagued Mississippi family has cozied up to the president. How will the relationship end?
scandals
Who were the biggest dunces? Final grades for von der Leyenโs first Commission
Whoโs at the top of the class and who flunked? Here are POLITICO’s grades for each 2019-2024 European commissioner.
Tony Blairโs โPrince of Darknessโ tipped to be UKโs man in DC
Peter Mandelson could be heading Stateside after a long and notorious career in British public life.
USย Department of Justice staffers in full-blown freakout
Justice Department lawyers cannot compute that Matt Gaetz could be their new boss.
Giorgia Meloniโs vendetta against Italyโs judges
The right-wing prime minister has a โstrategyโ to discredit, frighten and silence critics, from the media to the judiciary, says a famous Italian journalist.
Ireland faces snap election on Nov. 29
Prime Minister Simon Harris seeks to exploit Sinn Fรฉinโs weakness.
Slovak opposition parties slam Ficoโs โstrategic partnershipโ with China
Chinese investment only brings scandals and debt, one official said.
Keir Starmer plays fast and loose with public trust in UK budget
Wriggling on tax and public spending promises is a big risk for Britain’s new leader soon after coming to office.
Romaniaโs election extravaganza awakens ghosts of fascist past
A far-right former football hooligan is polling strongly in the presidential race in a mega voting year for Romanians.
Putinโs Central European vanguard threatens to expand into Czechia
A growing Kremlin-friendly bloc in Central Europe would pose a major problem for the EU.
Opponents slam Meloniโs government for glorifying Mussoliniโs soldiers
The ruling Brothers of Italy party gets caught in another fascist nostalgia scandal.
8 things to know about Georgiaโs โexistentialโ election
Foreign policy will be kingmaker when Georgians cast their votes on Saturday.
Ukrainian prosecutor general resigns amid corruption scandals
Judges and other civil servants are said to have improperly obtained disability certificates, enabling them to earn extra income and, potentially, avoid conscription.
Crisis deepens for Irelandโs scandal-hit Sinn Fรฉin
The Irish republicans had hoped to lead the next government in Dublin โ but a surge in scandals and infighting are undermining its ambitions.
German far right quarrels over MP who teaches music in Moscow academy
The incident exacerbates party division.
MEP aims to lead Lithuania as Social Democrats win first election round
Would-be PM Vilija Blinkeviฤiลซtฤ has already begun coalition talks with pro-EU parties.
Iran has a hit list of former Trump aides. The U.S. is scrambling to protect them.
Roughly a dozen national security aides from the Trump White House are feared to be Iranโs hit list. Itโs hard to protect them all.
100 days of Starmer: How Labourโs big win went off the rails
After just a few months in office, the new British government is finding life tough.
Japanโs new government falls into Kate Middleton trap
Chief Cabinet secretary confirmed “minor editing was doneโ to an official pic.
Sue Gray resigns as Keir Starmerโs chief of staff
Gray had become a lightning rod for internal criticism since Labour’s election victory in the summer.
โDoing a Bidenโ is new international shorthand for ousting past-due leaders
Facing looming national elections, Japanโs Fumio Kishida, Canadaโs Justin Trudeau and Germanyโs Olaf Scholz have all faced calls to follow in the U.S. presidentโs footsteps.
Pope Francis begins tour through heart of Europe to promote peace and boost his dwindling flock
With church attendance in decline and child abuse scandals still live, the pontiff has arrived in Luxembourg to try and raise morale.
When UK party conferences go wrong
Despite the best efforts of party bigwigs, Britainโs annual gatherings of political animals frequently descend into chaos.
Saudi oil giant spends well over a billion on โsportswashing,โ new report says
Fossil-fuel companies are the new patrons of Big Sport, according to think tank New Weather Institute.
Zelenskyyโs consolidation of power weakens Ukraineโs resilience
The war has done nothing to still the president’s populist impatience with the complexities of governing, and it’s playing against the country’s strengths.
Italian ministerโs ex-lover banned from parliament over spy glasses
The woman at the centre of an affair that led to the resignation of Italy’s culture minister was banned from parliament on Tuesday (10 September) for allegedly illicitly filming inside the chamber using spy glasses.
Building a shared finance and security vision between Britain and Europe
Against a geopolitical backdrop thatโs unrecognizable from just a few years ago, thereโs a strong case for developing a cross-Channel finance and security partnership.
โThe commander-in-chief testโ: Harris and Trump are sparring over the military. Itโs not a new playbook.
Attacks over the military are part of a decades-old political playbook. This year, both candidates are vulnerable to military-based attacks โ and neither is pulling punches.
Bulgaria submits two candidates for EU Commissioner
Bulgaria submitted to Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, two candidates for Commissioner, reportedly becoming the only country to answer her request of proposing one male and one female applicant, on Friday (30 August).
Keir Starmer blames the Tories for Labourโs own cronyism scandal
The prime minister says the Tories “dragged our country down” as he denies any wrongdoing on civil service appointments.
Greece โ the country that lets people escape justice
Cover-ups, botched investigations and a general feeling of impunity set alarm bells ringing.
Ukraineโs plan to buy Russian-made nuclear reactors sparks uproar
Lawmakers argue buying aging atomic energy equipment from Bulgaria wonโt help keep the lights on and could fuel corruption.
Japan PM Kishida to step down as scandals prove too much
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he will step down in September, ending a three-year term marred by political scandals and paving the way for a new premier to address the impact of rising prices.
The final piece of the Senate puzzle, another โSquadโ primary and more races to watch on Tuesday
Primaries are taking place in Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont and Wisconsin.
Migration keeps derailing British leaders
As the dust settles on days of far-right rioting, the issue seems inescapable for Britain’s new leader Keir Starmer.
Paris holds first ceremonies for Olympians beaten by doping cheats
Medal reallocation events mark Gamesโ latest attempt to navigate path through drug scandals
The fate of Bidenโs Supreme Court proposal may lie with Kamala Harris
Both Biden and Harris are recent converts to the idea of term limits, but there are hints that Harris may be more willing to push the issue.
European Commission bans staff from accepting Olympics freebies
After a string of scandals, the bloc’s executive arm warns officials not to be tempted by complimentary tickets.
Humiliated, Scotlandโs independence warriors lick their wounds
The Tories may have been kicked out of government, but for the Scottish National Party, July’s U.K. election may prove terminal.
Zut alors! No Olympic Games go off without a hitch, including Paris
The Paris Olympics are already experiencing their first faux pas, ranging from bad food to a mix up of countries.
How to dominate your European Parliament committee
Itโs where the legislative magic happens.
Welsh leader Vaughan Gething quits after four months
The Labour first minister’s short leadership of Wales was a turbulent one
At NATO, the center left is having its moment. It wonโt last.
The U.K’s Keir Starmer may be among political friends now โ but the future isn’t so bright for his international allies.
Czech party says itโs ready to announce new far-right group in European Parliament
Czech Freedom and Direct Democracy says it will team up with the Alternative for Germany.
Le Penโs National Rally to take control of far-right Patriots in EU Parliament
The new group, which also includes Viktor Orbรกn’s MEPs, is set to become the third-biggest force in Parliament.
The politics of boring: Why Starmer won โ and why Biden probably wonโt
As the U.S. and U.K. leaders are discovering, dullness can be an electoral asset. Until itโs not.
Center-left in US sees a lesson in British election results
Labourโs win is an argument for โbold, pragmatic centrism.โ
Why a disillusioned, angry Britain voted for change
A tour of Britain’s provincial towns reveals a restless nation with no love for its political class.
How the Tory election campaign melted down in six disastrous weeks
Rishi Sunak played a bad hand appallingly โ and paid a terrible price.
Scotlandโs independence warriors smashed in UK general election
The SNP are having a bad night as votes are counted in the UK election
Labour obliterate Tories with historic election win โ exit poll
Keir Starmer on course to be most powerful British prime minister since Tony Blair.
Watch the UK election like a pro
It’s set to be the most consequential British general election for a generation. POLITICO takes you through what to watch out for and exactly when to tune in.
An Americanโs guide to the 2024 UK election
We can’t give you a felon and an old guy on July 4 โ but we do have a gambling scandal. And Nigel Farage.
Why is British politics so unfailingly funny?
Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer and Nigel Farage walk into a bar. Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.
AfD protests: demonstrators clash with police at start of far-right congress โย video
Clashes between hooded demonstrators and police marked the start of a party congress of Germanyโs far-right Alternative fรผr Deutschland (AfD), weeks after it scored record EU election results despite multiple scandals. About 1,000 police were deployed …
Protesters clash with police at start of far-right AfD congress in Essen
Party summit expected to draw 80,000 demonstrators as German police are stretched by Euro 2024Clashes between hooded demonstrators and police marked the start of a party congress of Germanyโs far-right Alternative fรผr Deutschland (AfD), weeks after it …
US presidential debate: Biden falters as Trump unleashes barrage of falsehoods
President Joe Biden delivered a shaky, halting performance while his Republican rival Donald Trump battered him with a series of often false attacks at their debate on Thursday (27 June).
The next king of Scotland
Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar is following in the footsteps of his legendary political father.
Thatโs it, no more elections! Just make Taylor Swift prime minister
An election. A French election. A UK election. Enough is enough!