UNITED STATES
Ron DeSantis in the starting blocks
After the publication of his book in February (The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Plan for America’s Rebirth untranslated), Florida Governor Ron DeSantis embarked on his pre-campaign for the 2024 presidential election with a tour, from March 3 to 6, in the two most populous American states: Texas and California. “According to the polls, the Floridian is the most formidable opponent of Donald Trump, who is undertaking his third campaign for the White House”, REMARK The Washington Post about the governor, still unknown beyond the borders of his own state. However, the person concerned has not yet officially declared himself a candidate.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Mixed end to the tour for Macron
After Gabon, Angola and Congo, the French president has completed his express tour of Central Africa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country torn apart by conflict in the east, where the rebellion of the M23 group is making ravages. Expected on this subject, Emmanuel Macron did not explicitly denounce Rwanda, accused of supporting the M23 militiamen. “The French president remained vague, deplores the Congolese site Politico. Contrary to Kinshasa’s expectations, Macron did not condemn Kigali, thus corroborating the thesis of alleged French support for the regime of Paul Kagame.
ISRAEL
The dispute affects the army
Since coming to power at the start of the year, the government of Benyamin Netanyahu has seen hundreds of thousands of demonstrators march every week against his judicial reform, which plans to bring the Supreme Court into line. On March 5, Israeli army reservists joined the protests and announced their refusal to train. “This movement has created concerns about the army’s ability to act, particularly against Iran, but the reservists assured that they would only strike for one day and would be present in the event of military operations”, relates The Jerusalem Post.
RUSSIA
Stalin celebrated in Moscow
On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the death of Joseph Stalin, on March 5, the Russian Communist Party organized a tribute ceremony in Red Square, Moscow. A thousand activists marched, some dressed up as Stalin, brandishing his portrait or the communist flag. “Stalin’s image has been gradually restored in Russia over the past decades despite the atrocities committed under his rule – and his legacy hangs over Russia’s current offensive against Ukraine,” remind him Moscow Times. In February, a bust of Stalin was unveiled in Volgograd.
GREECE
Anger after train disaster
Several days after a head-on collision between a passenger train and another freight train that killed at least 57 people, the anger does not subside. More than 10,000 people demonstrated on March 5 in Athens against the government, criticized for the state of the rail network. Struggling Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has asked the Supreme Court to conduct an investigation. “Railway workers say the rail network has cracked due to cost cutting and underinvestment, a legacy of the Greek debt crisis,” reports the daily I Kathimerini.
ESTONIA
Elections smile on Kallas
At the forefront on the European scene in support of Ukraine, the outgoing Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, is in a strong position on March 6, the day after the general elections. His Reform Party (liberal) finished in first place in the ballot, with more than 31% of the vote (compared to 29% in 2019). This “solid performance” should allow Kallas “to assemble a stable majority coalition to lead this Baltic state of 1.3 million inhabitants”, see the site Politico.
CHINA
Always more power for Xi
“Around 5%”: the Chinese growth target, unveiled at the National People’s Congress on March 5 by Prime Minister Li Keqiang constitutes “the lowest target for more than three decades”, notes the FinancialTimes. Xi Jinping should take advantage of this parliamentary session to “further centralize power, reversing a decades-long trend of separating the party from the government”, continues the daily.