Sport and Politics

I have found this a very disappointing weekend in many respects for sports. Two Irish rugby teams (Ulster and Leinster) both lost their cup finals against French opposition (Montpellier and Bordeaux in the Challenge Cup and Champions Cup, respectively). Glamorgan’s cricketers lost their first two Twenty20 games of the season (both narrowly). And today’s last round of matches in the English Premier League saw Newcastle lose, an outcome made worse by the fact that Sunderland won.

At least however there was an opportunity to enjoy Ireland’s greatest spectator sport (after hurling, of course): the counting of votes in an election. Friday saw two by-elections, one because of the resignation of Paschal Donohoe (FG) from his seat in Dublin Central in order to take a lucrative job at the World Bank, and the other vacated by Catherine Connolly whose seat in Galway West became vacant when she took on the role of President. Neither of these are constituencies in which I could vote, but it was fun watching the results come on.

These elections, like all elections in Ireland, were held under a system of Proportional Representation (Single Transferable Vote). The constituences return multiple members in a General Election, but in the case of a by-election only one candidate is elected. This simplifies matters a bit because the part of the process that involves transferring surplus votes from candidates who exceed quota is not needed. Voters rank the candidates in order of preference with votes progressively reallocated as the lowest-ranked candidates are eliminated. You can rank all the candidates or just some. In the system employed here one ranks the candidates in order of preference with votes progressively reallocated in various rounds until one ends up with one winner.

There was also the presence of gang leader Gerard Hutch among the candidates in Dublin Central, but in the end he didn’t put up a serious challenge.

Opinion polls gave Sinn Féin’s Janice Boylan a narrow lead on first preferences, but since SF are notoriously transfer-unfriendly, I was very confident that lead would be overturned by Daniel Ennis of the Social Democrats. As it turned out, however, Ennis actually led on first preferences which confirmed me in my opinion that he would win. This is how the transfers panned out.

Ennis won comfortably, and John Stephens of Fianna Fáil gaining the distinction of getting the lowest share of first preference votes that his party has ever recorded in an election. There are some bizarre transfers, e.g. from the left-wing PBP (People Before Profit) to Fine Gael. Other than that the outcome was as predicted.

Not long ago Sinn Féin were riding high in the polls and might have expected to win a seat here, especially since Mary Lou McDonald, the Sinn Féin leader, holds a seat in Dublin Central, but their popularity has slumped. I think that’s primarily because they have recently lurched to the right – rather like UK Labour has – and many who want a genuinely progressive alternative to the crumbling neoliberal consensus have decided that they can’t support SF which puts on the mask of a progressive party when it suits them but are quite to remove it when chasing the right-wing vote. is quoted as saying that there is ‘no confusion’ for voters about whether the party was left-wing or right-wing. I think she is correct there, but perhaps not in the way she intended…

A genuinely left-wing party of the size of Sinn Féin should be building coalitions and knocking at the door to power, but instead it has squandered its position by pandering to anti-immigrant sentiment, jumping on the bandwagon of the recent “fuel protests” and signing up to transphobic policies in Northern Ireland. I don’t understand why they have chosen this path, but it looks very foolish to me. I’m not the only one to think this. Is Morgan McSweeney now working for Sinn Féin?

As I write, the count in Galway West is still going on but it has come down to a contest between two unpalatable right-wing candidates so I’m not following it as closely. Oh, the Fine Gael candidate has won.

Letters: RTÉ should do us a favour and stay away from all future Eurovision Song Contests

With three extra countries participating, I doubt if the aforementioned were missed. Regarding Ireland’s non-participation, it…
#Eurovision #AbortionReferendum #BBC #BenjaminNetanyahu #BorisJohnson #EurovisionSongContest2026 #Gaza #HollyCairns #HSE #Israel #KeirStarmer #Lebanon #nigel-farage #PeopleBeforeProfit #RoseofTralee #rte #RyderCup #SinnFéin #SocialDemocrats
https://www.europesays.com/europe/43172/

Fascism is way more than most people think. So, know your enemy and listen to this (you can watch-listen without ads via Newpipe app).

Fighting Fascism- Lessons from the Colonies, with Robin D.G. Kelley

"Aimé Césaire cut through the mythologies to show that fascism in Europe was no anomaly, it was the boomerang effect of brutal European colonialism abroad coming home. The fight against fascism cannot be successful without understanding the powerful struggles against colonialism from the 20th century to today."

⁨https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LyL_ZbfJnSc⁩

@[email protected]⁩ ⁨@palestine⁩

⁨#colonialism⁩ ⁨#fascism⁩ ⁨#Israel⁩ ⁨#Spain⁩ ⁨#Germany⁩ ⁨#SocialDemocrats⁩ ⁨#LiberalDemocracy⁩ ⁨

Il Tempo: Danimarca, flop della paladina anti Trump, il re chiede alla destra di formare il governo

Anche la Danimarca ora guarda a destra. Dopo che Mette Frederiksen, la paladina anti Trump protagonista della battaglia per la Groenlandia, non è riuscita a formare una coalizione di governo, re Federico X ha chiesto a Troels Lund Poulsen, leader del partito ultraconservatore Venstre, di mettere insieme un nuovo esecutivo. L'annuncio ha scosso l'establishment politico, dato che Frederiksen è stata una figura di spicco della politica danese per decenni. Il suo partito di sinistra, i Socialdemocratici, ha ottenuto la maggioranza relativa dei voti alle elezioni parlamentari di marzo. Ma ha perso consensi, registrando il peggior risultato elettorale dal 1903 e nessun partito ha di fatto conquistato la maggioranza.
Da allora, Frederiksen ha cercato di formare un governo di sinistra con il sostegno dei moderati di centro-destra di Lars Løkke Rasmussen. È considerato un ago della bilancia grazie ad una posizione intermedia tra Frederiksen e Troels Lund Poulsen. Ma il progetto di "campo largo alla danese" non ha convinto. Venerdì sera Rasmussen, potente ex ministro degli Esteri, ha abbandonato i negoziati promettendo sostegno a Poulsen. Il sovrano ha così chiesto a lui di "guidare i negoziati al fine di formare un governo", senza la partecipazione dei socialdemocratici e dei moderati. Negli ultimi anni la politica danese si è spostata sempre più a destra e le elezioni di marzo hanno visto un aumento dei voti per i partiti conservatori. L'immigrazione è diventata un tema centrale e persino i partiti di sinistra hanno adottato politiche più restrittive in materia di controllo dei lavoratori extracomunitari che entrano nel paese.

Denmark, a flop of the anti-Trump champion, the king asks the right to form the government.

Denmark is now looking to the right. Following Mette Frederiksen, the anti-Trump champion who led the battle for Greenland, failing to form a government coalition, King Frederik X has asked Troels Lund Poulsen, leader of the ultraconservative Venstre party, to assemble a new executive. The announcement shook the political establishment, given that Frederiksen had been a prominent figure in Danish politics for decades. Her left-wing Social Democrats won the relative majority of votes in the March parliamentary elections. But she lost support, recording the worst electoral result since 1903 and no party actually won a majority.

Since then, Frederiksen has sought to form a left-wing government with the support of the center-right moderates of Lars Løkke Rasmussen. He is considered the balance of power thanks to an intermediate position between Frederiksen and Troels Lund Poulsen. But the “broad Danish front” project failed to convince. On Friday evening, Rasmussen, a powerful former Foreign Minister, abandoned negotiations promising support to Poulsen. The monarch has thus asked him to “lead the negotiations in order to form a government,” without the participation of the Social Democrats and the moderates. In recent years, Danish politics has increasingly shifted to the right and the March elections saw an increase in votes for conservative parties. Immigration has become a central theme and even left-wing parties have adopted more restrictive policies regarding the control of foreign workers entering the country.

#Denmark #MetteFrederiksen #Greenland #TroelsLundPoulsen #Venstre #Frederiksen #Danish #SocialDemocrats #LarsLøkkeRasmussen #Rasmussen #Poulsen

https://www.iltempo.it/esteri/2026/05/10/news/danimarca-flop-della-paladina-anti-trump-il-re-chiede-alla-destra-di-formare-un-nuovo-governo-47659542/

When the Center Cracks, Sovereignty Speaks: Romania’s Political Reversal

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://europeanconservative.com/articles/commentary/when-the-center-cracks-sovereignty-speaks-romanias-political-reversal/

Irish Independent : Independent | ‘I’ve cried so much’ – tenant hit with €400-a-month rent hike after rule change

AI generated summary, Read the full article for complete information.

A tenant in a three‑bedroom shared apartment says she is now paying €400 more each month after a new rule stopped her from replacing a housemate who moved out, forcing the remaining occupants to absorb the entire rent. The increase stems from a policy introduced by Ires Reit, Ireland’s largest private landlord, which bars tenants from finding new co‑tenants under the revised housing legislation. The tenant described the situation as “I’ve cried so much,” and a Social Democrats TD warned that thousands of renters could be affected by this loophole in the new law.

Read more: https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/ive-cried-so-much-tenant-hit-with-400-a-month-rent-hike-after-rule-change/a2072516456.html

#IresReit #SocialDemocrats

AI generated summary, Read the full article for complete information.

Government Crisis Grips Romania After Social Democrats Revolt

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/government-crisis-grips-romania-after-social-democrats-revolt/

Agenzia Nova: Danimarca: elezioni, Socialdemocratici in testa ma senza maggioranza

24 mar 21:04 - (Agenzia Nova) - In Danimarca la premier uscente Mette Frederiksen e i Socialdemocratici hanno ottenuto il 19,2 per cento delle... (Sts)

Denmark: elections, Social Democrats in the lead but without a majority

24 mar 21:04 - (Agenzia Nova) - In Denmark, outgoing Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and the Social Democrats have obtained 19.2 percent of the... (Sts)

#Denmark #SocialDemocrats #AgenziaNova #MetteFrederiksen #Democrats #192percent

https://www.agenzianova.com/a/69c2f06e5e9c33.12876526/7190855/2026-03-24/danimarca-elezioni-socialdemocratici-in-testa-ma-senza-maggioranza

L'Unità: Slovenia, il premier Golob ferma l’avanzata del populista Janša: vittoria di un soffio contro l’alleato di Orban

Di un soffio, e col difficile orizzonte delle intese da trovare per formare una coalizione per governare il Paese, ma Robert Golob ha ottenuto una importante vittoria in Slovenia.
Il primo ministro e leader del Movimento per la libertà, 59 anni, ha vinto con un margine risicato la battaglia elettorale che ha spaccato il Paese: ex uomo d’affari, già alla guida del governo assieme a Socialdemocratici e Sinistra, Golov è riuscito a recuperare nei sondaggi lo svantaggio contro il suo sfidante.
Il Movimento per la Libertà di Golob ha conquistato il 28,6% dei voti e 29 seggi, vincendo di misura contro il leader nazionalista Janez Janša, già tre volte primo ministro e capo del Partito Democratico Sloveno che si è fermato al 27,9% e 28 seggi: Janša, imprenditore che politicamente è vicino a Donald Trump ma soprattutto a Viktor Orban, il più filo-russo tra i leader europei, si è detto pronto a contestare il risultato citando dati del suo stesso partito che lo davano in vantaggio.
Un esito finale in parte sorprendente, quello del voto sloveno. I sondaggi davano infatti in vantaggio Janša, ma la sua campagna elettorale è stata danneggiata dagli appelli di Golob contro la possibile deriva illiberale del Paese sotto la guida del rivale nazionalista, sul modello ungherese, e dalla scoperta grazie ad una inchiesta giornalistica che lo stesso Janša ha utilizzato una società privata israeliana di intelligence per screditare l’attuale premier.
Una vittoria, quella di Golob, che apre a diversi scenari politici. Il primo ministro si è detto pronto a rivolgersi a tutti i partiti che hanno seggio nell’Assemblea Nazionale, composta da 90 seggi, ad eccezione ovviamente del Partito Democratico Sloveno di Janša.
La presidente del Paese, Natasa Pirc Musar ha dichiarato che nominerà incaricato di formare il governo il candidato che per primo otterrà almeno 46 voti in Parlamento. Golob si rivolgerà presumibilmente ai Socialdemocratici (che hanno ottenuto il 6,7%), alla lista congiunta progressista Sinistra-Vesna (6,3%), ai Democratici (5,9%) e a Resni.ca (5,2%), partito nato da un movimento no-vax.

Slovenia, Prime Minister Golob halts the advance of populist Janša: victory by a narrow margin against Orban’s ally

With a breath, and with the difficult horizon of agreements to find to form a coalition to govern the country, Robert Golob has achieved an important victory in Slovenia.

The prime minister and leader of the Movement for Freedom, 59 years old, won with a narrow margin the electoral battle that has split the country: former businessman, previously leading the government alongside Social Democrats and Left, Golob managed to recover in the polls the disadvantage against his challenger.

The Movement for Freedom of Golob has won 28.6% of the votes and 29 seats, winning narrowly against the nationalist leader Janez Janša, previously three times prime minister and head of the Slovenian Democratic Party, who stopped at 27.9% and 28 seats: Janša, an entrepreneur politically close to Donald Trump but especially to Viktor Orban, the most pro-Russian among European leaders, said he was ready to contest the result citing data from his own party that gave him the advantage.

An outcome in part surprising, that of the Slovenian vote. The polls gave Janša the advantage, but his electoral campaign was damaged by Golob’s appeals against the possible illiberal drift of the country under the guidance of the nationalist rival, on the model of Hungary, and by the discovery thanks to an investigative journalism that the same Janša used an Israeli private intelligence company to discredit the current prime minister.

A victory, that of Golob, which opens up to various political scenarios. The prime minister said he was ready to address all parties that have seats in the National Assembly, composed of 90 seats, with the exception of course of the Slovenian Democratic Party of Janša.

The president of the country, Natasa Pirc Musar has declared that she will appoint an interim to form the government to the candidate who will first obtain at least 46 votes in Parliament. Golob will presumably address the Social Democrats (who obtained 6.7%), the joint progressive list Left-Vesna (6.3%), the Democrats (5.9%) and Resni.ca (5.2%), a party born from a no-vax movement.

#Slovenia #Golob #Janša #Orban #RobertGolob #SocialDemocrats #JanezJanša #DonaldTrump #ViktorOrban #pro-Russian #European #Slovenian #Hungary #Israeli #theNationalAssembly #NatasaPircMusar #first #Parliament #Left-Vesna #Democrats

https://www.unita.it/2026/03/23/elezioni-slovenia-risultati-golob-vince-contro-jansa/