Fossil and Nuclear Fuels Must Be Stopped in the Face of Barbaric Warfare

Fossil fuels are intimately linked to energy poverty.

April 3, 2022 by Pressenza 


By Redacción España

The fight against the climate emergency is today more than ever a cry for peace.
The invasion of Ukraine and the European Union’s sanctions show once again the enormous dependence of the economy on fossil fuels and how they have been financing wars for decades.

This crisis must drive the transformation of the current system towards energy and food sovereignty, climate justice and not resurrect obsolete fossil projects.

Ecologistas en Acción opposes war and military aggression, no matter who it comes from. Vladimir Putin’s regime must immediately withdraw its troops from Ukraine and Russia, Ukraine and NATO must comply with the Minsk Agreements. What is needed is a clear rejection of military escalation and a return to diplomacy. Therefore, Ecologistas en Acción calls on society to demonstrate against Russian aggression and war in Ukraine, NATO militarism and the economic interests of the European Union (EU) in the Ukrainian conflict.

The invasion of Ukraine has exposed the EU’s tremendous addiction to fossil fuels, which in turn has a huge social, environmental and climate cost. Today more than ever, the war exposes the seams in the system and signals that we are at a crucial moment to accelerate the energy transition and the reduction of current energy consumption. Sanctions and measures to stop financing this war should not be an excuse to increase fossil fuel infrastructures or to resurrect obsolete projects that had already been discarded years ago.

In this scenario, the EU proposes diversifying energy sources with the aim of reducing its dependence on Russian gas. This proposal was put forward several years ago. The result is that Russian gas still accounts for 45% of European gas imports. Similarly, the huge impacts of the alternatives envisaged by the EU, such as imports of gas from US fracking or increasing the flow of Azeri gas and Saudi oil, cannot be ignored.

Another EU proposal is for Spain to become a hub for gas exports to the rest of the European container. The environmental organisation states that this is unfeasible. Pipeline imports from Russia to the EU reached 13 million cubic feet per day in 2020, which is more than 17 times the current gas export capacity of the Spanish state. The increase needed to supply the EU would have to be achieved by importing gas via methane tankers, which would entail a threefold increase in gas imports. The economic and ecological cost of these imports is higher.

Even so, large companies in the sector and some political representatives are trying to resurrect highly impactful projects such as the MidCat gas pipeline and the illegal regasification plant at El Musel. Projects that have already been rejected due to their high economic and socio-environmental costs and which, far from being a solution, would become a long-term problem: they do not favour the EU’s energy security and diversification, but rather the generation of stranded assets that would further increase dependence on fossil gas in the future.

These proposals run counter to compliance with the Paris Agreement and the EU’s own energy transition. They would only serve to further benefit billion-dollar energy companies such as Enagás. Instead, the projected investment for these projects should be allocated to demand reduction measures and the appropriate development of renewables, which would have an immediate impact on energy security and lay the foundations for a just transition.

On the other hand, the EU must prevent the controversial Nord Stream 2 (NS2) pipeline linking Germany and Russia, which has cost billions of euros that could have been used to boost the energy transition. However, if Germany, as announced when the attacks began, does not issue the necessary certification for the pipeline to begin operations, the multinational consortium behind NS2 could challenge this decision through multi-million-dollar lawsuits against the country and the EU as a whole under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). Therefore, Ecologistas en Acción stresses once again its opposition to the ECT and demands the immediate exit of Spain and the other countries from the EU. It is time to stop paying with public money compensation for useless infrastructures that aggravate the climate crisis.

With regard to measures to avoid an unaffordable rise in electricity bills, although the establishment of a price limit in auctions or the elimination of the benefits to electricity companies that have fallen from the sky are important, we are still a long way from a reform that is up to the task. Excluding gas from the auction system is a temporary stop-gap that will not prevent the upward trend in electricity prices. Market liberalisation and an unfair tariff system controlled by the companies of the electricity oligopoly are still the underlying causes of a price escalation that seems to be unchecked, as Ecologistas en Acción has been warning for some time.

Fossil fuels are intimately linked to energy poverty. The most vulnerable families are the most affected by these price rises, as they are the least able to invest in energy efficiency measures. It is more essential than ever to ensure support for these families through the implementation of a social tariff, a rapid energy rehabilitation of homes and a switch to renewable thermal systems.

The worst fear is that the conflict could escalate into a nuclear war, which would have dramatic consequences. A threat of nuclear war would not have happened if global nuclear disarmament had been achieved, which is why Ecologistas en Acción demands the ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. In addition, fears of an attack on one of Ukraine’s 15 nuclear reactors have highlighted the threat posed by this type of energy, despite the EU’s new taxonomy proposal.

The dependence of the agro-industrial sector on large resource transport chains, such as grain for animal feed or fertilisers, is also evident. The declarations of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, along the lines of downgrading the “farm to table” strategy or paralysing the application of food safety standards, respond solely to the interests of big agribusiness. Lifting restrictions on banned GMOs, environmental standards or the use of plant protection products will only aggravate the global social and food crisis. Now is the time to reduce the burden on livestock and reconvert industrial livestock farming, to stop the production of biofuels from food raw materials and to opt for self-sufficiency. Promoting a different model of production and consumption will allow savings to be made on different inputs, benefiting agricultural income and leading to an economy that is more resilient to these situations.

In the face of the global health, environmental and social emergency, Ecologistas en Acción points out that disarmament and demilitarisation processes are needed: reduction of global military spending and its use for health and education, conversion of the arms industry into a renewable energy industry and dismantling of the nuclear arsenal. Peace will only be possible in an environmentally and socially sustainable society.

The original article can be found here

Global banks provided $742bn in fossil fuel financing despite their climate pledges

Basit Mahmood

LEFT FOOT FORWARD

31 March, 2022 

In the six years since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the world’s 60 largest private sector banks financed fossil fuels with $4.6 trillion.

Despite crucial climate summits such as COP26 and the rhetoric of banks and businesses to do more to help tackle climate change, global banks provided $742bn in financing to coal, oil and gas companies last year, it has been revealed.

The Financial Times reports that the financing of fossil fuels remained dominated by the ‘same four US banks, led by JPMorgan Chase, followed by Citi, Wells Fargo and Bank of America’, which together accounted for one quarter of all fossil fuel financing identified over the last six years.

The findings were based on a report from the Rainforest Action Network, which also found that in the six years since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the world’s 60 largest private sector banks financed fossil fuels with $4.6 trillion.

It goes on to state: “RBC is Canada’s worst banker of fossil fuels, with Barclays as the worst in Europe and MUFG as the worst in Japan.

“These banks may tout their commitments to helping their clients transition, and yet the 60 banks pro led in this report funneled $185.5 billion just last year into the 100 companies doing the most to expand the fossil fuel sector, such as Saudi Aramco and ExxonMobil — even when carbon budgets make clear that we cannot afford any new coal, gas, or oil supply or infrastructure.”

JP Morgan chase provided $382bn in fossil fuel financing between 2016-2021, while Citi group gave $285bn, Wells Fargo gave $272bn and the Bank of America gave $232bn over the same period.

All four banks are members of the so-called Net-Zero Banking Alliance, which was launched by the former governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney.

The industry-led alliance commits signatory banks to aligning their lending and investment portfolios with net-zero emissions by 2050, as well as to setting intermediate reduction targets for 2030 or sooner.

The report found that overall, the world’s 60 largest lenders provided only slightly less financing for fossil fuels in 2021 than the $750bn recorded in 2020.

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

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Costa Rica: Ex-Finance Minister Chaves wins presidential vote

Former Finance Minister Rodrigo Chaves is set to be Costa Rica's next president after a scandal-tainted runoff vote. His opponent, former President Jose Maria Figueres, has conceded defeat.


Chaves, an anti-establishment economist, was seen as the maverick candidate in the race

Right-wing candidate and former Finance Minister Rodrigo Chaves won Costa Rica's runoff presidential election on Sunday, a preliminary vote tally showed.

The anti-establishment economist garnered around 52.9% of the vote, according to preliminary partial results published by the country's electoral tribunal.

His centrist opponent, former President Jose Maria Figueres, was seen securing 47.1% of the vote.

Shortly after the initial results were announced, Figueres conceded defeat.

Costa Rica's presidential vote comes amid a growing economic crisis, and citizens are frustrated by recent public corruption scandals, another surge of COVID-19 infections and poor economic conditions.

Two scandal-tainted presidential contenders

Both candidates managed to beat off rival contenders to reach the final stage of the presidential polls despite previous scandals clouding their campaigns.

Chaves is from the right-wing Social Democratic Progress Party and at one point had been minister of finance. He has been investigated for sexual harassment during his time as a senior official at the World Bank and was demoted from his position. Chaves has also focused on the economy and job creation.

Costa Rica's presidential candidate Rodrigo Chaves has served as finance minister and is slightly ahead of his opponent in opinion polls

"The urgent themes to address are the ones causing discomfort and suffering to the people," Chaves said, adding that among the key issues were "first the lack of jobs. Secondly the cost of living."

Figueres, who represents the National Liberation Party, was president of the country from 1994 to 1998 and has been investigated for allegedly accepting $900,000 (€814,000) from French firm Alcatel. Figueres has focused on the economy in his campaign.

Presidential candidate Jose Maria Figueres served as president between 1994 and 1998

"In the economic agenda, unemployment is the most important, the creation of employment opportunities is the priority," Figueres said.
Costa Rica witnessing worst recession in decades

Costa Rica is experiencing its worst recession in four decades brought on by the global pandemic.

Unemployment sat at around 14.4% in 2021 and there is a high level of inequality. About 23% of the Costa Rican population lives in poverty.

rs, kb/wd (AFP, Reuters, EFE)

DW RECOMMENDS

Costa Ricans vote in election marred by economic crisis

Costa Rican voters are choosing the country's next president amid frustration over corruption scandals, the COVID-19 pandemic and poor economic conditions. Much of the electorate remains undecided.

Sri Lanka’s Cabinet resigns en masse amid protests over economic crisis

All members except for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, the prime minister, stepped down at a late-night meeting.

Scroll Staff

29 minutes ago

• 
  

Protestors hold banners and placards during a demonstration against the surge in prices and shortage of fuel and other essential commodities in Colombo on Sunday. | Ishara S Kodikara/AFP

Sri Lanka’s entire Cabinet, except President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, resigned en masse from their positions at a late-night meeting on Sunday in wake of the island country’s worst economic meltdown since its independence, PTI reported.

The prime minister’s son Namal Rajapaksa and his brothers Chamal Rajapaksa and Basil Rajapaksa were among the 26 ministers who resigned.

“We gave resignations to the prime minister saying we are willing to leave at any time,” Education Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told reporters in Colombo, according to Bloomberg. “After discussing with the president, the steps to be taken will be decided.”

The resignations allow the president to form a new Cabinet amid demands from coalition partners for a caretaker government, The Hindu reported.

Sri Lanka is facing an economic crisis as its foreign reserves have hit rock bottom. The country had declared an economic emergency in August. Sri Lankans are now facing shortages of petrol, diesel, milk powder, cooking gas, kerosene and other essential items. The shortage of fuel has led to power cuts of up to 13 hours daily in the country.

On Saturday, authorities had declared a 36-hour nationwide curfew amid a series of protests over the economic crisis. The government has also blocked access to social media sites such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter.

Sunday’s development came hours after several Opposition parties and student groups held protests over the Rajapaksa government’s response to the crisis.

Despite the curfew and heavy police presence, university students in Colombo took out a march and shouted anti-government slogans, according to The Hindu. Similar protests were also held in the Kandy district.

Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa accused the Sri Lankan government of resorting to autocratic measures and dictatorship.

“Today is one of the darkest days of Sri Lanka’s democratic political life,” Premadasa told The Hindu. “The regime has used excessive power to subjugate and constrain the democratic rights of the people of the country.”

Sri Lanka’s cabinet resigns as protesters’ anger grows over economic crisis

All 26 cabinet ministers aside from the president and the prime minister quit as unrest over the country’s worst financial crisis in decades continues

Sri Lanka's main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and other members of the Samagi Jana Balawewa stage a protest march in Colombo on Sunday. Most of the country’s cabinet resigned amid a deepening economic crisis. 

Photograph: Pradeep Dambarage/NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock


Agence France-Presse
Mon 4 Apr 2022 

Sri Lanka’s entire cabinet aside from the president and his sibling prime minister resigned from their posts on Sunday as the ruling political clan seeks to resolve a mounting economic crisis, with a social media blackout failing to halt another day of anti-government demonstrations.

The south Asian nation is facing severe shortages of food, fuel and other essentials – along with record inflation and crippling power cuts – in its most painful downturn since independence from Britain in 1948.

All 26 ministers in the cabinet aside from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his elder brother the prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, submitted letters of resignation at a late-night meeting, the education minister, Dinesh Gunawardena, told reporters.


Sri Lanka protesters defy curfew after social media ban

The move clears the way for the president to appoint a new cabinet on Monday – and some of those stepping down may be reappointed.

It came with the country under a state of emergency imposed after a crowd attempted to storm the president’s home in the capital Colombo, and a nationwide curfew in effect until Monday morning.

Earlier, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), Sri Lanka’s main opposition alliance, denounced a social media blackout aimed at quelling intensifying public demonstrations and said it was time for the government to resign.

“President Rajapaksa better realise that the tide has already turned on his autocratic rule,” SJB lawmaker Harsha de Silva told AFP.

Troops armed with automatic assault rifles moved to stop a protest by opposition lawmakers and hundreds of their supporters attempting to march to the capital’s Independence Square.

The road was barricaded a few hundred metres from the home of opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, and the crowd engaged in a tense standoff with security forces for nearly two hours before dispersing peacefully.

Sri Lankan army soldiers stand guard near Independence Square in Colombo. Photograph: Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters

Eran Wickramaratne, another SLB lawmaker, condemned the state of emergency declaration and the presence of troops on city streets.

“We can’t allow a military takeover,” he said. “They should know we are still a democracy.”

Social media blackout

Internet service providers were ordered to block access to Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and several other social media platforms but the blackout did not deter several small demonstrations elsewhere in Sri Lanka.

Police fired teargas to disperse university students in the central town of Peradeniya, though protests in other parts of the country ended without incident.

Private media outlets reported that the chief of Sri Lanka’s internet regulator resigned after the ban order went into effect.

The blackout was rescinded later in the day after the country’s Human Rights Commission ruled that the defence ministry had no power to impose the censorship.

The streets of Colombo stayed largely empty on Sunday, apart from the opposition protest and long lines of vehicles queued for fuel.

But police told AFP that one man had died by electrocution after climbing a high-tension pylon near Rajapaksa’s home. Residents said he was protesting rolling power cuts.

Mass protests had been planned for Sunday before the social media blackout went into effect, but organisers have postponed the rallies until after the curfew is lifted on Monday.

Internal rifts

The escalating protests have led to fissures within the government, with the president’s nephew Namal Rajapaksa condemning the partial internet blackout.

“I will never condone the blocking of social media,” said Namal, the sports minister.

He was among three members of the Rajapaksa family who later resigned, along with finance minister Basil and the eldest brother Chamal, who held the agricultural portfolio.

A junior party has also hinted it may leave the ruling coalition within a week.

The move would not affect the government’s survival but threatens its chances of lawfully extending the country’s state of emergency ordinance.

Western diplomats in Colombo have expressed concern over the use of emergency laws to stifle democratic dissent and said they were closely monitoring developments.


Sri Lanka cancels school exams over paper shortage as financial crisis bites

Sri Lanka’s influential Bar Association has urged the government to rescind the state of emergency, which allows security forces to arrest and detain suspects for long periods without charges.

Solidarity protests were staged elsewhere in the world over the weekend, including in the Australian city of Melbourne, home to a large Sri Lankan diaspora.

A critical lack of foreign currency has left Sri Lanka struggling to service its ballooning $51bn foreign debt, with the pandemic torpedoing vital revenue from tourism and remittances.

The crisis has also left the import-dependent country unable to pay even for essentials.

Diesel shortages have sparked outrage across Sri Lanka in recent days, causing protests at empty pumps, and electricity utilities have imposed 13-hour blackouts to conserve fuel.

Many economists also say the crisis has been exacerbated by government mismanagement, years of accumulated borrowing and ill-advised tax cuts.

Sri Lanka is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout.

Canada To Support GM Multi-billion-dollar Investments In Two Plants


By Steve Scherer
04/03/22

The General Motors Co (GM) CAMI assembly plant is seen in Ingersoll, Ontario, 

Canada October 13, 2017. 

 Photo: Reuters / CHRIS HELGREN

Canada on Monday will announce its support for General Motors Co's multi-billion-dollar investment in two plants, including one that will produce electric commercial vehicles (EVs), a government source said.

Both the federal government and Ontario's provincial government will invest in the two GM plants in Ingersoll and Oshawa, said the source, who provided no further details and was not authorized to speak on the record.

Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and Ontario Premier Doug Ford will make an announcement about "an important investment in the future of Canada's automotive manufacturing sector" at 11 a.m. EST (3 p.m. GMT) on Monday, according to a statement.

GM Canada declined to confirm or comment.

GM said early last year it would invest C$1 billion ($799 million) to convert its CAMI Assembly Plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, to produce its BrightDrop EV600 commercial delivery vans.

Toward the end of last year, GM reopened its Oshawa plant - after it had been shuttered for two years - to produce the Chevrolet Silverado pickup.

Canada is trying to safeguard the future of its manufacturing heartland in Ontario as the world seeks to cut emissions by investing in the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain.

Ontario is geographically close to U.S. automakers in Michigan and Ohio, including GM.

Last month GM and South Korea's POSCO Chemical said they would build a $400 million facility to produce battery materials in Canada as the carmaker ramps up plans to produce mainly electric vehicles (EVs) in the future.

GM plans to have capacity to build 1 million electric vehicles in North America by the end of 2025.


($1 = 1.2518 Canadian dollars)

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey said he's 'partially to blame' for centralizing the Internet and that he regrets it

Kelsey Vlamis

Sat, April 2, 2022, 

Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and co-founder & CEO of Square, attends the crypto-currency conference Bitcoin 2021 Convention at the Mana Convention Center in Miami, Florida, on June 4, 2021.Marco Bello/AFP/Getty Images

• Jack Dorsey said "centralizing discovery and identity into corporations really damaged the internet."

• The Twitter founder, who resigned as CEO in November, said he partially blamed himself.

• Dorsey has previously supported efforts to decentralize the internet.

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey said on Saturday he partially blames himself for the state of the internet today.

"The days of usenet, irc, the web...even email (w PGP)...were amazing," Dorsey said in a tweet, referring to certain online communication systems that date back to the early days of the internet. "Centralizing discovery and identity into corporations really damaged the internet."

"I realize I'm partially to blame, and regret it," Dorsey continued.

Dorsey, who co-founded Twitter in 2006 and served as its CEO before resigning in November, has previously supported decentralizing the internet.

After Twitter banned former President Donald Trump from the platform for violating its rules, Dorsey said he felt the action set "a precedent I feel is dangerous: the power an individual or corporation has over a part of the global public conversation."

While Dorsey was still CEO, Twitter funded Bluesky, a decentralized social media system he said would allow for more conversations. The system, which will take years to develop, is intended to put power back into the hands of users and allow for many different social networks to be created.

UK
Cleaners at Facebook face “intolerable” workloads: A worker speaks out

LFF Reporter 28 March, 2022 

'This Facebook dispute represents another case study in the dark underbelly of billionaire tech firms'

Fanny has worked at Facebook for nine years. Or rather, she’s worked for outsourced contractors at the firm for that long. In that time, she has seen the firm grow, executives prosper, and the swanky offices at Brook Street blossom into an orchard of tech culture. Complete with that intriguing mix of free breakfasts and achingly long hours.

The firm’s outsourced cleaners used to cover just five floors. Facebook’s London HQ now spans 14. Meanwhile, the size of the workforce has hardly changed.

“We have more work and fewer people, if anything,” she tells Left Foot Forward. The pandemic has seen a raft of companies leave their building, including Manchester United. Now the whole building is Facebook – and while the tech firm’s direct workforce has grown, no such largesse has been offered to the migrant cleaners.

The money they get is just above minimum wage, in one of the most expensive cities in the world. And after expanding cleaners’ workloads – without a similar increase in the number of staff – managers have started complaining, the union alleges. Not at the lack of workers, but the supposed quality of the work.

Like many migrant workers, Fanny works part time, as a mum of three. “Sometimes I do the evening shift. We have to cover a whole floor, which involves cleaning all the meeting rooms. We might have more than 50 meeting rooms to clean, including sanitising mini-iPads, hoovering, wiping down tables.”

It was a difficult job at the height of the pandemic, when cleaning regimens were toughened up. Now though, it’s even harder: the cleaning regimen remains strict, while staff are returning to offices in growing numbers. “Most of the meeting rooms are now busy,” Fanny tells us.

The union blames the current outsourcer, Churchill, which only provides enough staff time to cover one person per floor. Bear in mind this is not over the course of the day – this is in the space of four hours. Less than £50, then, per floor. “It is double the workload we used to do..It’s too much pressure,” Fanny says.

For its part, Facebook can, like all outsourcing arrangements, insist it’s a matter for the cleaning firm. Though the fact that cleaners get access to Facebook’s free food suggests the dlineration isn’t quite so clear-cut.

It is mentally draining: “Sometimes you try your best and people still complain. You know they need more people. You work under pressure. You had time to go deep before. But now it’s not enough.”

Last year their union rep was sacked, in circumstances the union says amount to unfair dismissal. Whatever the case, Fanny says: “We couldn’t do the job properly [due to understaffing], and he got the blame.”

But the cleaners remain passionate about fighting for their rights. In 2020, they saw the fruits of that hard work: “The company gave us a threat of redundancies. We stopped them,” CAIWU General Secretary Alberto Durango tells LFF.

Last month, Churchill met with the union to negotiate – itself a minor victory. In the face of imminent industrial action, the firm agreed to boost pay to the revised London Living Wage rate of £11.05 an hour. The pay award will be backdated to November 2022. The cleaners’ individual duties, roles and areas of responsibility have been specified, one step towards solving the ongoing issue of excessive workloads. (The issue of Guillermo Camacho’s victimisation and eventual dismissal remains unresolved, and is subject to a forthcoming employment tribunal case.)

The win is shared by the RMT union too, which has teamed up with CAIWU to tackle low pay and intense workloads at Facebook.

For now though, the Facebook dispute represents another case study in the dark underbelly of billionaire tech firms. But it also shows that, for all that outsourcing companies may try and pass the buck, that line can only hold for so long in the face of fierce organising.

CAIWU has recently won the London Living Wage at a string of unlikely workplaces – from Oxford Circus’ Nike Town to the Royal Opera House. Outsourcing giants, your union-free zone may be next.

Churchill was contacted for comment.


Related Posts:
Cleaning staff win campaign for £10 per hour wage at University of Sheffield

Great Ormond Street migrant cleaners ballot for strike action amid allegations of ‘two tier’ workforce

After pay rise, Luton hospital cleaners still won’t earn a living wage

Cleaners at London universities just secured victory after years of protest

Opinion: Democrats can learn from workers’ big win against Amazon


By James Downie

Digital opinions editor

WASHINGTON POST
Today 

“Hand-wringing is part of the Democratic DNA,” former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. This year, there’s good reason for the wringing, too. But as President Biden figures out how best to approach the months before the midterms, his administration should look to the labor movement’s growing successes — most recently with Amazon workers in Staten Island — as a model of how to stop worrying and start winning.


Democrats who hoped that the strong monthly job numbers and the war in Ukraine would buoy Biden’s poll numbers have been thoroughly disappointed. After a brief rise in early March, the president’s approval rating sits at a lowly 41 percent in the RealClearPolitics average. The party’s chances of holding the Senate rest on a knife edge at best, and the prospects of a Democratic House next year grow dimmer by the day.

“I’m not quite sure what the disconnect is between the accomplishments,” Clinton told NBC’s Chuck Todd, “… and some of the polling.” But the answer is clear: In a new Harvard CAPS-Harris poll, the top two issues for Americans were inflation (32 percent) and the economy (27 percent). Bloomberg economists estimate that inflation will cost households an extra $5,200 this year. And as I noted last fall, though the administration may be proud of its achievements, many Democrats and most independents think Biden has accomplished little as president.

How to address these two weaknesses? A president’s inflation-fighting powers are limited, but liberal Democrats have pitched dozens of executive actions Biden can take to lower costs for Americans, such as tackling prescription drug prices or canceling student loan debt.

More moderate Democrats, on the other hand, are counseling Biden to reject that route. “It’s important that we legislate if we want long-term, durable policy,” Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), chair of the New Democrat Coalition, told “Fox News Sunday.” Rather than the kaleidoscope of ideas progressives put forward, DelBene suggested focusing on passing “a bipartisan innovation bill to address supply chains and competition” and the remains of last year’s failed budget reconciliation package.

Powerful voices in the party are making similar arguments for the status quo. “I’m well aware that midterms are obviously always difficult for the party in power,” Clinton told NBC’s Todd. “But we’ve got a great story to tell. … And for those who, you know, say it hasn’t gone far enough, that’s always the chorus in Democratic Party politics.”

Which brings us to those Amazon workers who voted Friday to unionize the company’s Staten Island warehouse — a first for employees at the company. (A separate unionization vote at the company’s Bessemer, Ala., warehouse remains too close to call.) When the union drive began, Amazon Labor Union founder Chris Smalls told Labor Notes’s Luis Feliz Leon, there were just four members on the organizing committee. They prevailed over one of the world’s largest companies and consultants who were being paid $3,200 a day. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Post.)

The activists won by following what organizing committee member Justine Medina called the “classic playbook” for organizing: “Do not be afraid to fight, to get as dirty as the bosses will, to match or beat the energy they’re bringing. Do not be afraid to agitate and to antagonize the bosses, as a union should. Use every tool in your toolbox.”

Like those Amazon workers, Democrats cannot be afraid to fight. Just because a handful of moderate holdouts have derailed key parts of Biden’s legislative agenda doesn’t mean the struggle is over. While a president has no boss to “antagonize,” Democrats can take on other people’s bosses — both proverbial and literal. Building on the president’s “billionaire minimum income tax” with executive actions to lower drug prices, strengthen overtime, boost worker protections and tackle student debt will provide immediate relief to millions and reinvigorate unmotivated voters.

As for using the whole toolbox, DelBene is right that legislation is more durable than executive action. But when attempted legislative fixes aren’t passing at all, executive orders can provide real relief, even if it’s temporary. And if Republicans want to run on raising the cost of insulin or preserving fossil fuel subsidies while oil companies profit from sky-high gas prices, more power to them.

In an interview last year with Jacobin’s Alex Press, Smalls said, “I’m using a lot of the principles that I learned at Amazon, against them. My favorite one is: ‘have a backbone and commit.’ … I had a backbone, I stood up for what I thought was right, and I’m committing to seeing change.”


Voters reward politicians who they believe will stand for principles. The Democrats’ road to the midterms might run uphill, but their best chance of pulling off the upset is to fight from now until Election Day


Opinion by James Downie

James Downie is The Washington Post’s Digital Opinions Editor. He previously wrote for The New Republic and Foreign Policy magazine. Twitter

ANTI-LGBTQ REFERENDUM FAILS
Hungary PM Viktor Orban wins fourth term in office

Nationalist Hungarian PM Viktor Orban's Fidesz party won a fourth term in office, after a campaign overshadowed by the war in the neighbouring Ukraine.

Agence France-Presse

Budapest April 4, 2022

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban voted at a school in a Budapest suburb and said he was expecting a 'great victory' . (Photo: AFP)

Official results from Hungary's general election on Sunday showed nationalist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party had won a fourth term in office by a much greater margin than pre-election polls had suggested, after a campaign overshadowed by the war in neighbouring Ukraine.

Addressing a jubilant crowd chanting his name, many of them wearing Fidesz's orange party colour, Orban said: "We have won a great victory -- a victory so great you can perhaps see it from the moon and certainly from Brussels".

Orban's administration has presided over repeated confrontations with the European Union, including over the neutering of the press and judiciary, and measures targeting the LGBTQ community -- also the subject of a vote on Sunday.

The 58-year-old, already the longest-serving head of government in the EU, was challenged by six united opposition parties seeking to roll back the "illiberal" revolution Orban's Fidesz party has pursued during 12 consecutive years in office.

But with 94 percent of votes counted, Fidesz was on 53 percent compared to 35 percent for the opposition coalition, according to results from the national election office -- a result which means the party will retain its two-thirds majority in parliament.

Peter Marki-Zay, 49, the conservative leading the opposition list, addressed supporters and conceded defeat late on Sunday evening.

"I will not hide my sadness and my disappointment," he told them, combatively accusing Fidesz of running a campaign of "hate and lies".

He added that the opposition had done "everything humanly possible" but that the campaign had been "an unequal fight" given the way in which he and other anti-Fidesz politicians had been all but banished from state media.

MEP Marton Gyongyosi from the right-wing Jobbik party which is part of the opposition coalition, told AFP that "abuses" had taken place on Sunday and added: "This will have to be considered when talking about how the results of the elections can be respected".

Orban has dismissed such complaints and insisted the vote was fair.

For the first time more than 200 international observers monitored the election in Hungary, an EU member, along with thousands of domestic volunteers from both camps.

Turnout reached 68.69 percent, almost matching the record participation seen at the last national elections in 2018.

The far-right Mi Hazank party also surpassed expectations and will make its debut in parliament after crossing the five-percent minimum threshold.

- 'Ruined the country' -

Budapest resident Agnes Kunyik, 56, told AFP she had backed the opposition.

"They have ruined our country, destroyed it," she said of Fidesz, becoming visibly emotional.

But one of those who had turned out for Orban's victory celebration, 55-year-old Ildiko Horvath, said that under Fidesz "Hungary is really going forwards," adding: "On the really important questions like the (Ukraine) war and migrants he always decides in line with what the majority wants."

Russia's February 24 invasion of Ukraine cast a long shadow over the campaign.

Diplomatically, Orban fell into line with EU support for Kyiv despite his long-standing closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

But at home, Orban has struck a neutral and even anti-Ukrainian tone at times, refusing to let weapons for Ukraine cross Hungarian territory.

He cast himself as the protector of stability and accused the opposition of "warmongering".

In his victory speech Orban said: "We never had so many opponents," reeling off a list that comprised "Brussels bureaucrats... the international mainstream media, and finally the Ukrainian president".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has singled Orban out for criticism over his reticence to take a tougher stance against Russia.

French and Italian far-right leaders Marine Le Pen and Matteo Salvini were quick to offer their congratulations on Sunday.

Le Pen, herself gathering momentum in polls before the first round of presidential elections in France next week, posted a picture of herself shaking hands with Orban and the caption: "When the people vote, the people win!"

As well as electing MPs, Hungarians were voting in a referendum designed to elicit support for what Fidesz calls a "child protection" law banning the portrayal of LGBTQ people to under-18s.

Budapest resident Regina, 25 -- who refused to give her surname -- told AFP she had spoiled her ballot in the "twisted" referendum which she said had portrayed LGBTQ Hungarians as an "enemy".

Partial results showed the referendum had failed as not enough valid votes had been cast.

ELECTORAL FASCISM
Hungary's Viktor Orban claims a 4th term, extending his autocratic rule

By The Associated Press
Published April 3, 2022 

Hungary's nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orban, center, and his wife Aniko Levai, left, cast their vote for general election in Budapest, Hungary, on Sunday.


Updated April 3, 2022 at 6:10 PM ET

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared victory in Sunday's national elections, claiming a mandate for a fourth term as a partial vote count predicted a strong lead for his right-wing party.

In a 10-minute speech to Fidesz party officials and supporters at an election night event in Budapest, Orban addressed a crowd cheering "Viktor!" and declared it was a "huge victory" for his party.

"We won a victory so big that you can see it from the moon, and you can certainly see it from Brussels," said Orban, who has often been condemned by the European Union for democratic backsliding and alleged corruption.

"The whole world has seen tonight in Budapest that Christian democratic politics, conservative civic politics and patriotic politics have won. We are telling Europe that this is not the past, this is the future," Orban said.

While votes were still being tallied, it appeared clear that the question was not whether Orban's Fidesz party would take the election, but by how much.

With 75% of votes tallied, Orban's Fidesz-led coalition had won 54.5%, while a pro-European opposition coalition, United for Hungary, had nearly 34%, according to the National Election Office.

It appeared possible that Fidesz would win another constitutional majority, allowing it to keep making deep changes to the Central European nation.

Opposition parties had united against Orban

As Fidesz party officials gathered at an election night event on the Danube river in Budapest, state secretary Zoltan Kovacs pointed to the participation of so many parties in the election as a testament to the strength of Hungary's democracy.

"We have heard a lot of nonsense recently about whether there is democracy in Hungary," Kovacs said. "Hungarian democracy in the last 12 years has not weakened, but been strengthened."

The contest was expected to be the closest since Orban took power in 2010, thanks to Hungary's six main opposition parties putting aside their ideological differences to form a united front against Fidesz. Voters were electing lawmakers to the country's 199-seat parliament.

Yet even in his home district, opposition leader Peter Marki-Zay trailed the longtime Fidesz incumbent Janos Lazar by more than 11 points, with 74% of the votes counted there. It was a discouraging sign for the prime ministerial candidate who had promised to end to what he alleges is rampant government corruption and raise living standards by increasing funding to Hungary's ailing health care and schools.

Anna Szilagyi / AP
Opposition leader Peter Marki-Zay, center left, and others vote in Sunday's general election.

In a surprise performance, radical right-wing party Our Homeland Movement appeared to have garnered more than 6% of the vote, exceeding the 5% threshold needed to gain seats in parliament.

Opposition parties and international observers have noted structural impediments to defeating Orban, highlighting pervasive pro-government bias in the public media, the domination of commercial news outlets by Orban allies and a heavily gerrymandered electoral map.

Edit Zgut, a political scientist at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, predicted that what appeared to be a clear victory for Orban would allow him to move further in an autocratic direction, sidelining dissidents and capturing new areas of the economy.

"Hungary seems to have reached a point of no return," she said. "The key lesson is that the playing field is tilted so much that it became almost impossible to replace Fidesz in elections."

The opposition coalition, United For Hungary, asked voters to support a new political culture based on pluralistic governance and mended alliances with the country's EU and NATO allies.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine was an issue in Hungary's election

While Orban had earlier campaigned on divisive social and cultural issues, he dramatically shifted the tone of his campaign after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, and has portrayed the election since then as a choice between peace and stability or war and chaos.

While the opposition called for Hungary to support its embattled neighbor and act in lockstep with its EU and NATO partners, Orban, a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has insisted that Hungary remain neutral and maintain its close economic ties with Moscow, including continuing to import Russian gas and oil on favorable terms.

At his final campaign rally Friday, Orban claimed that supplying Ukraine with weapons — something that Hungary, alone among Ukraine's EU neighbors, has refused to do — would make the country a military target, and that sanctioning Russian energy imports would cripple Hungary's own economy.

"This isn't our war, we have to stay out of it," Orban said.

The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Saturday depicted the Hungarian leader as out of touch with the rest of Europe, which has united to condemn Putin, support sanctions against Russia and send aid including weapons to Ukraine.

"He is virtually the only one in Europe to openly support Mr. Putin," Zelenskyy said.

After voting in his hometown of Hodmezovasarhely, where he is mayor, Marki-Zay called Sunday's election an "uphill battle" due to Fidesz's superior economic resources and advantage in the media.

"We are fighting for decency, we are fighting for the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law in Hungary," Marki-Zay said. "We want to show that this model that Orban has ... introduced here in Hungary is not acceptable for any decent, honest man."

Marki-Zay later wrote on social media to thank all Hungarians who cast a vote and the more than 20,000 volunteer ballot counters who opposition parties assigned to polling places across the country.

"I express my gratitude to the civilians who spent the whole day checking the cleanliness of the election and are now starting the count," Marki-Zay wrote.

Orban — a fierce critic of immigration, LGBTQ rights and "EU bureaucrats" — has garnered the admiration of right-wing nationalists across Europe and North America. He has taken many of Hungary's democratic institutions under his control and depicted himself as a defender of European Christendom against Muslim migrants, progressives and the "LGBTQ lobby."

Along with the election to parliament, a referendum on LGBTQ issues was being held Sunday. The questions pertained to sex education programs in schools and the availability to children of information about sex reassignment.

The Organization For Security and Cooperation in Europe sent a full observation mission to Hungary to monitor Sunday's election, only the second time it has done so in a European Union country.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Serbia president Aleksandar Vučić claims election victory to secure second term

Vučić says he won 60% of the vote after campaign that promised stability amid war in Europe and Covid pandemic

Serbian leader Aleksandar Vučić declares victory in the presidential election in Belgrade on Sunday, securing a second term. 

Photograph: Darko Vojinović/AP


Agence France-Presse
Mon 4 Apr 2022

Serbia’s leader Aleksandar Vučić claimed a landslide victory in general elections on Sunday, paving the way for another term as president in the Balkan nation.

Official results were set to be announced late Monday but Vučić appeared confident in his commanding performance just hours after the polls closed, saying a run-off would not be needed.

“I am pleased that a huge number of people voted and showed the democratic nature of Serbian society,” Vučić announced during a televised victory speech, saying he secured roughly 60% of the vote.

“There was no suspense at any time,” he added.

The country of around seven million took to the polls to elect the president and members of the 250-seat parliament and cast votes in several municipal contests.

Surveys ahead of the polls predicted Vučić’s centre-right Serbian Progressive party (SNS) would maintain its control over the parliament, while the president would secure a second term.


Russians using Serbian loophole to avoid EU flights ban

“Personally, I see stable progress and I voted in accordance with this opinion,” Milovan Krstic, a 52-year-old government employee, told AFP after casting his vote in Belgrade.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine cast a long shadow over the contest that observers had earlier predicted would focus on environmental issues, corruption and rights.

Vučić deftly used the return of war in Europe along with the coronavirus pandemic to his advantage, promising voters continued stability amid uncertain headwinds.

“The influence of the Ukrainian crisis on the election results was huge,” the president said in his victory speech.

Following Vučić’s speech, Serbia’s leading opposition candidate Zdravko Ponoš remained defiant.

“These elections are [the] beginning of the end of Aleksandar Vučić … we will not waste this,” said Ponoš.

Zdravko Ponoš, Serbia’s leading opposition candidate. 

Photograph: Zorana Jevtić/Reuters

In the capital Belgrade, the elections were briefly marred by scuffles between parliamentary candidate Pavle Grbović and supporters of Vučić’s SNS, along with scattered reports of small skirmishes and voter intimidation.

During his victory speech later, Vučić dismissed any allegations of foul play.

The country’s election commission predicted voter turnout would probably hover about 60%, nearly a 10-point jump from the last general elections in 2020.

Serbs from the former breakaway province of Kosovo also participated in the contest and boarded about 40 buses headed north to vote, after authorities in Pristina refused to allow polling stations on its soil.

Decade in power

Only a few months before the polls, the opposition seemed to have gained momentum.

In January, Vučić axed a controversial lithium mine project following mass protests that saw tens of thousands take to the streets.

The move was a rare defeat for Vučić, who has rotated through a range of positions, including prime minister, president and deputy premier along with a stint as the defence chief during a decade in power.

During the run-up to the elections, surveys predicted Vučić would win again on Sunday even as the opposition had hoped a high turnout could force a run-off.

Analysts, however, said the opposition had little chance of dethroning Vučić or eating away at his commanding parliamentary coalition, which holds a lion’s share of the seats.

The president has also carefully managed the country’s response to the war in Ukraine by officially condemning Russia at the United Nations but stopping short of sanctioning Moscow at home, where many Serbs hold a favourable view of the Kremlin.

The opposition in turn has largely refrained from attacking Vučić’s position on the conflict, fearing any call for harsher measures against Russia would backfire at the ballot box.

Vučić also headed into elections with a plethora of other advantages.

After a decade at the helm, he has increasingly tightened his grip over the various levers of power, including de facto control over much of the media and government services.

In the months leading up to the campaign, the president rolled out a range of financial aid offers to select groups, prompting critics to say he was trying to “buy” votes before the contest.