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The Journal
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen faces no-confidence vote today
EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT Ursula von der Leyen faces a no-confidence vote later today. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) will vote on the rare challenge pushed by a far-right faction against the European Commission president in Strasbourg. Addressing parliament this week, von der Leyen dismissed the no-confidence motion as a conspiracy theory-laden attempt to divide Europe, dismissing its supporters as 'anti-vaxxers' and Russian President Vladimir 'Putin apologists'. She urged MEPs to renew confidence in her commission arguing it was critical for Europe to show unity in the face of an array of challenges, from US trade talks to Russia's war in Ukraine. The no-confidence motion was initiated by Romanian far-right lawmaker Gheorghe Piperea. He accuses von der Leyen of a lack of transparency over text messages she sent to the head of the Pfizer pharmaceutical giant when negotiating Covid vaccines. Pipera proposed the no-confidence motion over a recently annulled commission decision that denied a journalist access to text messages between von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla . Advertisement The European Union's General Court sided with The New York Times' case in May, rejecting the commission's decision to deny access to the messages. It has been alleged that texts were key to securing vaccines during the pandemic. Mainstream backing Centrist leader Valerie Hayer told parliament this week that von der Leyen's commission was 'too centralised and sclerotic' before warning that 'nothing can be taken for granted'. 'Pfizergate' aside, Romania's Piperea accuses the commission of interfering in his country's recent presidential election, in which pro-European Nicusor Dan narrowly beat EU critic and nationalist George Simion. That vote came after Romania's constitutional court scrapped an initial ballot over allegations of Russian interference and massive social media promotion of the far-right frontrunner, who was barred from standing again. Piperea's challenge is unlikely to succeed. It has support from some groups on the left and part of the far right – including the party of Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban. 'Time to go,' Orban tweeted on Wednesday alongside a photo of von der Leyen. But Piperea's own group, the ECR, is split. Its largest faction, the party of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, said it would back the EU chief. The two largest groups in parliament, the centre-right EPP and the centre-left Socialists and Democrats, have also flatly rejected the challenge, which needs two-thirds of votes cast, representing a majority of all lawmakers to pass. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Gulf Today
09-07-2025
- Business
- Gulf Today
France has become less attractive to foreign investors
Yoruk Bahceli and Leigh Thomas, Reuters France is missing out on the investor optimism that has defined Europe's markets this year, hamstrung by its strained public finances and political volatility that threatens to paralyse policy until at least 2027. Global investors and French executives cite the risk that budget negotiations could trigger another government collapse in the autumn, while pessimism among French households is dragging on consumer spending and economic growth. Centrist Prime Minister Francois Bayrou has faced eight no-confidence motions in parliament since taking office in December and his minority government is now struggling to find 40 billion euros ($47 billion) in spending cuts for the 2026 budget. The contrast with neighbouring Germany, whose new government is preparing to loosen historically tight purse strings and pump billions into the economy through defence and infrastructure spending, could hardly be starker. "While all the other highly indebted European countries — Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy — have taken advantage of years of inflation to reduce their public debt ratio, France — whose deficit is now the highest in the euro zone — is increasingly diverging," said Pierre Moscovici, head of the Cour des Comptes public audit office and a former finance minister. To narrow the budget gap, Bayrou will have to convince opposition parties to stomach spending cuts only slightly smaller than those proposed in the 2025 budget that brought down his predecessor. Germany's historic embrace of looser fiscal policy and the impact of President Donald Trump's sometimes erratic policymaking on confidence in US assets have given a boost to European financial markets and other investments this year. A key beneficiary has been Italy, which has seen the risk premium paid on its 10-year debt compared to that of safe-haven Germany drop towards where it traded in 2010, before the euro zone debt crisis escalated. But the 10-year risk premium paid by French debt over German is still at 70 basis points, well above levels of around 50 bps seen before French President Emmanuel Macron called a shock snap election last summer. The French-Italian yield gap is meanwhile near all-time lows, even though Italy has a bigger debt pile. Candriam's chief investment officer Nicolas Forest said he favoured German, Italian and Spanish bonds and was underweight France, a situation he called "completely unusual". French stocks are missing out, too. The blue-chip CAC 40 index trades below where it was before the election was called and is lagging Europe's STOXX 600 aggregate. The Paris index has returned just 5% this year, four times less than Germany's DAX. Simon Blundell, co-head of fundamental European fixed income at BlackRock, the world's biggest investor, said he had no big positions in French debt and favoured Italian bonds, encouraged by political stability in Rome and declining volatility. Even if France's government survives the autumn, investors expect the budget squeeze to underwhelm as a fix for fiscal strains and so fail to increase the appeal of French assets. "Any compromise political parties find will be really temporary in terms of measures, and not great for debt reduction and deficit improvement," said Candriam's Forest. And even presidential and parliamentary elections in 2027 may not fully dispel the political uncertainty, if no party emerges dominant. To prod opposition parties to back Bayrou's budget, Public Finances Minister Amélie de Montchalin has suggested France could turn to an IMF bailout if it does not decisively grip its finances. Carrefour CEO Alexandre Bompard said such doomy talk only caused the French to save more, jeopardising a consumer spending recovery that he said was more fragile than in the supermarket giant's other European markets. "If we have 5 percentage points more savings than other European countries, it's because we have an extraordinarily high level of political and fiscal uncertainty," Bompard told an economics conference in Aix-en-Provence on Friday. With consumers hesitant to spend, French business activity has consistently lagged European peers this year, even though the private sector is less exposed to US trade tensions than Germany or Italy's more export-focused economies. Brushing aside any prospect of IMF intervention to prop up France's public finances, the Fund's French chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas insisted Paris could no longer put off getting its fiscal house in order. "France is not exempt from the laws of gravity, so we're going to have to adapt," Gourinchas said in Aix-en-Provence. "We can't fly, we're going to have to plan our landing and make spending cuts."
Straits Times
20-06-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Romanian president nominates Liberal Party leader Ilie Bolojan as PM
Mr Ilie Bolojan was nominated to be Romania's prime minister on June 20. PHOTO: REUTERS BUCHAREST - Centrist President Nicusor Dan nominated Liberal Party leader Ilie Bolojan as Romania's prime minister on June 20 after weeks of negotiations on forming a coalition government to tackle the largest budget deficit in the European Union (EU). Mr Bolojan will continue talks with four pro-European parties over cabinet appointments and fiscal measures and he is expected to ask parliament to give his government its vote of confidence next week. The incoming government must lower the fiscal deficit from last year's 9.3 per cent of economic output to avoid a ratings downgrade from the last rung of investment grade and unblock billions of euros worth of EU funds. It will likely include the centre-left Social Democrats, the country's biggest party, as well as Mr Bolojan's Liberals, centre-right Save Romania Union and the ethnic Hungarian party UDMR. "It is in Romania's interest that the government is supported by a solid majority, and the parties understand this," Mr Dan said. The four parties and the president spent weeks wrangling over ways to lower the deficit, hesitating over unpopular tax hikes Brussels, ratings agencies and analysts say are inevitable but which are likely to further bolster the rising far-right. The fiscal package will likely save around 30 billion lei (S$8.8 billion) and entail an equal mix of spending cuts, postponed investments and tax hikes. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Newsroom
20-05-2025
- Business
- Newsroom
NZME agitator wants Herald's ‘political leaning' measured, maybe by AI
Comment: The Canadian-NZ investor who tried but failed to take board control of media firm NZME still believes its New Zealand Herald needs to 'measure its articles for political leaning' and suggests artificial intelligence can help. Jim Grenon, who previously formed the right-leaning Centrist site and newsletter, will likely win just his own seat on the NZME board when shareholders vote in a fortnight, rather than the chair plus three others he had sought. Instead, his board agitation will see former National Cabinet Minister Steven Joyce supported to become a director and take the chair, with three incumbent directors surviving and a new digital expert to be appointed. But Grenon, who outlined his financial and editorial concerns about the Herald in two letters to the board in March and April, is clearly not letting his focus on the paper's journalism fade as he prepares to join that board. In information posted to the NZX website on Friday for shareholders before the meeting he outlines his business background in Canada, acknowledges he might not 'on the surface … have a lot of directly relevant experience that will be helpful for NZME' and then returns to his editorial standards theme. He said his involvement with the Centrist – which platforms fringe and alternative content on climate change, social and gender issues and the Treaty of Waitangi – had exposed him in detail to the Herald's journalism. 'One of the things Centrist does is carefully follow what the other NZ news organisations are doing so I have had a thorough immersion into the journalism produced by NZME,' Grenon tells shareholders. 'I believe it is important for the Herald to be a broad church. To ensure it is on course it needs to be able to measure its articles for political leaning, overall. This is now much easier with AI. The same can be said about measuring the quality of the journalism.' Grenon has been critical of the Herald and Stuff as long ago as during the pandemic, and the Centrist has said publicly that the Herald's journalism problems were among the reasons for the site/newsletter's launch. 'The NZ Herald also seems to sometimes accept, without questioning, what we see as blatantly misleading government narrative. This includes 3 Waters and the IRD high net worth project. The Herald, BusinessDesk and other major media sources in New Zealand, inspired us to launch NE and the Centrist.' The right-tinged Free Speech Union has also publicly declared it first sparked Grenon's interest in NZME by alerting him to its refusals to publish certain political advocacy advertisements. Quite how Grenon would expect the Herald newsroom or the creation of an editorial advisory board that he promoted in his campaign to measure 'political leaning' in its journalism is unclear. What is also unclear is whether he would expect the Herald to make that measurement of leaning public to readers and customers. In the early weeks of his attempt to turn his 9.97 percent holding in NZME into sweeping aside the existing board, taking the chair and appointing his own nominees, Grenon told NZME he would not be a standard chair. 'I do not propose to act as an average, passive board chair. I propose to be very active at the management level, leading a board and team that will delve into the operational details so as to be able to challenge management. Some other board members may also assist with the technical work. This approach to governance is the only realistic way to ensure NZME gets a fresh set of eyes questioning every aspect of operational effectiveness and shareholder value creation.' Steven Joyce is chair in waiting for NZME. Photo: Lynn Grieveson As a lone director he will now need to make that case to his colleagues around the board table. His previous letters to the board – including one advising directors to forget a futile defence against his raid – listed the company's poor financial performance, insufficient transparency, bloated management and staffing costs and a need for better journalism. One letter said Grenon expected NZME staff to get with the programme once he took over: 'We expect to find significant cost reduction in the high-cost employees and executive ranks. It is easy to understand why existing management has been resistant in this area. We also hope to find many in the existing NZME staff that can work and thrive in the new paradigm, which will provide opportunities for some to advance.' Whether he will be permitted by Joyce and the board to be actively involved in changing the executive ranks and spending can only emerge once the shareholders have had their say on June 3. Grenon has lived in New Zealand for 12 years. He still owns and works with TOM Capital, a private equity business based in Calgary, Canada, that has had financial success investing in energy and manufacturing firms. He lists his board experience at various listed firms over 25 years. His most recent note to shareholders says he and his TOM Capital colleagues have been poring over NZME's financial affairs for a year. 'I think it is noteworthy that, many times in the past I have acquired significant investments based only on publicly available knowledge but they have almost always worked very well once I was in a position on the inside. These calculated risks, based on some, but incomplete, knowledge and experience, are part of private equity investing.' A Grenon associate and at one stage nominee for the NZME board, lawyer and blogger Philip Crump, is set to join the new editorial advisory board at NZME, perhaps as chair. Crump worked within NZME for nine months establishing the ZB Plus centre-right website which was abandoned. He became a favourite of the coalition Government, winning appointments to the board of NZ on Air (the broadcasting and digital content funding agency) and the Waitangi Tribunal. Once appointed to the NZME editorial advisory board, Crump's position on NZ on Air's board would have to be under examination for any appearances of conflict of interest. Stuff up again The latest online audience numbers are out, with Stuff again dominant. Stuff's online ad after winning 11 Voyager Media Awards, including best digital platform. The winner for the second year in a row of best digital news platform at the Voyager Media Awards, Stuff has 2.3 million unique readers in the Nielsen online ratings for April. That is a substantial 417,000 ahead of the nzherald site on just under 1.9m, with RNZ on 1.5m and 1News now a distant fourth on 743,000. RNZ's continued strength follows the demise last July of the Newshub website. Nielsen's April release appears more straightforward than its issuing, then retraction, of March figures after concern over errors. Amended March figures now show Stuff (initially listed as having 2.34m unique readers) was actually 2.2m, and nzherald (initially set at 1.82m) was revised up to 1.89m. Using the latest figures for March, Stuff lifted its audience by 126,000 in April and nzherald was up 9000.
Time of India
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
French PM strikes defiant note on child abuse scandal
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou (AP) PARIS: French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou struck a defiant tone in parliament on Wednesday as he insisted during a tense hearing that he only knew of claims of sexual abuse at a Catholic school from media reports. The 73-year-old politician faced one of the most delicate moments of his five months in office as he responded to questions from a committee investigating claims of sexual abuse at a Catholic school. Bayrou has faced opposition claims that as education minister between 1993 and 1997 he knew of widespread physical and sexual abuse at the Notre-Dame de Betharram school in southwestern France over many decades. But on Wednesday he stuck by his previous statements and said that during his time as education minister he had "not received any information other than what was reported in the press". "I had nothing to hide," he said. He signalled his desire to cooperate, saying the inquiry into what he called the "MeToo for children" was finally taking place. "For me, this hearing is very important. It is very important for the boys and girls who have been victims of violence, particularly sexual violence, for decades," he added. But tensions were on full display as the two co-rapporteurs of the commission, Paul Vannier and Violette Spillebout, questioned Bayrou about what he knew about alleged violence, sexual assault and rape committed at the school near the southwestern town of Pau where Bayrou has been mayor since 2014. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Cost Of Amusement Park Equipment From Mexico Might Surprise You - See Tips Amusement Park Equipment | search ads Click Here Undo During the hearing Bayrou accused Vannier, a lawmaker with the hard-left France Unbowed party (LFI), of seeking to "fuel a scandal". The French prime minister also said he did not feel that the commission was "completely objective". Several of Bayrou's children attended the school, and his wife taught religious studies there. Bayrou has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and denounced what he calls a campaign of "destruction" against him. I have confidence in him Centrist Bayrou, the sixth prime minister of President Emmanuel Macron's mandate, was named head of government last December. He has been given the daunting task of hauling France out of months of political crisis. Until now Bayrou has managed to survive a no-confidence vote in a divided parliament but the Betharram affair has damaged his credibility and his approval rating has been declining in recent weeks. Bayrou's popularity rating has dropped below that of Macron, according to a poll published last week, with only 27 percent of French people approving of his work. Analysts have said Bayrou could face further pressure depending on his performance during the hearing. "The Betharram school scandal may not be sufficient in itself to bring down Bayrou but could embolden his parliamentary enemies, and supposed friends, to pull the plug on the government for other reasons," said the Eurasia Group. "Reasons for dissatisfaction abound," the political risk consultancy added, pointing to France's budgetary crisis. Macron threw his support behind the embattled prime minister. "We have talked about it a lot and I know that I have confidence in him," he told TF1 television Tuesday evening, referring to the Betharram affair. Bayrou's statements have been contradicted by a number of people including his own daughter. In April, Bayrou's eldest daughter accused the clergy running the school of systemic abuse, saying a priest beat her during summer camp when she was 14. Helene Perlant, who is now 53 and uses her mother's name, said however that her father did not know about the incident. If he lies, he's dead Few in Bayrou's team believe that he will be brought down over the scandal. But "if he lies before parliament, he's dead", said a supporter of Macron, asking not to be named. A Bayrou associate stressed that the prime minister was not the subject of the inquiry. The inquiry focuses on "the methods used by the state to monitor and prevent violence in schools". After hearing witnesses, victims and former ministers, the two rapporteurs plan to deliver their conclusions in June. Around 200 legal complaints have been filed since February last year accusing priests and staff at Betharram of physical or sexual abuse from 1957 to 2004. Some of the boarders said the experience had scarred them for life, recounting how some priests visited boys at night. "The state has failed and has not protected the children of Betharram," said Alain Esquerre, who represents a collective of school survivors.
