Pacific Outlier

Emmanuel Macron’s decisive victory-65% to 35% -over Marine Le Pen has calmed fears of a Eurozone crisis and boosted the hopes of centrists and of business in Europe that the momentum for populist parties has been stalled, at least for now. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman was quick to describe Macron’s win as a “victory …

Continue reading Europe – From Macron to Renzi: the Centre fights back | Mike Rann

After promising repeatedly there would be no early election Prime Minister Theresa May has called a snap poll for June 8, ostensibly to secure an electoral endorsement for the UK’s Brexit negotiating position. May argues she needs the clear backing of British voters to stop other parties frustrating the Government’s negotiations. This, of course, is … Continue reading UK Elections: A May Day In June | Mike Rann

While most New Zealanders feel negatively towards US President Donald Trump, his policies may produce winners as well as losers here. The following eight dark clouds may have silver linings from which to take visual comfort even as the downpour approaches. Trump’s utterances encourage right-wing populism, nationalism, selfishness, disdain of ‘establishment’ experts, and alt-truth.  They … Continue reading Dark Clouds or Silver Linings : Trump’s Impact on New Zealand | Stephen Hoadley

Widespread reports suggest that during the mid-20th century more than 100,000 children were put into state institutions, where many suffered abuse and neglect. In response, between 2008-2015, New Zealand operated a Confidential Listening and Assistance Service, chaired by Judge Carolyn Henwood. This was a low-profile process in which 1100 survivors of state care could describe … Continue reading Stephen Winter | Inquiring into Abuse in Care

Despite an increasingly secular world, religion has been far from absent from the 2016 United States presidential election campaign. Both Republican and Democratic candidates have invoked religion as a banner to rally their constituents. Throughout the election campaign, the President Elect Donald Trump, a registered Presbyterian, has courted Evangelical voters by opposing abortion and gay … Continue reading Andrew Lim | Evangelicals and the 2016 US Presidential Elections

From ostracism in 1986 to a US Navy ship visit on 17 November 2016, New Zealand’s leaders have managed a sometimes troubled relationship with Washington skilfully. When I published my book New Zealand United States Relations in 2000, diplomatic, defence and intelligence relations were curtailed and several trade disputes loomed. Sixteen years later, the two countries … Continue reading Stephen Hoadley | New Zealand and the United States – friends again?

In the recent United States presidential election, Hillary Clinton enjoyed a large majority of votes among the lowest income earners and Donald Trump won the majority of the highest income earners. This has led some observers to conclude that economic anxiety and deprivation played no role in Trump’s victory, that there was no ‘working class … Continue reading Chris Wilson | Relative Deprivation and the ‘Deplorables’

For the second time in five Presidential elections, a Democratic candidate for President has won the popular vote and failed to accumulate enough Electoral votes to win the election. While some Americans will complain about the function of the Electoral College (and others will continue to complain about the function of superdelegates and collusion in … Continue reading Jordan Hanford | Make America Civil Again

Here in New Zealand, the amazing results of the US elections rolled in on 9 November – in our dating shorthand 9/11.  And for the American political system, and the world, they’re a repeat of that other 9/11, when the planes hit the World Trade Centre, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania on 11 … Continue reading Mark Boyd | The US elections: another 9/11