NIAS Area Studies
PAKISTAN READER
Photo : Reuters
By Abhiruchi Chowdhury
MOLDOVA
Maia Sandu wins; Mutual recriminations continue
On 03 November, Duetsche Welle reported on the win of Maia Sandu in the presidential run-off with 54.7 per cent votes. In response, mutual accusations were witnessed from both the Presidential candidates amid the second round of elections in Moldova. Maria Sandu who is the former President and is known to be tilting towards the European Union accused her opponent Stoianoglo of working in the interest of Russia. The pro-votes were however more in number (50.35 per cent). Stoianoglo on the other hand had criticized the pro-European stance of Sandu and claimed her politics caused a divide among people owing to the fact that Moldova has a sizable population of Russian speaking people. Also, the police had taken measures so that the previous occurrence of buying of votes observed in the first round does not happen again. (“Moldova votes in tense president runoff,” Duetsche Welle, 03 November 2024)
BELGIUM
Right wing parties on upsurge owing to the changing demographics in Belgium suggests an editorial in Politico
On 03 November, an editorial titled “Brussels is bursting out of its borders. That’s helping the rise of the right” discussed how the increase in non-Belgian population is propelling the Dutch speaking nationals of Belgium to fall in the ambit of right-wing parties. Flanders which was traditionally predominated by the presence of Dutch speaking nationals is witnessing an influx of foreign population. Dutch speaking nationals had previously fought against the influence of French in Belgium in the 1980s for protecting their language. Flanders has been the first choice of the immigrant population and houses twice the number of foreigners in comparison to Wallonia which is dominated by the French speaking population. The editorial notes that the changing demographics has led to the victory of Far right parties such as Vlaams Belang that witnessed electoral gains in the cities surrounding Brussels. The party had secured 23 per cent votes in Belgium’s National elections in 2024. The New Flemish Alliance Party (N-VA) which got 24 per cent votes in the national elections stressed on learning Dutch and had introduced laws such as repealing the “school bonus” if parents and their children fail to pass Dutch language test. (Sonya Angelica Diehn “Brussels is bursting out of its borders. That’s helping the rise of the right,” Politico 03 November 2024)
SPAIN
Government sends reinforcement forces to combat damage caused by floods; Public dissatisfied
On 03 November, Pedro Sanchez, Spain’s Prime Minister and king Felipe VI visited the affected towns of Spain from floods. However received a harsh response from the public through pelting with mud and objects over delayed government response for the floods and aid delivery. In response, Sanchez stated that he understands the “anguish and suffering” and said that the violence was unacceptable. On 02 November, Deutsche Welle, reported that 5000 more soldiers and 5000 additional policemen were called upon in Valencia to combat the damage caused by the flash floods and boost the rescue operation. Prime Minister Sanchez had assured the citizens that all the necessary resources in the hands of the Government would be put in use. Interior Minister of Spain Fernando Grande-Marlaska pointed to the possibility of casualty numbers going further up. The catastrophe also led to a postponement of the football matches which were scheduled to take place on 02 November. (“Spain sends 10,000 more troops, police to flood-hit Valencia,” Deutsche Welle, 02 November 2024)
SWITZERLAND
“China generally makes less use of free trade agreement than Switzerland” highlights an editorial in Swissinfo
On 02 November, an editorial in Swissinfo titled “Why Switzerland seeks deeper ties with China” discussed the mutual benefits reaped by China and Switzerland by increasing their bilateral trade. Swiss companies marked huge gains through the free trade agreement with China as they saved millions by not having to pay duties. The watch industry topped the list of the Swiss companies that benefited from the free trade agreement which in 2022 saved USD 133 million as unpaid duties. The Pharmaceutical sector which is Switzerland’s largest exporting industry did not benefit immensely through the free trade deal as it managed to save a mere USD 1.4 million as unpaid custom taxes. This was because the import duties on pharmaceutical goods in China are low on its own and Swiss companies had to reveal their formulas if they wanted to benefit from the trade deal. With regards to the benefits reaped by China, the editorial highlights how trade with Switzerland led it to be acknowledged on the world stage as a “market economy”. The EU still does not consider China as a market economy. China also managed to save CHF 213 million as unpaid duties in 2022 which actually is much more than what Switzerland saved. The editorial also hinted at the possibility of China pushing Switzerland to issue more visas for its citizens to work in the latter. However, it would be difficult for the Swiss Government to put a strong case in front of the public for the same to happen. (Balz Rigendinger and Pauline Turuban, “Why Switzerland seeks deeper ties with China,” Swissinfo, 02 November 2024)
“Profit dictating their relationship with China are over with Switzerland as an exception” argues an opinion in Swissinfo
On 01 November, an opinion in Swissinfo titled “Switzerland wants more trade with China despite US-Chinese tensions” discussed Switzerland’s present trade position with China.The author mentions how amid the current scenario where China would seek a withdrawal from liberal trade practices, Switzerland might form an exception owing to its free trade agreements, thus safeguarding its interests. China is already experiencing tensions in its relations with the US and Europe, with both the US and Europe trying to minimize their dependence on China. The author highlights how Switzerland could use its position to further the issue of human rights and climate change with China since the latter needs a free trade deal at this juncture. The author highlights the dependencies of Switzerland on China with the former exporting CHF 40.6 billion worth of goods to the former. Electronics, Pharmaceutical and Chemical industries in Switzerland are also hugely dependent upon China with more than 50 per cent of the companies not having any plans to reduce their dependence on China. The author is skeptical of how Switzerland would manage its trade with both China and US and highlighted a case where a Swiss company supplied software to a Chinese crane company and the crane was further sold to the US. According to the report, the US was apprehensive of whether the software installed would transfer data back to China. (Samanta Siegfied, “Switzerland wants more trade with China despite US-Chinese tensions,” Swissinfo, 01 November 2024)
THE UK
Kemi Badenoch becomes the first black woman to lead Conservative party
On 02 November, Deutsche Welle reported that Kemi Badenoch won elections to lead the Conservative party by securing 53,086 votes, thus defeating Robert Jenrick’s 41388 votes. Badenoch, who is 44 and has Nigerian heritage, became the first black female to lead Conservative party. Badenoch would be looking to question the Labor party led Government on key issues such as economy and migration. She also vowed to bring back conservative voters who shifted to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. (“UK Conservative Party elects Kemi Badenoch as new leader,” Deutsche Welle, 2 November 2024)
REGIONAL
Excess profits used by the EU defence companies are observed to be increase share prices argues an editorial in Politico
On 30 October, an editorial in Politico titled , “European defense companies are making a lot of money – and that’s a problem” discussed the dilemma between the need for the European countries to invest in defence amid the recent security challenges and to keep a check on the high profits earned by the big arm manufacturers. The editorial notes how the arms manufacturers such as France’s Thales, Sweden’s Saab and Italy’s Leonardo among many others have seen a spike in their sales and profits in 2024. It further mentions how the excess profits are being used by the defence companies for stock repurchase and thus increasing their share price. The editorial directs towards the examples of other countries such as the US which levied special duties during world wars on defence companies thus showing how governments taxing arm manufacturers is not new and could be done. The editorial in the conclusion suggests to integrate the European defence market which at the present had been fragmented. An integrated defence market would ensure more competition which would automatically lead to a decrease in profit margins of the defence companies. (Jacopo Barigazzi, “European defense companies are making a lot of money – and that’s a problem,” Politico, 30 October 2024)
EU suggests funds to be used for flora and fauna restoration in poor countries
On 02 November, Politico reported that talks during United Nations COP16 biodiversity which is hosted by Cali, California remained inconclusive as the richer nations are unwilling to establish a new fund to assist the poorer countries. This does not come as a surprise as EU countries had already objected to the establishment of a new fund. The fund was proposed to be used by poorer countries to introduce measures for restoring the lost flora and fauna. Richer countries included Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the EU countries and the poorer nations belonged to Africa and Latina America. (James Fernyhough, “COP16 fizzles out as rich countries block global nature fund,” Politico, 02 November 2024)