Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday encouraged ethical role models and pioneers to make new contributions to raising socialist cultural-ethical standards. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of … read more
Sudheendra Kulkarni, chairman of the Observer Research Foundation based in India’s Mumbai, speaks at a parallel session of the international think tank symposium themed “19th CPC National Congress: Implications for China and the World” in Beijing … read more
The EU is trying to stick with the idea that you can settle the Irish border issue without deciding the basis of our future trading. They hope that by delaying trade talks they will get more money out of the UK. The Brexit Secretaary was right to offer no money and to remind them that a Free Trade deal is in their self interest.
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17 November 2017
Former Green Party leader Natalie Bennett is returning early from the United Nations COP23 climate talks in Bonn on Friday to support the Kirby Misperton protection camp as the struggle against fracking in Yorkshire continues.
She’ll be supporting others taking part in what has become known as ‘Green Friday’ at the site, after last week Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley was dragged away [1] by police while making a speech to the protectors.
Bennett said:
“The isolation of the English position when it came to fossil fuels was glaringly obvious at the Bonn summit. France, Germany, Bulgaria, and of course Wales and Scotland, have all blocked fracking, but the British pavilion at COP was actually advertising the related extreme energy underground coal gasification.
“It is being left to the people of Yorkshire, and Lancashire, where I earlier this month visited the Preston New Road Protection Camp, to deliver the will of the English people not to have fracking.Opinion polls clearly show that they don’t want it, and I know from my past visits to fracking sites just how many passing drivers indicate their support.
“The desperation of the industry to resist the will of the people has been demonstrated by the extreme injunction taken out by the firm Ineos that’s now subject to legal appeal. I recently joined a huge gathering in Woodsetts, Rotherham, where the community demonstrated its determination to resist fracking and protect democracy and the right to peaceful protect.
“The Green Party will continue to actively support communities around England who are peacefully rejecting fracking. This is an industry that threatens all of our safety and needs to be stopped.”
Notes:
read moreI wrote after the German election that after her large loss of votes and seats Mrs Merkel would find it difficult to form a coalition. Her own party polled just 26.8%. So it has proved. I drew a contrast with Mrs May and the Conservatives where the vote went up to 42.4% and who could form a coalition with the DUP.
Two months on she missed the deadline for agreement yesterday.It was difficult enough keeping her coalition with the CDU’s sister party the CSU to take her up to 32.9% of the votes. To consolidate that she needed to reassure on migration which makes it more difficult to get the Greens into a government. The Free Democrats and the Greens also have substantial disagreements with each other over coal, energy generally and approach to business.
It is still possible they could reach an agreement, but the long delays imply the best that could happen for Mrs Merkel is a weak government with limited capability given the big disagreements between the parties. If she fails to form a coalition her party may want a new leader and there might be another election.
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