Eurotopics.net

The former French prime minister Manuel Valls, who was born in Barcelona, wants to run for the office of mayor in the city's local government elections in May 2019. Valls would run as an independent candidate endorsed by Ciuadadanos. Commentators from Spain and France ask what's behind Valls' transnational political ambitions.

Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon has announced at the conference of the nationalist Fratelli d'Italia in Rome that he plans to spend most of the next months in Europe helping far-right parties to secure a victory in the European elections. Commentators explain why the right-wing populists are gaining support - and ask how this can be countered.

The British Labour Party may change its position on holding a second Brexit referendum: several motions put forward at the Labour Party Conference that kicked off on Sunday call for a new referendum should the government fail to reach a deal in the Brexit negotiations. According to surveys a majority of party members are in favour of a referendum. Should Labour seek a new Brexit vote?

In Russia the gubernatorial elections have had an unexpected outcome: in Primorsky Krai the run-off vote was declared invalid due to electoral fraud, in Khakassia the encumbant threw in the towel after the first round, and in Khabarovsk and Vladimir the incumbents belonging to Putin's United Russia party trailed behind the challengers from the populist LDPR. A positive development?

Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople has tasked two of his envoys with making preparations in Ukraine for the formation of an independent church there. The decision prompted the bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church to convene a synod and condemn the step as an "invasion" of their territory. Why the panicked reaction?