Eurotopics.net

Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resigned on Tuesday, as announced. He narrowly won two votes of confidence last week, but was forced to operate with a minority government after Matteo Renzi's Italia Viva party withdrew from his coalition government. Observers discuss whether Conte can or should be able to secure a third mandate.

The EU is locked in an open dispute with vaccine manufacturers who are failing to meet delivery commitments. Now the Commission wants to see documents from Astrazeneca to find out what happened to the 336 billion euros it was given up front to finance research and development of the vaccine. Export limitations for vaccines from the EU are under discussion. How to exit this impasse?

Portugal's new president is the old one: Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. The conservative politician will return to office on a 60.7 percent victory. Commentators interpret the results as the expression of a need for stability and cohesion, which was also reflected in the way the elections went so smoothly. Some journalists cast a concerned eye at the far-right leader André Ventura, who came in third with 11.9 percent.

The last two nights have seen heavy rioting in several Dutch cities. Shortly before the nightly curfew was due to begin crowds of young people gathered, and some of them went on to vandalise shops, set fires, and attack police. Are the protests an expression of the psychological fallout of the pandemic or is the virus just an excuse?

Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has announced that he will resign today, Tuesday. He narrowly won two votes of confidence last week after Matteo Renzi's Italia Viva party withdrew from his coalition government. Since then, Conte has had to operate with a minority government. Observers speculate on whether he will be able to secure a third mandate and whether he should.

In France, cartoonist Xavier Gorce has resigned from Le Monde after the French newspaper apologised for a cartoon he drew that referenced an incest scandal and contained allusions to rainbow and patchwork families. Gorce defended it as an ironic reaction to a statement by philosopher Alain Finkelkraut. The incident has triggered a storm of accusations about cancel culture, particularly on social media.