Canada (and Beyond) Special: The Significance of Today's Protest in Montreal

The generally good-natured manner of the Quebec protests should not mask this is a fundamental conflict, between generations and ideas of social justice, reaching beyond Canada to modern democracies around the world. What is taking place in Montreal is an early and unofficial referendum on the global economic model of an elite that facilitated debt, government and personal, threatening to plunge the world into another Great Depression.

What the protesters in Montreal are rebelling against is the idea that spending cuts and austerity measures are required to rebuild the same economic system that caused the crisis in the first place. And some of the reaction to the reasonable desire among many students to take up the responsibilities of an adult citizen, without the de-humanising debt burden to get an education, is worrisome.

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Canada Analysis: Almost 700 People Arrested in Quebec as Right to Protest Curbed --- Will the Message Spread?

Tens of thousands march in Montreal on Thursday

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In Quebec, we are beginning to see the anger of younger people realising they will not have the same opportunities that were offered an older generation --- advantages which that older generation, or the elite of it, is protecting through its positions in power.

Perhaps that anger will stay confined to Quebec, as a peculiarity of the politics in that province. Then again, maybe not.

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US Politics Analysis: The Recall Challenge to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker

Protest Inside Wisconsin State Capitol, February 2011After a lengthy wait, the contest is nearly here. On 5 June, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker faces once again his 2010 Democratic opponent, Tom Barrett, the Mayor of Milwaukee.

But will this matter beyond Wisconsin?

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Britain, US & Beyond Opinion: Has Occupy Lost the Attention of the "99%"?

The Occupy story, if the commitment showed on Saturday is any indication, is not yet finished. But it will need to counter pessimism from within the movement, and derision without, and wait it out until the public catch up with their vision of a more equitable society.

Alternatively, Occupy could abandon their resistance to becoming involved in politics. Naysayers can mock their negligible impact so far this spring, but they cannot refute that last autumn Occupy helped push President Obama into a more populist tone of campaigning.

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Britain, US & Beyond Feature: Occupy Seeks A Creative "Global Spring"

Occupy London protesters in Liverpool Street underground station (Photo: HeardInLondon/Demotix/Corbis)

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Last week electors in Europe signalled their dissatisfaction with the politics of austerity, and the elites who are trying to implement them. Barring a miracle of an economic recovery, politics for the near future will revolve around that austerity --- or thrift as the British government are now trying to call it.

This week the success or failure of Occupy, and their affiliated groups, to draw attention to growing income inequality will help determine their relevance to these coming political struggles over the world's economic future. Can they deliver on their promise of a Global Spring?

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US Politics Feature: What A Conservative Surge in the 2012 Elections for Congress Could Mean

This November, America goes to the ballot box to elect not only the President but also the Congress that will either implement or obstruc, the White House programme. The House of Representatives is likely to remain in the control of Republicans, but the Senate --- where Democrats currently enjoy a slight majority, aided by the support of the chamber's two Independents --- is a less predictable story. Conservative Republicans believe they have the opportunity to overturn the Democrats' slender advantage, and, just as importantly, return new Senators who will align with the Tea Party Caucus.

That strategy took on the shape of the possible on Tuesday in Indiana when Richard Mourdock, a conservative heavily backed by pro-market and Tea Party groups from outside the state, defeated six-term Senator Dick Lugar in the GOP primary.

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US Feature: Six Months to Go --- Why a "Re-Recession" Might Put Obama Back in Office

Social chaos and breakdown in Europe, caused by an adherence to the Fantasy Island politics of austerity by European governments, and a corresponding slip into another US recession: this could be the catalyst Obama needs to convince Independents that his pro-growth economic policies, and not the austerity politics of Mitt Romney, are the best hope for a brighter economic future for America.

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US Politics Analysis: Santorum Drops Out, But Can Romney Win?

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On Tuesday afternoon, Rick Santorum suspended his campaign to become the Republican nominee for this November's US Presidential election. His effective withdrawal from the race --- while his run is suspended, Santorum can still raise money to pay off campaign debts --- leaves Mitt Romney as the GOP candidate to face President Obama.

That passive expression, "leaves Mitt Romney", sums up the work the former Massachusetts Governor has to do in the next 6 months to persuade wavering American voters he has the conviction to be elected President. The overriding impression from the last few months of Republican primaries is that Mitt is the last man standing, a victor because of his overwhelming superiority in finances and campaign organisation. He will not enjoy those advantages in a contest with President Obama and what is sure to be a withering assault from the Democratic Party.

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US Politics Analysis: Obama Brings Out His "Fair Share" Campaign (and Why It's Important)

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On Tuesday afternoon, at an Associated Press luncheon in Washington, President Obama criticised the Republican budget, passed on a party line vote 228-191 in the House of Representatives last week. Doing so, the President outlined the basic message of his re-election campaign, contrasting his "fair share" economic plan for America's future with the radical Social Darwinist politics of the GOP.

Every Presidential campaign yearns to find a short and catchy phrase that captures the appeal of its candidate. Obama's "Hope and Change" from 2008 is the most recent example, but "I Like Ike" was credited by some Robert Taft supporters in 1952 for delivering the Republican nomination to his rival Dwight Eisenhower, and well before that, "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too", was turned into a song that was “in the political canvas of 1840 what the 'Marseillaise' was to the French Revolution. It sang [William Henry] Harrison into the Presidency.”

That brings us to Obama and a "Fair Share".

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US Politics Opinion: Getting Mad at the Supreme Court Over ObamaCare

It has been a distressing three days in the Supreme Court for liberals who, two years ago, initially scoffed at the suggestion of a constitutional challenge to the ACA. They have not reacted in with the consideration that they so often mock conservatives for lacking.

The reality is that there is a credible case for the individual mandate being unconstitutional. Condemning the Court, before it has even made a decision, is an evasion of the legal process --- whatever the eventual decision --- and it is poor politics, especially in an election year. There are alternatives for those seeking wider provision of health care, but they will disappear without an Obama second term.

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