Francia: (POLITICO) Bid to unite the right against Macron hits the rocks - While the French president is gambling he can stem the surge of the nationalist, anti-immigration right in a national election, his rivals immediately tested the waters for a united front in a vote that will prove critical for the future of both France and the European Union.
- First-up, on Monday, were the country’s two main far-right parties: the National Rally and Reconquest. Then — in a shock move on Tuesday — Eric Ciotti, head of Les Républicains, upped the ante by saying his party was also ready to take its part in such an alliance. [...]
- By Tuesday evening, both these attempts to mold a rightwing supergroup appeared to have run into serious [...] trouble. Marion Maréchal of the Reconquest party said she he had received a rebuff from Jordan Bardella of National Rally [...] When it comes to the center right, Ciotti is coming under a massive attack from his own party. Many in Les Républicains have voiced their horror at his suggested deal with the far right [Senate President Gérard Larcher, from Les Républicains, demanded Ciotti’s resignation].
(Bloomberg) Macron’s Election Gamble Triggers Chaos and Anger Inside His Party + (Bloomberg) Macron Pushes Back on Resignation Talk as French Bonds Slide - Emmanuel Macron’s decision to plunge into an election campaign with his party unprepared and the French public shunning him is causing consternation among the very people he needs to win.
- Macron decided to trigger a parliamentary vote in an effort to regain the political initiative [...] but many lawmakers and officials say the high-risk strategy is more likely to consolidate his party’s losses and undermine any remaining prospects for advancing his economic agenda, while there’s a chance it could even hand Le Pen’s group control.
- That risk sent anxiety coursing through the bond markets on Tuesday, fueled by a report that the president had discussed resigning if the election goes badly. Macron insisted in an interview with Figaro Magazine that the result won’t affect his position as president [...]
- The yield on 10-year French bonds, known as OATs, jumped as much as 10 basis points Tuesday, and widened the spread over equivalent German bonds to the highest level since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 on a closing basis. Italian securities, considered among the region’s riskiest given the government’s debt pile, were swept up in the rout for a second day, with the spread over bunds jumping to 150 basis points.
UK:
(The Guardian) Rishi Sunak condemned for £17bn tax giveaway - Rishi Sunak has unveiled a £17bn tax giveaway as the centrepiece of the Conservative manifesto, an offer that was immediately condemned for being “implausible” and mainly benefiting wealthier voters.
- The policy programme set out by the prime minister, seen by many Tory MPs as probably the party’s last big chance to win over voters, contained few big surprises and was centred around cuts to national insurance and stamp duty, higher thresholds for child benefit and help for pensioners.
- However, with the tax cuts costing ÂŁ17.2bn a year by 2029-30 and much of the money coming from cracking down on tax avoidance and slashing the welfare bill by as-yet uncertain means, thinktanks warned there was a big risk the sums would not add up.
- Hours after Sunak launched the manifesto, Labour produced its own costings, which predicted a £17.4bn annual shortfall by the end of the parliament. Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, said Sunak was “cosplaying Liz Truss” and risked sparking another rise in mortgage rates.
Paesi Bassi: (Reuters) Dutch parties agree on final formation of rightwing government, Wilders says - Political parties in the Netherlands have reached a final agreement on the formation of their incoming right-wing government, election winner Geert Wilders said on Tuesday.
- After almost six months of negotiations, Wilders' nationalist PVV party reached an agreement last month to form a coalition with three other conservative parties but they had not agreed on cabinet posts. "We have reached an agreement," Wilders told reporters after almost four weeks of talks on the distribution of jobs over the four parties.
- The coalition last month already said political outsider Dick Schoof, who is not affiliated to any party, would become prime minister of the new government.
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