Cassandra Voices

Tag: special

  • Podcast: Brazilian Election Special

    Fellipe Lopes joins Frank Armstrong to discuss the results of the first round of the Brazilian Presidential elections in which former President Lula failed to secure the required 50% to avoid a second round run-off against the incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro. Nonetheless, Lula remains favourite to win in the second round.

    However, Fellipe argues that Bolsonaro “has already won the election”, given that ultraconservative candidates have emerged victorious in state legislatures and the Congress. It will be difficult for Lula to do very much, he says, even if, as assumed, Lula wins the second round.

    The importance of Brazil in the world cannot be overstated. It contains most of Amazonia, the lungs of the world, and a huge, and growing, population of over two hundred million. Many Brazilians are living in Ireland now too.

    Fellipes points to the historic difficulties of Lula’s P.T. (Workers’ Party), arising particularly after the impeachment of President Dilma, and a number of corruption scandals.

    He also looks back at Bolsonaro’s background. For a long time he was an unremarkable representative for Rio de Janeiro, but he was able to connect with the public through cheap jokes and an emphasis on family values and law and order.

    They also discuss the importance of Evangelical Christianity in Brazil, which has been around for a long time in an historically Catholic country. Many pastors are now powerful political figures.

    Fellipe argues that the Brazilian left failed to connect adequately with vulnerable communities, unlike their opponents, who have also been adept at harnessing the power of social media.

    Feature Image: Fellipe Lopes

  • Podcast: Italian Election Special

    In our latest podcast Frank Armstrong is joined by Massimiliano Galli and Daniele Idini to digest the result of the recent Italian general election.

    This has resulted in a resounding victory for a Right or ‘Far Right’ coalition composed of The Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d’Italia) led by Giorgia Meloni, League (Lega) currently under the leadership of Matteo Salvini, and Silvio Berlusconi’s – ‘the Highlander of Italian politics’ – Forza Italia.

    For Massimiliano the result is entirely predictable, as Meloni led the only party that had remained on the side line during the period of Mario Draghi’s unity government. He adds that the only certainty in Italian politics is that the right will always form successful coalitions.

    According to Daniele, Meloni represents a wider movement of European conservative parties. But he expects her government to gain legitimacy, and not rock the boat in terms of European membership or NATO’s involvment in the war in Ukraine. However, he suspects that not much will change for the ordinary person.

    Daniele says: ‘Italian people like to vote for the new thing, even though behind the new thing there is the same people from the last twenty or thirty years.’

    He also draws attention to the electoral law of 2017 which favours coalitions, and which is now favouring the right. Nonetheless, he wonders how the parties will be able to govern effectively given their differences, particularly in terms of foreign relations.

    Massimiliano explores the undercurrent of resentment in Italy that leads to political instability. He draws attention to the low salaries compared to other European countries, and the paradox of working class people voting for parties that oppose a decent system of social welfare.