First Past the Post: November 26

I’m back from Ethiopia — I’ll have many more thoughts on Ethiopian politics, last week’s electoral politics from Spain to Egypt to Sierra Leone, not to mention a plethora of elections in December and January.

In the meanwhile, some daily links to get back in the swing of things.

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The new governor of the Bank of England is… the governor of the Bank of Canada. The view from Ottawa.

British conservatives are having jitters about gay marriage in the United Kingdom.

Reassurances about Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah following health problems and surgery.

Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is facing a vote of no confidence over corruption charges.

South Korea’s presidential campaign officially kicks off, following the withdrawal on Friday of independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo.

Japan’s LDP leader and former prime minister Shinzō Abe is calling for a full-fledged Japanese military.

Germany’s Pirate Party is still struggling over its policy agenda.

Algirdas Butkevičius has been officially elected prime minister by Lithuania’s Seimas.

Jean-François Copé is confirmed as the leader of France’s center-right Union pour un mouvement populaire.

Pier Luigi Bersani narrowly leads Florence mayor Matteo Renzi in the contest to become the prime ministerial candidate for the Italian center-left, with a runoff set for December 2.

Silvio Berlusconi is (once again) threatening a comeback to become to prime ministerial candidate for the Italian center-right.

Mohamed ElBaradei speaks out against Mohammed Morsi’s controversial decree from last week asserting extraordinary powers.

Catalan president Artur Mas remained defiant despite setbacks in Sunday’s regional elections.

Belgrade mayor Dragan Đilas is the new opposition leader in Serbia after his election as the new leader of the Democratic Party.

Georgia’s new prime minister is already looking to find ways to curb Mikheil Saakashvili’s powers.

Israeli defense minister and former prime minister Ehud Barak is leaving frontline politics.

Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid and former Kadima leader Tzipi Livni, meanwhile, are joining forces in advance of January’s Knesset elections in Israel.

Sierra Leone’s reelected president Ernest Bai Koroma pledges economic growth following first-round electoral victory last week.

Australian prime minister Julia Gillard is in hot water over a 20-year-old union fund.

Toronto mayor Rob Ford is removed from office.

The shooting death of boxing champion Héctor ‘Macho’ Camacho underscores Puerto Rico’s growing crime problem.

Elton John dedicates his Beijing concert to dissident artist Ai Weiwei.

Felix Salmon is the latest to forecast the coming Argentine debt crisis.

 

 

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