Independent South Korean presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo has ended talks with Democratic United Party nominee Moon Jae-in for a single merged candidacy.

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte defends his newly-empowered government coalition.

A neo-Nazi party in Germany is taking its fight to the constitutional court.

NATO’s chief met with Georgian prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili.

The Ghanian campaign season is heating up.

Pauline Marois and the Parti Québécois survived six confidence votes Wednesday.

FT Alphaville checks in on Portugal, post-Merkel visit.

Opinion on the recent Buenos Aires protests against Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

The Obama administration favors Massachusetts senator John Kerry for secretary of defense and UN ambassador Susan Rice for secretary of state in the second term, accordingly to the latest DC tea leaves.

One man’s prediction for Saturday’s Sierra Leone presidential election.

Greece finally passes its 2013 national budget with 167 votes, though the deal will have left the center-left PASOK with even fewer MPs after seven refused to vote for the deal.

Rice and politics in Thailand.

Former justice minister Angelino Alfano narrowly leads Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno to be the Italian center-right’s candidate for prime minister.

Meanwhile, current Democratic Party leader Pier Luigi Bersani and Florence mayor Matteo Renzi are essentially tied in advance of primaries later this month.

More context in Sierra Leone’s election later this week.

A new Nutella tax in France?

The new ‘purple’ coalition in the Netherlands is plummeting in popularity over a plan to make health premiums income-dependent. [First link in Dutch]

Rafael Correa will, as expected, run for reelection as Ecuador’s president next spring.

Germany’s Green Party gets new leadership.

What the effects of Scottish independence would mean for the remaining UK.

The campaign has begun in advance of Romania’s Dec. 9 general election.

Ukraine’s opposition begrudgingly accepts their loss in the Oct. 28 parliamentary elections.

Foreign Policy on Hu Jintao’s legacy.

Greece’s Hellenic parliament has passed the fiscal austerity package required to receive more funds.

A calamity in Ghana suspends campaigning.

Sierra Leone will hold a presidential debate tomorrow.

James Traub assesses John Kerry as a potential U.S. secretary of state.

FT Alphaville‘s guide to the Chinese transition.

Pakistan headline: ‘Obama Drones Romney’

Obama’s reelection and Bangladesh.

Obama’s reelection and India.

Obama’s reelection and Pakistan.

Obama’s reelection and South Korea.

Obama’s reelection and East Asia.

Obama’s reelection and Japan.

Obama’s reelection and Venezuela.

Obama’s reelection and Germany.

Obama’s reelection and France (and Europe). [French]

Obama’s reelection and Spain. [Spanish]

Obama’s reelection and Denmark.

Obama’s reelection and the Balkans.

Obama’s reelection and Poland.

Obama’s reelection and Russia.

Obama’s reelection and Kenya.

Obama’s reelection and the Arab World.

Obama’s reelection and Israel.

Obama’s reelection and Turkey.

Obama’s reelection and Mexico.

UK prime minister David Cameron thinks Mitt Romney’s failure is a warning for conservatives.

Greece’s governing coalition expects to win tomorrow’s austerity vote in the Hellenic parliament.

Foreign dignitaries are flabbergasted by the peculiarities of American voting.

Americas Quarterly on the Latino vote in the U.S. general election.

Fears of violence in Kenya’s elections next spring.

Liberals Moon Jae-in and Ahn Cheol-soo will join forces with a single candidacy against conservative Park Geun-hye in South Korea’s presidential election in December — but it’s still left to determine who will head that candidacy.

The ballot initiatives on marijuana legalization will impact Mexico.

The Telegraph claims the British empire invaded what amounts to nine out of every ten countries in the world (Photo graphic above — credit to The Telegraph). I can’t believe they missed Paraguay and Mongolia and Mali.

Der Spiegel essentially writes the obituary of an American-dominated unipolar world.

In Catalunya, regional premier Artur Mas sees enemies of Catalan independence everywhere.

The two more liberal candidates in South Korea’s presidential election will meet face-to-face to discuss a merged candidacy.

Dardis McNamee explains Austria’s economic success.

The vote count in Ukraine from Oct. 28 elections is not going so smoothly.  The opposition protests.

DutchNews highlights the new Dutch cabinet, sworn in on Monday.

Some good ol’ fashioned Italian left dysfunction. [Italian]

A U.S. presidential election game from Japan.

Former Serbian president Boris Tadić will cede his longtime leadership of the center-left Democratic Party (Демократска странка / DS) to Belgrade mayor  Dragan Đilas.

Despite strikes in Athens, a successful vote this week could end talk of ‘Grexit’ through 2013.

Montréal mayor Gerald Tremblay resigns.

Former opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles is leading polls in Miranda state to remain governor.

The Economist endorses Barack Obama in a very Economist endorsement.

Germany doesn’t have Mittmania.

Will the Arab Spring migrate south to Africa?

Ukraine’s withering EU hopes.

Georgia’s new prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili has appointed a new Russian envoy to boost friendlier relations — former Russian ambassador from 2000 to 2004, Zurab Abashidze.

Deputy prime minister and Liberal Democratic leader Nick Clegg is attacking UK prime minister David Cameron over Europe in some of his most damning language to date (‘false promise wrapped in Union Jack’).

Poland, like throughout most of its history, is caught between Germany (and eurozone recession) and Russia.

Argentina lowers its voting age to 16.

A new poll in Israel shows that the newly fused electoral bloc of the right-wing Likud and the secular nationalist Yisrael Beytenu has lost support — the Likud/Beytenu wins 37 seats to 22 seats for Labor and 13 seats for new reformist group Yesh Atid, and just three seats for Kadima.

Greek finance minister Yannis Stournaras is ‘fairly confident’ a package of reforms and budget cuts will succeed in a parliamentary vote next week.

A showdown between protestors and Bahrain’s government following a ban on protests.

Andreu Mas-Colell, the Catalan minister of economy, is calling for Catalunya’s independence. Hat tip to Tyler Cowen, who’s not happy about it.

Afghanistan’s next presidential election will be April 5, 2014 — although incumbent Hamid Karzai will be constitutionally barred from running, the Taliban’s candidate will be eligible.

Conservative Euroskpetics and Labour have teamed up to hand the United Kingdom’s Conservative prime minister David Cameron a defeat on a key vote regarding EU spending.

The Guardian is skeptical that newly election Sicilian regional president Rosario Crocetta will actually push for advances on gay rights in Sicily or in Italy.

Speigel looks at life in northern Mali for the Tuareg people in the newly-declared Azawad state under Islamic fundamentalism.

The new Dutch government won’t have a majority in the upper house, which will keep politics interesting.

Greece’s 2013 economic outlook is downgraded to a 4.5% contraction.

Pauline Marois delivers her inaugural speech as Québec’s new premier.

A first look at Liberal Party candidate Justin Trudeau’s policy priorities for Canada?

Georgia’s new prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili and his cabinet were confirmed last week.

A new Libyan cabinet under prime minister-designate Ali Zeidan is approved.

Former Kadima leader Tzipi Livni and former Kadima prime minister Ehud Olmert are discussing a return to frontline Israeli politics in advance of early 2013 elections.

Marking a decade of the Justice and Development (AK) Party’s governance in Turkey.

Ghana’s presidential candidates faced off in their first debate in advance of December elections.

Rahul Gandhi was not part of Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh’s new government following a weekend cabinet shakeup, despite confirmation that he remains the successor-in-waiting for India’s Congress party.

In South Korea, Democratic United Party presidential candidate Moon Jae-in is pushing independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo to discuss a ticket merger.

On the looming Japanese debt crisis.

Is France’s Socialist government reconsidering the 35-hour workweek?

For now at least, Silvio Berlusconi is confirming that he will not stand as the leader of the center-right in the upcoming 2013 elections. [Italian] Here’s the BBC story.

Québec’s new government is planning reforms to make French more ‘robust’ in Montréal.

Prime minister-in-waiting Rahul Gandhi may join India’s government after this weekend’s planned cabinet shakeup.

One way to end a strike in South Africa is simply to fire the miners.

A primer on each of the three South Korean presidential candidates’ positions on North Korea.

Spain’s federal PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers Party) leader, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, defies resignation pressure following poor regional results last Sunday.

Walid Jumblatt, Lebanon’s premier Druze leader, who once backed the anti-Assad ‘March 14’ coalition before he backed the current governing pro-Assad ‘March 8’ coalition, says he favors a new government.

The latest on the eurozone (and Catalan elections) from economist Edward Hugh.

Novaya Gazeta examines the surveillance of assassinated Moscow journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

Berlin, not Brussels, is the new capital of Europe.

Japan’s prime minister Yoshihiko Noda is taking heat for the appointment of a justice minister with ties to the Yakuza.

Former center-left Italian prime minister says a deadlock after next year’s Italian election could result in a second government led by current technocratic prime minister Mario Monti.

Spiegel checks in on jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko in advance of this weekend’s Ukrainian elections.

A new poll in Ontario shows the governing Liberals have fallen to third place.

The United States throws its support behind a new government in Lebanon.

There will be no offense against the northern Mali rebels until at least 2013.

The free-market liberal VVD and the Labour Party have virtually settled on the terms of a coalition government agreement in the Netherlands.

Are the United States and Iran engaged in secret talks over Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program? The Diplomat analyzes here.

Foreign Policy has a thoughtful bio on China’s new expected leader Xi Jinping.

Results of the Icelandic referendum — voters have responded ‘yes’ on all six questions from Saturday’s vote.

Speigel considers what the latest EU summit means for the state of the Hollande-Merkel relationship.

Lebanon remains tense after last week’s Beirut car bomb — and Lebanese business interests are calling for the resignation of ‘March 8’ coalition prime minister Najib Mikati.

Trouble already for the new Serbian government?

Election season hits both parties in Ghana.

Australian treasurer Wayne Swan’s fuzzy budget surplus math.

Should Chile nationalize its lithium industry?

A great profile of top financial blogger Felix Salmon.  Read his blog here.

Bolivian president Evo Morales says Europe and the United States are in a slump because they’re no longer pillaging Latin America. (The Great Stagnation!) [Spanish]

Somalia’s new parliament has elected former businessman Abdi Farah Shirdon as the new prime minister.

Foreign Policy looks at the death of Cambodia’s king.

Italian prime minister Mario Monti has passed an anti-graft law.

Georgia’s new top politician Bidzina Ivanishvili will continue to push for NATO membership.

Angola launches a sovereign wealth fund.

In his first salvo against German chancellor Angela Merkel, SPD chancellor candidate Peer Steinbrück is criticizing her for being insufficiently pro-Europe.

Le Figaro gives you the Merkel vs. François Hollande story in advance of the latest EU summit. [French]

Argentina’s La Nacion interviews former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva [Spanish]

What to make of Cuba’s lightening of travel restrictions?

Controversy over the first abortion clinic in Ireland and/or Northern Ireland, which opened this week in Belfast.

Der Speigel looks at the Chinese transition.

Former Lebananese prime minister Saad Hariri accuses Hezbollah of fighting on behalf of Syrian president Bashar Assad.

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and Tzipi Livni, his successor as Kadima leader pledge not to run against one another in the January elections — if they run.

Is former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd plotting a comeback once again against current prime minister Julia Gillard?

Foreign Policy considers the Cuban Missile Crisis on its half-century anniversary.

Hilary Mantel has won her second Booker Prize in four years.

German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble outlines a new plan for stabilizing the eurozone.

In Ghana, former president Jerry Rawlings is boosting president John Mahama in advance of December presidential elections.

Prosecutors will appeal the acquittal of former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, complicating a potential political comeback.

Pity the chaebol.

The Financial Times thinks Spain is ready to seek that European bailout.