In Italy, reflections on Silvio Berlusconi’s career have tended to view him as a figure whose influence began to wane a decade ago. For observers in countries where populist politics have emerged more recently, he embodies trends that still define Europe’s fractious politics. These clashing narratives each have a grain of truth.
Following his party’s poor performance in regional elections, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called for a snap election on July 23. The surprise announcement left analysts debating whether Sanchez had made a clever strategic gamble or opened the door to the far right to enter government as part of a ruling coalition.
Spain’s landmark law on sexual crime made explicit consent—or the lack thereof—the benchmark for determining guilt in rape cases. But the law had an unintended consequence: Hundreds of convicted sex offenders’ sentences were reduced on appeal, leading to public outrage and infighting within the leftist governing coalition.
