I Like / I Dislike Week 33 [20240708]

Every Monday, the CERESE publishes the assessment of the previous week’s news:

I like… the result of the presidential elections in Iran. Masoud Pezeshkian, the centrist and, according to many, reformist candidate, won the second round of the presidential elections. Pezeshkian obtained 53,7% of the votes, where participation was slightly higher than in the first round. Despite the generally low participation due to the disappointment of voters during the last few years, Pezeshkian’s victory could signal a new beginning for Iran. The new President has commented that he wants to “open Iran to the world”, a statement that could open the path to restarting negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program. However, Pezeshkian’s rhetoric was modest and unifying after his victory, affirming his respect for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

I dislike… the new ultraconservative group in the European Parliament. After an initiative by the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, a team of nationalist and far-right parties in the EU Parliament is forming a new political group. In addition to Hungary, this group called ‘Patriots for Europe’ features parties from Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. The group is entitled to European funding and party privileges during the political procedures of the EU Parliament, as it now has more than 23 MEPs from 7 different member-states. Orbán’s group is currently competing with the ‘Conservatives and Reformists’ group, led by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, for the ultraconservative vote.