Australia Goes to the Polls

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 13 May 2022 > In the News Shine Bright Lycée

Australia’s Prime Minister, Liberal Scott Morrison, has called a federal election for 21 May. “ScoMo” and the Liberals were the surprise winners of the 2019 election and currently have a single seat majority in the 151-seat parliament. Opinion polls are favouring Labor and its leader Anthony Albanese over Morrison, who has been accused of bullying … Continue reading “Australia Goes to the Polls”

Canada Elections: Status Quo

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 22 September 2021 > In the News

Canada went to the polls two years early on 20 September. The situation after the election looks almost exactly the same as that before, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party losing the popular vote but winning the most seats, though not enough for a majority. Trudeau will now form another minority government. Justin Trudeau, … Continue reading “Canada Elections: Status Quo”

Scottish Independence Debate Videos

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 19 May 2021 > Webpicks

If you would like to explore the debate around a possible second Scottish independence referendum, IndyRef2, in class, these videos have some useful material. We already featured a Scottish National Party Party Political broadcast from before the 6 May elections in our article. This one was published after the election results. Its message is pretty … Continue reading “Scottish Independence Debate Videos”

Scottish Independence Back on the Agenda

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 12 May 2021 > In the News

After elections to the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish National Party has emerged the leading party for the fourth consecutive election, achieving just one seat short of a majority in an electoral system specifically designed not to produce overall majorities. The party of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon had campaigned on the promise of a new independence … Continue reading “Scottish Independence Back on the Agenda”

Presidential Poet

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 15 January 2021 > What's On

The line-up for the Biden-Harris Presidential Inauguration includes an extraordinary young poet. Andrea Gorman was named the country’s inaugural National Youth Poet Laureate in 2017, at just 18. The Inauguration swearing-in ceremony traditionally includes a religious invocation and blessing, given by Father Leo J. O’Donovan and Reverend Dr. Silvester Beaman, a recitation of the Pledge … Continue reading “Presidential Poet”

He is Back*!

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 14 January 2021 > Webpicks

On Sunday January 10th, Terminator actor and former governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger posted a powerful video on Twitter. He denounced the violent mob that overtook the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday 6th. Recounting his childhood in Austria after World War II, he linked the Capitol attack to Nazi Germany. My message to my fellow Americans … Continue reading “He is Back*!”

Inauguration Day

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 07 January 2021 > Celebrate

Assuming that anything happens as planned in this extraordinary election campaign, Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, and Kamala Harris as Vice-President, on Inauguration Day, 20 January, 2021. The ceremony and traditional celebrations that follow will be much smaller than in previous years because of the coronavirus … Continue reading “Inauguration Day”

New Zealand gives Jacinda Ardern and Labour a Landslide

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 23 October 2020 > In the News

New Zealand’s 17 October election was originally scheduled on a historically significant day: 19 September, the annual anniversary of the date in 1893 when New Zealand women became the first in the world to legally vote. It was postponed because of Covid but was historic anyway: the Labour party became the first in 24 years … Continue reading “New Zealand gives Jacinda Ardern and Labour a Landslide”

U.S. Presidential Marathon

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 03 February 2020 > In the News

The race to the White House is heating up, but there’s still a long way to go to the 3 November election. Because in this year’s election  the incumbent President, Republican Donald Trump, is standing again, most of the focus so far has been on the campaign to become the Democratic candidate. Some hopefuls declared … Continue reading “U.S. Presidential Marathon”