Tag: elections

  • Bryony Heaviside: En mai, fais ce qu’il te plaît! – May 2025

    Ce mois j’ai eu la chance d’explorer la région de Rivière-du-Loup, qui est située au sud du fleuve Saint-Laurent au Québec. J’ai visité le phare de Rivière-du-Loup qui est partie du patrimoine maritime du Canada et est ouverte depuis les années 1800. L’une des grandes particularités de cette région est sa gastronomie, en particulier, j’ai décidé d’essayer une poutine proposée par un poissonnier local. La poutine était garnie de crevettes fraîches, ajoutant une touche maritime à une poutine classique.

    L’élan qui a traversé la rue

    J’ai exploré les chutes locales et fait une petite randonnée. J’ai ensuite eu l’occasion d’observer mon premier élan traverser la route. J’ai eu la chance de l’observer de loin dans mon char-ce n’est pas quelque chose que l’on voit tous les jours- surtout en Angleterre!

    Le phare
    Poutine avec les crevettes

    Récemment, au cœur des actualités, les résultats des élections générales au Canada ont été annoncés. Les Canadiens ont voté pour élire leurs représentants au gouvernement, et les résultats peuvent avoir des répercussions importantes sur différentes provinces, y compris le Québec. Il était décidé que Le Parti Libéral, dirigé par Mark Carney, serait le prochain premier ministre du Canada. Mais, c’était Québec, le plus grande province au Canada qui a aidé Le Parti Libéral à remporter la majorité.

    L’heure de voter

    Dans le contexte du Québec, c’est particulièrement intéressante. La province a souvent des priorités différentes de celles du reste du pays, mais la majorité de la province a choisi Le Parti Libéral au lieu de Le Bloc Québecois. Pour de nombreux électeurs québécois, ces changements représentent une chance de voir leurs préoccupations prennent en compte. Il va de soi que les résultats des élections générales au Canada auront des effets à long terme sur le Québec et ses citoyens. Le Parti Libéral leur a promis plus de contrôle sur leur province et une voix pour exprimer leurs préoccupations. J’espère qu’avec la victoire des libéraux, le Québec puisse prospérer et, en tant que pays, se protéger du conflit actuel avec les États-Unis.

    ————

    This month, I had the opportunity to explore the region of Rivière-du-Loup, located on south of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec. I visited the Rivière de loup lighthouse which is part of Canada’s maritime heritage and has been open since the 1800s. One of the great features of this region is its gastronomy, in particular, I decided to try a poutine offered by a local fishmonger. The poutine was topped with fresh prawns, adding a maritime touch to a classic poutine. I explored a local waterfall and did a small hike . Then, I had the opportunity to witness my first moose walking across the road. I was fortunate enough to view him from afar in my car- definitely not something you see everyday- especially in England!

    Au bord du fleuve
    Les chutes à Rivière du loup

    Recently, at the heart of current affairs, the Canadian general election results were announced. Canadians voted to elect their government representatives, and the results could have significant repercussions for various provinces, including Quebec. It was decided that the Liberal Party, led by Mark Carney, would be the next Prime Minister of Canada. But, it was Quebec, Canada’s largest province, that helped the Liberal Party win majority.

    In the context of Quebec, it is particularly interesting. The province often has different priorities than the rest of the country, yet the majority of the province chose the Liberal Party over the Bloc Québécois. For many Quebec voters, these changes represent an opportunity to have their concerns taken into account. It goes without saying that the results of the Canadian general election will have long-term effects on Quebec and its citizens. The Liberal Party promised them more control over their province and more of a voice to voice their concerns. I hope that with the Liberals’ victory, Quebec can prosper and, as a country, protect itself from the current feud with the USA.

  • Spanish Politics: Nikki White – Spain, February 2016

    ¡Hola a todos!

    Me han preguntado si pudiera escribir un poco sobre la política de España en el blog de este mes, a ver… ¿Dónde empiezo?

    Las elecciones…

    El 20 de diciembre de 2015 se celebraron las elecciones generales de España, y por primera vez en muchos años había más que dos partidos políticos principales. Los tres partidos que ganaron más votos eran el partido popular (PP) situado en el centro-derecha, gestionado por Mariano Rajoy – el expresidente de España. El Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE) de centro-izquierdas dirigido por Pedro Sánchez y el nuevo partido Podemos de izquierdas encabezado por Pablo Iglesias.

    Las elecciones de 2015 dieron el resultado más fragmentado de toda la historia de España, y los dos partidos más grandes (PP y PSOE – los equivalentes español de los partidos de Conservatives y Labour en el Reino Unido) perdieron su mayor número de votos desde la transición a la democracia entre los años setenta y ochenta.

    El PP obtuvo la mayor número de votos pero no fue lo suficiente para lograr una mayoría absoluta, eso implica que el PP o cualquier de los otros partidos tienen que unirse para tener más de 176 escaños. El problema es que muchos de los partidos se niegan a colaborar entre ellos y hasta el día de hoy (9 de febrero de 2016) España sigue sin tener presidente. Por lo que ahora mismo la política española está en el aire. Si no se llega a una decisión pronto habrá que celebrar otras elecciones generales.

    http://resultados.elpais.com/elecciones/generales.html  Como podéis ver ningún partido tiene una mayoría absoluta así que siguen los debates.

    Cada región disfruta de un cierto nivel de control sobre asuntos importantes tales como, financiación, el sistema sanitario, educación etc. Este sistema decentralizado hace que muchas comunidades sean!

    En mi opinión cada una de estas Comunidades Autónomas tiene una increíble y distinta cultura. Me encanta la diversidad cultural que se pueda encontrar en España, y que puedes visitar una región y experimentar algo completamente diferente del peninsular. En cuanto a mi opinión sobre la política en España, voy a ser una verdadera miembro de parlamento y ¡no decir lo que cree en este blog!

    ¡Hasta la próxima vez!

    ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

    Hi everyone!

    I’ve been asked to write a little bit about Spanish politics in this month’s blog update, so let me see where I can begin…

    Elections…

    So on 20th December 2015 the Spanish Government held their national elections, and for the first time in many years there were more than two main parties. The main three were the Partido Popular (PP) the mainly conservative party led by Spain’s last and current stand-in prime minister Mariano Rajoy. The Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE) a centre-left led by Pedro Sanchez and the newcomer Podemos a left-wing party led by Pablo Iglesias.

    The elections in 2015 gave the most fragmented result in Spanish history and the two biggest parties (PP and PSOE – Spain’s equivalent of the British Conservative and Labour Parties) lost the largest amount of votes respectively since the country’s transition to democracy in the late seventies/early eighties.

    PP got the most votes but not enough to achieve an overall majority, so that means that PP or any of the other parties have to join together in order to form a majority. The problem is that many of the parties are unwilling to collaborate with each other and as of today (ninth Feb 2016) Spain still has no ruling party and no prime minister. So politics are currently a little bit in the air. If no decision is made soon there will have to be another General Election

    http://resultados.elpais.com/elecciones/generales.html  As you can see no party has an absolute majority so the discussions continue.

    This situation is not helped by the fact that Spain is divided up into 17 Autonomous Communities.

    Each autonomous community has a very degree of control over important issues such as finance, healthcare, education etc. This decentralised system makes several communities reluctant to rely on the powers in Madrid to provide the appropriate governance, and several regions have taken this further to wanting complete independence from Spain. Such as Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia.

    In my opinion each and every one of these Autonomous Communities has a vastly different and amazing culture. I love the diversity that can be found in Spain and it’s nice to be able to visit and different area and gain a different flavour from this peninsular! As for my opinion on politics, I am going to be a true politician and refrain from stating what I believe on this blog!

    Until next time!

    Nikki

  • Different Countries, One Future…

    As two of Pakistan’s neighbouring countries, India and Afghanistan undergo general elections it is interesting to reflect on developments in one country affect the wider region.  Both countries are geo-political heavyweights (due to a booming economy and the presence of NATO forces respectively) and as such the government ministers in Islamabad will be watching closely.  It is no secret that Pakistan’s Northwest frontier has an impact on the situation across the border in Afghanistan due to a shared ‘Pathan’ heritage.  In the East, both India and Pakistan have taken genuine strides in recent years to improve diplomatic relations in the hope of boosting bi-literal trade.  How will things look 12 months from now?  Let’s wait and see…