Coup Against Right Wing Movements Is Underway In Europe

 In the past, progressive elites were not generally threatened by the campaigns of the old center and center-right parties because those groups have long been managed by fake conservatives with no intention of disturbing the deviation of the Overton Window to the radical left.  But of course, times have changed.  Legitimate opposition to the far-left is rising in the form of political parties fighting for secure borders and anti-wokeness initiatives, and the progressives are furious.

They've had a taste of near total power, and though they claim to be the patron saints of Democracy they are openly adopting authoritarian ideals in order to keep that power.  

In the US the far-left has been pursuing an all out propaganda war and has abused the legal system for years as a means to stop conservatives from returning to government.  The lawfare tactics utilized against Donald Trump were unprecedented, but ultimately failed.  In Europe, though, leftists are finding more success.

In Germany the establishment is attempting to ban the increasingly successful AfD Party on the grounds that they represent a "return to fascism".  Over 100 legislators backed the resolution, though it is unclear if a vote will be taken.  The AfD is the second most popular party in Germany and has recently put a candidate forward for chancellor in the upcoming February elections. 

All other political parties in Germany are variations of the progressive spectrum.  Leftists say that if the AfD gains any significant governmental power they will refuse to work with them, preferring to leave the German government in a state of limbo rather than accept the will of the voters.  It should be noted that Germany's coalition government is already collapsing and the country is in crisis.

In France, the increasing success of Marine Le Pen and her National Rally Party has been met with extreme derision by the progressive elites.  The establishment under Emmanuel Macron engaged in political chicanery after the National Rally won the first round of the French elections.  The centrists established a coalition with the radical leftists as a way to prevent the right wing from taking power.  The move was technically legal, but considered by many to be an immoral effort to deny conservative French voters a voice.

The elites are also attempting to use lawfare against Le Pen, conjuring charges of misuse of EU funds with the intent to ensure she can't run in the 2026 elections. As in Germany, it should be noted that the very coalition that was put in place to keep the right wing out of government has now collapsed under a no confidence vote of Prime Minister Barnier and France is currently in crisis. 

In Britain, there is no right wing party to represent public interests.  The current progressive/globalist regime has violated the spirit of the Brexit vote and has opened the borders of the country wide to third-world immigration.  The results have been disastrous.  The government and the British media now spend most of their time trying to hide the spike in violent crime committed by migrants across Europe and the UK.  Without representation the British public has taken to the streets to protest.  

In response, the leftists have clamped down on free speech, arresting people who criticize open immigration online.  Democracy is fully dead in Britain. 

In Romania, the Constitutional Court has for the first time canceled the results of a presidential election because a "right wing" candidate unexpectedly won the first round.  The government claims Calin Georgescu received an online boost on his campaign TikTok account from Russian sources and this represented a "distortion of the vote".   The court has produced no concrete evidence to support this claim, nor have they explained how artificial Russian traffic on Georgescu's TikTok account translates to Romanian votes.

The courts are now determining if they will bring criminal charges against Georgescu.  After all, they can't run another election only for the candidate to win again and prove the Russian accusations are a hoax.  Prosecutors are raiding his apparent campaign financiers looking for proof of election interference.  Georgescu says he has never had any ties to Russia or any other foreign entity; he called the Constitutional Court in Romania a 'mafia court' participating in a coup against the Romanian people.

  

Again, this is the complete death of Democracy as the political left promotes it.      

The explosion in public enthusiasm for right wing movements in Europe with legitimately conservative policies (among younger people in particular) has proven that the drift to the left is not what the populace wants; it never was.  However, the progressive establishment has deemed this change in public sentiment unacceptable - They have decided to do anything and everything to keep power, even if it means abandoning the very democratic processes they claim to defend.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/democracy-dead-coup-against-right-wing-movements-underway-europe

Person of interest in Thompson kill ID’d as Luigi Mangione, ex-Ivy Leaguer

 The person of interest nabbed in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is an anti-capitalist Ivy League grad who liked online quotes from “Unabomber’’ Ted Kaczynski — and apparently hated the medical community because of how it treated his sick relative, law-enforcement sources told The Post on Monday.

Tech whiz Luigi Mangione, 26, of Towson, Md., has not been charged but was taken into custody Monday morning at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pa., after an intense manhunt following the coldblooded execution of Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel last week, sources said.

The former prep-school valedictorian was caught with a gun, silencer, four fake IDs with names used during the killer’s stint in New York City — and a manifesto, sources said.

The manifesto railed against the US healthcare industry, including over its enormous profits and alleged shady motives, sources said.

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Police have taken a person of interest into custody in the shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.DCPI

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Mangione had a particularly personal reason to hate the medical community — its treatment of an ailing relative, sources said.

Online obituaries show he lost a grandmother in 2013 and grandfather in 2017.

His LinkedIn page indicates that he once worked in an assisted-living facility for the elderly for a few months in 2014, while still in high school.

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Surveillance photos captured a person of interest at various points across New York City.AP

The shooter is believed to have acted alone. It is unclear if Mangione has yet made any statements to cops.

Mangione also subscribed to anti-capitalist and climate-change causes, according to law-enforcement sources, citing online activity gleaned by authorities.

On the Goodreads website, Mangione’s account shows quotes he particularly likes ranging from Socrates to Bruce Lee — to wacky anti-establishment Kaczynski, the infamous “Unabomber’’ who terrorized the country for nearly two decades by dispatching deadly bombs before he was nabbed in 1996.

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The killer shot Thompson at close range on a Manhattan street.AP

“Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness,’’ Kaczynski wrote at one point in a quote liked by Mangione.

“Science fiction It is already happening to some extent in our own society. Instead of removing the conditions that make people depressed modern society gives them antidepressant drugs. In effect antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual’s internal state in such a way as to enable him to tolerate social conditions that he would otherwise find intolerable.’’

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Mangione was taken into custody in Altoona, Pa.

Mangione was valedictorian of his 2016 high school graduating class at the Gilman School in Baltimore, where he played soccer, according to online sites. High school tuition at the all-boys school is nearly $40,000 a year.

He said at the time of graduation that he planned to seek a degree in artificial intelligence, focused on the areas of computer science and cognitive science at the University of Pennsylvania, according to an interview with the Baltimore Fishbowl.

He says in online posts that he graduated from the prestigious school with a master’s of science in engineering and a bachelor’s degree in the same field.

His LinkedIn suggests he is a data engineer at a car company based in California, although he lists his current home as Honolulu in Hawaii.

The state of the country’s government and economy were apparently on his mind for years.

He reposted a Wall Street Journal article on Facebook in 2019 titled, “Obstacle to Deficit Cutting: A Nation on Entitlements.” 

His Facebook account, which did not have any recent postings, says he is the co-founder of AppRoar Studios, which describes itself as “an app development start-up founded to provide the simplest and most engaging gaming experience.”

While at Penn, Mangione appeared in an article in a student publication that praised him for starting up a student-run video game development club. The club is now known as the University of Pennsylvania Game Research and Development Environment. 

https://nypost.com/2024/12/09/us-news/person-of-interest-in-fatal-shooting-of-unitedhealthcare-boss-brian-thompson-idd-as-luigi-mangione-an-ex-ivy-league-student/

Reducing Government Spending Is Key To Reduce Inflation

 by Daniel Lacalle,

Markets and economists are beginning to recognize that a serious rationalization of spending is the only way to prevent a debt crisis and reduce inflation in the United States. In the latest estimates published by the Treasury, the accumulated deficit between 2024 and 2034 would reach $14 trillion. Considering the path of uncontrolled public debt and rising fiscal irresponsibility reached over the past four years, many feared a debt crisis looming. In a period of peace and recovery, a 6.4% budget deficit indicated the lowest economic growth, adjusted for debt increases since the 1930s.

Market participants now appear relieved and are discounting a declining deficit as well as a stronger currency.

Inflation is always a monetary phenomenon. Governments create inflation by issuing constantly depreciating currencies, eroding purchasing power through massive spending, and subsequently eroding productivity and the real value of wages and savings. Therefore, strengthening the currency, restoring confidence in public finances, and reducing inflation are all part of the same policy: curbing government deficit spending.

The addition of Ron Paul to the Department of Government Efficiency, under the leadership of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, is encouraging. Mr. Paul knows the inefficiencies and excesses of government better than most politicians. All three of them have a clear objective: cut spending wherever it is possible. When economists say it is impossible to reduce government expenditures, they usually use aggregated items. However, a large part of non-interest discretionary spending goes to more than 1,350 subsidy programs.

With a budget nearly $2 trillion larger than in 2019, there is significant room for reduction.

Optimism among market participants is obvious. The S&P 500 has reached an all-time high, and this time, interestingly, it’s not due to expectations of increased currency printing and deficit spending but rather the opposite. Previously, markets viewed a stronger US dollar as a negative factor, but this time, it has proven to be the opposite. The dollar index is up 4.6% this year, and the S&P 500 has soared 27%. Since the U.S. election result, the dollar index has increased by 1.5%, while the S&P 500 has experienced a surge of over 2.5%.

Inflation expectations for November should not surprise anyone who looks at the still uncontrolled deficit. According to Bloomberg Economics, core inflation should remain high in November, at 0.3% month-on-month and 3.3% year-on-year. We expect a 0.2% rise in headline inflation, bringing the year-over-year rate up to 2.7% from 2.6%.

The expected level of inflation is intolerable in a country that enjoys global technology leadership and record energy independence, two disinflationary factors. Therefore, inflation is not only stubborn but unjustified.

Some economists warn against a strong dollar because they want a weak currency to disguise unsustainable fiscal imbalances. However, there is no strong economy with a weak currency.

A depreciated currency is not a tool of economic growth, but a policy supported by cronyism and bureaucrats aimed at subsidizing their inefficiencies at the expense of citizens’ real wages and deposit savings.

For the first time in years, we may see a real supply-side plan. This administration deserves some trust, as the alternative would have led the United States into an economic catastrophe.

The new administration must understand that the only way to maintain and strengthen the U.S. dollar’s reserve status is to curb deficit spending and reduce debt while accelerating productive economic growth and private investment. Argentina’s Milei has demonstrated that eliminating deficit spending can significantly reduce inflation. The United States needs to implement drastic measures to eliminate the bloated expenditure path of the past four years and restore confidence in the solvency of the public sector.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/reducing-government-spending-key-reduce-inflation

Iran Appears Doubling Down On Nuclear Route In Response To Syria Events

 By Michael Every of Rabobank

Over the weekend, the half-century-long Assad dynasty in Syria fell. Islamists now hold Damascus. Syria can no longer be assumed to hold together as an entity. Dangerous military equipment and even chemical weapons are waiting to be seized by different sides.

As the arbitrary lines imposed by the Sykes-Picot Agreement of a century ago collapse, along with U.K. and European geopolitical influence, what new state/statelets could arise in the roiling Middle East? Backed by whom? Or will it just be chaos and civil war that destabilises the region further, perhaps even flooding Europe with millions more refugees that this time it won't be saying "Wir schaffen das!" about?

In the bigger picture, Iran has lost another key proxy, and Hezbollah a key supply route for rearming. Russia may have permanently lost its key airbase and warm water port there, following on from its loss of control of the Black Sea, weakening it in the Middle East and Africa. In short, this is a larger setback for the ‘Axis of Resistance’ than the U.S. retreat from Afghanistan - and with the West having done as little in most respects.

Indeed, what we just saw was the mere ripple effect of Russia being tied down in Ukraine and Israel striking back vs Iran and its proxies. Those Middle East countries thinking of anyone but a US/Abraham Accords defense umbrella as protection are left with bad options and none.

As a result, reports also have it that Iran appears to be doubling down on a nuclear route in response; are Russia, North Korea, and China are prepared to help there? If so, what will the West do about it?

Syria may seem far removed from normal business and markets, but again this represents a staggering geopolitical chess move; one that opens up what was flagged as The Great Game of Global Trade as far back as 2017 to new offensive strategy even before the U.S. gets serious about economic statecraft and realpolitik again - which it will. (As one speaker at the Reagan National Defence Forum just put it, US enemies "should go to bed afraid and wake up afraid.")

Indeed, as the U.S. psyches itself up for Trump 2.0, anyone peeking at the fall of Assad should be saying "Oh!" Especially if they are bearish the U.S. and the dollar.

On a more immediate note for markets, US stocks hit fresh all-time highs on Friday as the November non-farm payrolls report set the scene for another 25bp cut from the Fed next week. The S&P500 gained 0.25% to 6,090 and the NASDAQ added 0.81%. The Dow closed down 0.28%, dragged down by Chevron and United Health Care, whose CEO was recently murdered in New York.

US 10y Treasury yields fell 2.3bps to 4.15% on Friday, while 2-year yields fell by 4bps to result in a small bull-flattening of the Treasury curve. Brent crude was down by 1.4% following the agreement struck between OPEC+ producers to extend production cuts through to September next year.

Employment grew by 227,000 in November according the establishment survey. That was broadly in-line with expectations, and a net upward revision of 56,000 over September and October added some extra stodge for traders to digest.

The household survey painted a less rosy picture. There, the unemployment rate lifted to 4.2% (despite a two tick fall in participation) and the employment change was negative 355,000. According to the household survey, employment growth has been averaging -3,800/month in 2024 while growth in the labor force has averaged +75k/month over the same period.

Obviously, this raises further questions about which report to believe. Other labor market indicators released over the course of last week didn’t provide a definitive signal. The JOLTS survey showed a healthy lift in job ads, but the ADP employment survey showed employment growth slowing to 146,000 in November. That’s a touch below the 155,000 monthly average this year.

Weekly initial jobless claims printed 9,000 higher than expected, Challenger job cuts ticked a little higher in November and the employment sub-index of the ISM manufacturing report lifted 3.7pts to 48.1 while the equivalent services employment index fell from 53 to 51.5.

The overall impression seems to be a labor market that is continuing to soften, but hasn’t fallen off a cliff. Given the lagged nature of labor market indicators, and the cracks that are showing in the household survey, it makes sense that the FOMC would seek to take their policy rate closer to neutral sooner rather than later to maximise optionality. Perhaps this is especially the case given rich valuations evident in equity markets, the uncertainties surrounding fiscal policy next year and the looming wave of debt refinancing that is due to hit in 2025 & 2026.

Consequently, market implied probability of a Fed rate cut next week has risen from ~70% to ~85%, despite recent signs of stickiness in inflation that we will get an update on later this week, and the consensus view that the Trump platform is going to be inflationary inside the United States.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/iran-appears-be-doubling-down-nuclear-route-response-events-syria

Kelly says Secret Service being put under DHS ‘took away their identity and their exclusivity’

 The chair for the House task force assembled to review the assassination attempts on President-elect Trump’s life said that the Secret Service being put under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “took away their identity and their exclusivity.”

“They don’t have the leadership they need … when they morphed them into Homeland Security back in 2001 … whenever it was, they took away their identity and their exclusivity,” Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) told CBS News’s Margaret Brennan in a “Face the Nation” interview that aired Sunday, which also featured task force ranking member Jason Crow (D-Colo.).

Formerly part of the Department of the Treasury, the Secret Service in 2003 became part of the DHS.

“When you’re the best of the best, when you’re the elite of the elites, if you lose that, then all of a sudden you just become part of a team,” Kelly said in his CBS News interview.

On Thursday, Kelly’s task force had its final meeting in which the acting Secret Service director was grilled and lawmakers voted on releasing a final report. 

The Secret Service has faced recent scrutiny for assassination attempts against Trump, with the current acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe stepping into the role after his predecessor resigned when lawmakers criticized her for a lack of transparency. 

“I’m telling you, on July 13, there was a lack of professionalism, there was a lack of concern, there was a lack of coordination and the ability to communicate is the one thing I’ll never understand,” Kelly told Brennan, referencing the day the first Trump assassination attempt took place.

Back in 2020, the Trump administration was looking into the option of returning the Secret Service back to the Treasury Department.

“We think it will very much help us in combating money laundering and terrorist activities,” former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Fox News at the time.

The Hill has reached out to the DHS and Secret Service for comment.

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5029294-mike-kelly-secret-service-dhs/