Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested that his friend, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, could act as a mediator in the war between Russia and Ukraine. In an address after Saturday's military parade in Moscow, Putin said he could envisage the former SPD leader acting as an intermediary in talks with the European side. Commentators debate whether this is a good idea.
Despite Labour's heavy losses in local elections and demands that he step down, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer intends to remain in office. While acknowledging his responsibility for Labour's poor performance, he also emphasised that it was his duty to deliver the changes that the party had promised. But the pressure is mounting: four ministers have now resigned.
There has been huge pushback against the official participation of Russia and Israel at this year's Venice Biennale. The jury of the Golden Lion all resigned, and the EU withdrew two billion euros worth of funding. The Russian pavillion was forced to temporarily close during a protest by the feminist protest groups Pussy Riot and Femen. Voices in the press are divided.
According to a proposal by the governing coalition, the Czech parliament is to take a stance against plans for a meeting of Sudeten Germans in Brno at Whitsun. This would be the first such event to be held on Czech soil. A draft resolution calls for the organisers to be urged to cancel the event. Sudeten Germans were expelled from what was then Czechoslovakia after Nazi Germany's defeat. The opposition has so far blocked the vote.
The Finnish government led by Prime Minister Petteri Oreo has proposed a child benefit reform under which parents would receive a flat rate of 100 euros per month for each child up to the age of 18 – regardless of how many children live in the household. Child benefit currently ranges between 95 to 192 euros, depending on the number of children, and is paid for children up to the age of 17.
Russia held its traditional military parade on 9 May - during a three-day ceasefire - to celebrate the victory over Nazi Germany. President Vladimir Putin gave a speech explaining that the Russian army was fighting "aggressive", Nato-backed powers in Ukraine. At the press conference afterwards, however, he said he thought that 'the matter' was coming to an end.
In last week's local elections in Britain, the far-right populist party Reform UK led by Brexiteer Nigel Farage made significant gains. The ruling Labour party under PM Keir Starmer, by contrast, suffered bitter losses. Calls within the Labour party for Starmer to resign are growing louder, but Sir Keir has vowed to fight on.
The Orbán era is over: on Saturday Péter Magyar was elected Prime Minister in the Hungarian Parliament, where his Tisza Party holds a two-thirds majority after winning the election in April: 140 MPs voted for him and 54 against. Magyar, a pro-European conservative, said Hungary was entering a new era and that the people had given him a mandate to change the system.
Uncertainty hangs over Russia's annual military parade held in Moscow on 9 May to celebrate the victory over Nazi Germany. In view of Ukraine's increasingly successful drone strikes across Russia's territory, the parade is taking place without its usual display of military hardware. Commentators see this as a sign of vulnerability and draw very different conclusions.
Gyula Balásy, a media boss with close ties to Fidesz, offered on Monday to hand over his companies to the Hungarian state for free. Under Viktor Orbán, these companies received numerous lucrative government contracts, among other things for Orbán's campaigns. Although Balásy claims his motivation is to safeguard the jobs of his approximately 500 employees, he is also under investigation on suspicion of embezzlement and money laundering.
Romania's liberal government led by centre-right Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan was brought down by a vote of no confidence on Tuesday. Shortly afterwards, the leu – the national currency – weakened against the euro and Romania's interest rates on international loans increased. Rating agencies have also warned that they may further downgrade Romania's credit rating, and EU funding, which is tied to reforms, may be withheld. The press voices consternation.