Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's Social Democrats emerged as the largest party in Tuesday's election but suffered their poorest result in more than a century.With 21.9% of the vote, the Social Democrats remain the single biggest force in parliament, yet the left-leaning coalition they lead fell well short of a working majority.The so-called red bloc secured 84 seats in the 179-member Folketing,...

Italy’s prime minister suffered a major political setback after voters rejected a constitutional reform she had championed, dealing a rare defeat to her right-wing coalition.Official counts gave about 54% of ballots to the No camp and roughly 46% to Yes, with turnout close to 60% in the two-day vote.The amendment would have enshrined a stricter separation between judges and prosecutors in the...

Denmark's Social Democrats emerged as the largest party in Tuesday's election but failed to secure the parliamentary majority needed to govern alone.Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's party took 21.9% of the vote and won 38 seats — its weakest result in more than a century.The left-leaning “red bloc” has a narrow lead with 84 seats, while the centre-right “blue bloc” holds 77. Neither...

Denmark went to the polls as Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen pursues a third consecutive term after calling an early election amid a surge in popularity following the diplomatic row over Greenland.Frederiksen’s Social Democrats remain the single largest party in opinion polls, but support has slipped since their strong 2022 result.Even with the lead, the party appears unlikely to secure the 90...

France's Socialist incumbents held onto the country's four biggest cities — Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Lille — in local elections that offered a boost to established parties ahead of next year's presidential contest.The results suggested a retreat from political extremes in many urban centres, even as the far left and far right made selective advances in other areas.Parties across the...

Two Russian men are set to stand trial in Angola, accused of running a covert campaign to sow dissent, spread false information and interfere in next year’s presidential vote.Igor Ratchin and Lev Lakshtanov were detained in August and face 11 counts including terrorism, espionage and illicit influence.Angolan prosecutors say their activities were part of a wider operation tied to a network that...

Italy’s governing coalition suffered a surprising blow as voters rejected a constitutional reform in a weekend referendum, handing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni a significant political defeat.Preliminary results showed roughly 54% voting against the proposal and about 46% in favour, with turnout close to 60%.Early exit polling pointed to a narrow lead for the no camp that widened as counting...

Ministers are considering slowing HS2 trains as a way to reduce costs after the high-speed rail project ran into delays and ballooning budgets.The transport department has asked the company building the London-to-Birmingham section to study whether trains could initially operate at a lower top speed.A formal update on the programme’s timetable and cost is now expected only after the May...

Lionel Jospin, a leading figure of France's Socialist movement who served as prime minister during the late 1990s, has died at the age of 88.He was widely known for reshaping parts of French social policy and for his dramatic exit from politics after the 2002 presidential election.Jospin led a left-wing government in cohabitation with President Jacques Chirac from 1997 to 2002. He had been a...

A bitter disagreement over the damaged Druzhba oil pipeline has stalled a vital €90bn EU loan to Ukraine and laid bare how a single member state can disrupt bloc decisions.No crude has passed from Russia through Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia since a Russian strike hit the Brody pumping station in western Ukraine on 27 January.Satellite imagery and on-the-ground reports show a massive storage...