Austrian far-right party hopes for its first national election win in a close race

VIENNA (AP) — Austria’s far-right Freedom Party could win a national election for the first time on Sunday, tapping into voters’ anxieties about immigration, inflation, Ukraine and other concerns following recent gains for the hard right elsewhere in Europe. Herbert Kickl, a...

Eastern German legislature elects mainstream conservative speaker after far-right election win

BERLIN (AP) — Lawmakers elected a mainstream conservative as speaker of the state parliament in eastern Germany's Thuringia region on Saturday, putting aside a convention that the strongest party gets the job after the far-right Alternative for Germany won a regional election for the first time....

Ex-Defense Minister Ishiba chosen to lead Japan's ruling party and become prime minister

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s governing party on Friday picked former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba as its leader, setting him up to become prime minister next week. The party leadership is a ticket to the top job because the Liberal Democratic Party’s governing coalition controls...

Voting technology firm Smartmatic, conservative outlet Newsmax reach settlement in 2020 election defamation case

North Macedonia's leader is angry at prospect of a new setback in his country's bid to join the EU

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — North Macedonia's conservative prime minister has reacted angrily to reports that his country's troubled European Union accession bid hit a new hurdle because of a dispute with neighboring EU member Bulgaria. Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said...

Labour Party members deal a blow to Starmer a day after his appeal for unity

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Members of Britain’s governing Labour Party dealt Prime Minister Keir Starmer a blow on Wednesday, rejecting his decision to cut payments that offset winter heating costs for millions of retirees. The vote on the final day of Labour’s annual conference...

Australia's treasurer will visit China this week in the latest sign that bilateral ties are mending

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Treasurer Jim Chalmers will this week become the first Australian government minister in that key economic role to visit China in seven years, in the latest sign that strained bilateral relations are mending. Chalmers flies to Beijing on Thursday for a...

UK political magazine The Spectator's new editor is Michael Gove

LONDON (AP) — Michael Gove, who was a longtime U.K. Cabinet minister under successive Conservative Party governments, has been appointed the editor of The Spectator, one of the world’s oldest political magazines. Wednesday's announcement came little more than two weeks after...

AP PHOTOS: Democrats are becoming a force in traditionally conservative The Villages

THE VILLAGES, Fla. (AP) — The Villages, one of the world’s largest retirement communities, has long been known as a conservative stronghold. In the past, left-leaning residents of the central Florida enclave tended to keep their views to themselves, fearing they might be kicked out of their...

France's new government meets for the first time to discuss budget and migrant issues

PARIS (AP) — France’s new government dominated by conservatives and centrists gathered for the first time Monday as Prime Minister Michel Barnier set budget and migrant issues as top priorities. Barnier convened a meeting early morning with newly appointed ministers ahead of a...