Domestic events are likely to dominate the news cycle this week, but the rest of the world continues to turn as well. Here are some of the key foreign actions which are expected to have dramatic effects on the international stage this week.
Brexit is facing a final vote on Prime Minister Theresa May’s negotiated plan on Tuesday evening. The current count of Parliamentary votes suggests her plan will be dramatically rejected.
With this as the backdrop, May is currently pushing hard to rally the people to pressure their members of Parliament. Her problem remains that the country is split, with large numbers not wanting Brexit and others refusing to accept any deal which would give the EU influence over their government.
May warned this weekend that without passage of her plan, everything was at risk:
That would be ideal for many MPs, however, which weakens its use as a scare tactic.
If the vote fails, the country will face great uncertainty as to its future with only weeks before the planned Brexit date.
Also facing a leadership crisis is Greece, whose leader, Alexis Tsipras, is facing a no-confidence vote in their Parliament. At issue there are concessions made in the negotiations with Greece’s northern neighbor, which is to be officially recognized as the country of North Macedonia. The recognition by Greece will allow North Macedonia to apply for NATO membership.
The recognition has been fought in their Parliament by the head of a nationalist party, the Independent Greeks. They have formed part of the coalition which put Tsipras in power, and their leader, Panos Kammenos, has pulled his support rather than accept the deal.
From the AP:
Tsipras appeared confident when speaking to the press Sunday that he would be able to find the needed 151 votes and survive both the confidence vote and the Macedonia name change vote, since the group led by Kammenos had only seven seats.
AP
If Tsipras can find enough backers to replace the defecting Independent Greeks, it will signal a significant Eurpoean defeat for Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
