Following a fratricidal period for the left with Morales and Arce at loggerheads, right-wing, anti-MAS candidates obtained over 85 per cent of the votes cast in the latest general election, writes FRANCISCO DOMINGUEZ

THE German and French governments have fallen, and in South Korea, there has been a coup. The G7 countries, the club of major industrialised nations in particular are struggling with numerous internal political problems.
In France, the government fell in December 2024 after failing to pass a budget. Although a new prime minister has been appointed, the issues persist, and some observers speculate that President Emmanuel Macron will step down before the end of his term in 2027.
In Germany, the government has been virtually rudderless over the past year. In December, Olaf Scholz’s “traffic light coalition” finally collapsed, paving the way for new elections.

TONY CONWAY assesses the lessons of the 1930s and looks at what is similar, and what is different, about the rise of the far right today

