The Week - UK (2021-02-06)

Europe at aglance NEWS 7

6February 2021 THE WEEK

Brussels
Restivecontinent:Thousandsofpeople
tooktothestreetsofcitiesacrossEurope
lastweek,toventtheirfrustrationat
ongoinglockdownrestrictions.Police
arrestedhundredsofpeopleinBrussels,
ViennaandBudapest;therewerealso
protestsinAmsterdam–butnorepeat
oftheanti-curfewriotsthatspreadacross
tencitiesintheNetherlandslastweek(see
page 16 ).InBudapest,ademonstration
wasledbyworkersinthehospitality
sector,whoareangrythatpubs,clubsand
restaurantsremainclosed,althoughsome
shopshavebeenallowedtoopen.Hungary
hasbeensubjecttoalockdownsince 11
November,andthegovernmentsaysthat
massvaccinationwillbetheonlyroute
out.Hospitalityworkersalsoprotestedin
Bulgaria.InVienna,around5, 000 people
defiedlockdownrulestoattenda“walk”
organisedbythefar-rightFreedomParty.
Austria’slockdownhasbeenextended
to 7 February.InSlovenia,protesters
demandedthereopeningofschools.

Warsaw

Abortionlaw:Poland’sright-wing

governmenthasimplementedacourt

rulingthatimposesanear-totalbanon

abortion,promptingrenewedprotests

acrossthecountry.Therulingwasmade

inOctober,butthegovernmentheldoff

formalisingitthen,inthefaceofmass

pro-choicedemonstrationsthatmorphed

intoabroaderanti-governmentprotest.It

hadsignalledawillingnesstocompromise,

butlastweekitwentaheadwithimple-

mentingthelaw,whichbansabortion

exceptincasesofrape,incestorwhere

thewoman’slifeisindanger.Themainly

Catholicnationalreadyhadsomeof

Europe’sstrictestabortionlaws.Only

around 2 ,000legalterminationsare

carriedoutthereeachyear.

Paris
Macron underpressure:President Macron
resistedcallstoimpose anewnational
lockdown last weekend,andinstead
furtherclosedFrenchborders.Non-
essential travelfromoutsidetheEU isnow
prohibited,and travellersfromwithinthe
EU mustpresentanegativePCR testtobe
admitted.He also orderedthe closure of
large shoppingcentres;however,schools
remain open.Franceiscurrentlyrecording
around 447 Coviddeaths aday,far fewer
thanin the UKandGermany.However,
only 3 6%of votershave confidencein
Macron’shandlingofthepandemic; and
last week,apollof votingintentionsin
thesecondroundofpresidentialelections
duenextyearputhimonlyfourpoints
ahead ofMarineLePen,theleaderofthe
far-right NationalRallyparty.Thisweek,
shesaidhisborder closureshad come
toolate,sayingshe hadbeen callingfor
ashutdown “sincethebeginning”.

Lisbon
Covidsurge:Portugal’shealthservicehas
beenoverwhelmed byadramaticsurge in
Covid-19 cases,blamedbythe country’s
leaders on the rapid spreadof themore
contagious “British”variant andthe
relaxation ofrestrictions over the
Christmas holiday.HospitalsinAustria
have agreed totakesomecritically ill
Portuguesepatients,andGermany is
sending militarymedic sand equipment
to help ease thecrisis. Portugal fared
relatively well in the first wave lastspri ng,
but the rates of infection,hospi talisation
anddeath haverisendramaticallythis
year. Some 45%of all the deaths recorded
in Portugal since the pandemic beganwere
recordedin January. Andatthe start of
this week,the country,whichhas a
populationoften million, hadthe highest
numberof casesanddeaths in theworld,
per capita. PM António Costasaid
Portugalhad entereda“terrible” stage.

Frankfurt,

Germany

Assassinjailed:

AGermanneo-

Nazihasbeen

sentencedtolife

inprisonforthe

assassinationof

WalterLübcke,

acentre-right

politicianwho

backedAngela

Merkel’swelcome

torefugees.Inaspeechin2015,Lübcke–

theheadofaregionalcouncil,anda

memberoftheCDU–hadsaidthatgiving

refugetothevulnerablewasaGerman

value,andthatanyonewhodidnotshare

suchvaluescouldleave.Hereceived

severaldeaththreatsbeforebeingshot

deadathishomenearKasselinJune2019.

Hiskiller,StephanErnst, 47 (above),

hadalonghistoryofracistviolence,

andofinvolvementwithfar-right

andneo-Nazigroups.

Catchup with daily news at theweek.co.uk

Moscow

Navalnyjailed:TheRussiananti-corruption

campaigner Alexei Navalny wasjailed for

three-and-a-halfyears this week,for viola-

ting paroleconditions by failing to reportto

the police last autumn. His lawyers saidthe

charge was ridiculous: he couldnot have

reported to the police becauseat that time,

he wasinGermany beingtreatedfor nerve

agent poisoningwidelybelievedto have been

carried outby Russiansecurity services. Theparoleconditionsrelatedtohis conviction

for fraud in 2014 onchargeshe insists were fabricated. Inacombative address to the

court,Navalnysaid that thePutinregime was putting “one personbehindbars to

scare millions”,and mockedthe president as“Vladimir the Poisoner of Underpants”.

More than 1,400 Navalnysupporters were arrested by security forcesinMoscow

and StPetersburg followingthe courtverdict, to addtothe 5,600orsodetained

duringprotestsin cities acrossRussiaat theweekend. Navalnywas arrested last

month,on his arrival back in Russia. At thatpoint,hereleasedavideo purporting

to show Putin’s $1bn mansion on the Black Sea. This week,abillionaire friend of

the presidentcame forwardtoclaim the sprawling property belongedtohim.