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Can Great Britain Save the West?

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is pursuing a dual strategy: he aims to take a leadership role in Europe's security and defence repositioning while also convincing the Trump administration to remain militarily engaged in Europe. The United Kingdom is to act as a bridge between an increasingly unpredictable White House and a Europe unsettled by Trump's rapprochement with Russia. This was the context of his visit to Washington at the end of February, as well as the summit he convened in London with leading heads of state and government under the title "Securing our Future."

Dr. Canan Atilgan
March 4, 2025
Country reports
IMAGO / Xinhua

Familiar Faces, New Priorities

Government Formation and Priority Setting in Ireland after the 2024 Parliamentary Elections

The fastest coalition negotiations in recent Irish history have concluded. A process that previously took nearly six months was completed in just six weeks. Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and independent TDs have formed a center-right coalition that secures a majority in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of parliament. Micheál Martin (Fianna Fáil) will initially serve as Taoiseach (Prime Minister) and alternate with Simon Harris (Fine Gael). While governing parties in many European countries have faced significant losses, Ireland's political landscape has remained stable. The government program, "Securing Ireland's Future," focuses on economic stability, infrastructure investment, and cautious reforms. However, social inequality and rising rents remain two of the many unresolved issues. Whether Ireland’s economic success will reach the broader population is the central challenge for the new coalition.

Dr. Canan Atilgan, Lukas Wick
January 28, 2025
Country reports
IMAGO / UPI Photo

The Political Landscape in the United Kingdom

A Review Six Months After the Change of Government

Europe is shifting politically to the right. Across the continent, right-wing populist parties are gaining influence or are already part of governing coalitions. At first glance, the United Kingdom seems to be an exception. Six months ago, Keir Starmer led the Labour Party to power with a supermajority. However, a closer look at public opinion and current polling reveals that the British public has not shifted to the left—quite the opposite. It is steadily moving to the right—on various issues and at different speeds, but increasingly away from Labour. Over the past six months, the proportion of voters supporting the right-wing political bloc has risen from 38 per cent to nearly 50 per cent. The political landscape of Britain is undergoing significant change.

Dr. Canan Atilgan
January 22, 2025
Country reports
IMAGO / Cover-Images

The start of a Labour era?

Dramatic defeat of the Tories in parliamentary elections in the United Kingdom

The Conservative Party under the previous Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was the big loser of the election. They lost 251 parliamentary seats, and with a vote share of 24.7%, they will only be represented by 121 seats in the British House of Commons in the future. On the winning side, a clear picture emerged: the Labour Party gained 211 seats and, with a vote share of 33.7%, will form the government with a total of 412 seats. Other winners included the Liberal Democrats, who, with 72 seats and 12.2%, achieved their best result in over 100 years. The right-wing populist Reform UK also made a statement with 14.3% of the vote, although they received only five mandates due to the British first-past-the-post system. The new government under Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces enormous challenges in domestic and foreign policy. The British Conservatives must first deal with a personnel and strategic party reboot in the opposition.

Matthias Barner, Lukas Wick
July 8, 2024
Country reports
IMAGO / SOPA Images

Local Elections with National Impact

The beginning of damage control for the British Conservatives?

The recent local elections have unsurprisingly not provided the Conservative Party with a promising foundation for the upcoming parliamentary elections. They suffered significant losses in large parts of England. In only one of eleven major city regions will a Tory mayor operate in the future. In nationwide polls, the opposition Labour Party ranks a whopping 20 percentage points ahead of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's party. Is there still hope for the British Conservatives, or is it now just about damage control?

Matthias Barner, Lukas Wick
May 10, 2024
Country reports
IMAGO / NurPhoto

Facing difficult dilemmas

Rishi Sunak and the Tories ahead of the 2024 elections

In the polls, the opposition Labour Party is far ahead of the ruling Conservatives. With the appointment of David Cameron as Foreign Secretary, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is under immense pressure, has certainly pulled off a coup. This risky move hints at the outlines of the strategy the British Conservatives will take into the 2024 election year.

Matthias Barner, Sebastian Schnorrenberg
November 28, 2023
Country reports
Unsplash / Rodrigo Santos

The Integrated Review Refresh 2023

The Integrated Review Refresh is intended to update the 2021 Integrated Review, a key document of British foreign policy, in light of a shifting world situation.

Germany is still working on a national security strategy and the governing coalition has not been able to agree on the establishment of a National Security Council. In contrast, the British government last month delivered: The Integrated Review Refresh 2023 (IRR23) builds on the Integrated Review (IR) of two years prior and is a key geostrategic document. In around 60 pages, it sets out the goals of British foreign policy and outlines strategies for achieving them. The added value of the IR is that it does not get bogged down in details, but strives to integrate the priorities of the United Kingdom (UK) in different policy areas and for different regions of the world into an overall picture that is as coherent as possible. The overall picture, which can be gleaned from the current IRR23 is similar to that of the 2021 IR but exhibits some differences that are particularly significant for Germany and Europe. The latter suggest that the post-Brexit UK has now overcome the bombast and hubris of the Johnson years and found a healthier balance between strategic ambition and pragmatism.

Sebastian Schnorrenberg
April 12, 2023
Country reports

Quo vadis, Irland?

Die Republik Irland bekommt einen neuen Premierminister

Das Jahr 2022 ist für die Republik Irland in vielerlei Hinsicht geschichtsträchtig und wegweisend. Am 6. Dezember hat sich zum hundertsten Mal die Gründung ihres Vorgängers, des Irischen Freistaats, gejährt. Wegweisend ist dieses Jahr, weil Ereignisse in Irland und in Europa dazu geführt haben, dass sich eine Reihe von Schlüsselentwicklungen überschneiden. Ein tiefgreifender Wandel in der Parteienlandschaft der Republik, die anhaltende Unsicherheit über die Zukunft von Nordirland sowie die eskalierende geopolitische Lage stellen die Republik vor Herausforderungen, deren Beantwortung das Leben auf der Insel über Jahrzehnte beeinflussen wird.

Matthias Barner, Sebastian Schnorrenberg, Katie O'Connor
December 6, 2022
Country reports

Die Nachfolge Johnsons

Der Wettbewerb um die Führung der Konservativen Partei und das Amt des Premierministers

Nach nur drei Jahren entscheiden die Mitglieder der Conservative Party im Vereinigten Königreich erneut über die Nachfolge eines Premierministers. Mit Liz Truss (47) und Rishi Sunak (42) kämpfen zwei politische Schwergewichte darum, in 10 Downing Street einzuziehen. Wer auch immer am 5. September zum Nachfolger Boris Johnsons an der Spitze von Partei und Regierung gekürt wird, übernimmt die politische Führung des Königreichs zu einem kritischen Zeitpunkt. Sowohl die britische Wirtschaft als auch die internationalen Beziehungen des Landes stehen vor einer Reihe schwieriger Herausforderungen, welche die Führungsqualitäten des nächsten Premiers vom ersten Tag an auf eine harte Probe stellen werden. Nicht nur für das Vereinigte Königreich selbst, sondern auch für Europa und Deutschland wird der Ausgang des Duells um Johnsons Nachfolge Konsequenzen haben.

Matthias Barner, Sebastian Schnorrenberg
August 23, 2022
Country reports

Elizabeths Fußstapfen

Die Zukunft der britischen Monarchie im 21. Jahrhundert

Im Jahre des 70. Thronjubiläums der britischen Königin Elizabeth II steht die Windsor-Monarchie vor außerordentlichen Herausforderungen. Sowohl in Übersee als auch im Vereinigten Königreich selbst haben langfristige Entwicklungen und wiederholte Skandale dazu geführt, dass die Zukunft der Monarchie einer ernsten Betrachtung bedarf. Welche Rolle kann das Königshaus im 21. Jahrhundert spielen? An welchen Fragen entscheidet sich sein Schicksal?

Sebastian Schnorrenberg
June 30, 2022
Country reports
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The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung is a political foundation. Our offices abroad are in charge of over 200 projects in more than 120 countries. The country reports offer current analyses, exclusive evaluations, background information and forecasts - provided by our international staff.

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