We in America are pretty unaware and uninterested in most foreign elections. We did watch England vote for Brexit, but that was because the parallels with Trump were front and center.
But in the past week two key elections occurred with two of our biggest allies, Japan and Germany.
In Japan, the popular candidate won over the populace, but his candidacy was overruled by the sitting members of the Diet - the Japanese House of Representatives equivalent. A more boring leader was put in. As far as our bilateral relations go, this changes very little in our relationship or Japanese policies. Japan is the 3rd biggest economy in the world and our 2nd largest trading partner. We should be aware of what's happening.
In Germany, the world's 4 biggest economy and our 3rd biggest trading partner, held elections. The center-left party, the Social Democrats, beat the party of Angela Merkel. Angela retired before the vote, so this wasn't a referendum on her work (albeit, that might have driven a lot of votes). Since Angela drove many if not most, European Union policies, this is much more impactful on us, and the "Western" world in general.
After Trump abdicated the role of leader of the Capitalist nations, Angela's Germany stepped into that role. OUR future relations with Germany probably won't change that much. But Germany's actions in the European Union may change a lot.
And that is In The News for today. Schoolhouse Rock is next.
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