W O R L D

Eurosceptic ‘earthquake’ rocks EU boat
Brussels, May 26
Stunning victories in European Parliament elections by nationalist, Eurosceptic parties from France and Britain left the European Union licking its wounds on Monday and facing a giant policy dilemma.

UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage (C) talks to the media in Southampton on Monday. AFP

Thai coup leader warns protesters
Bangkok, May 26
Buoyed by a royal endorsement to run a politically unstable country, Thailand’s coup leader today warned of a crackdown on people protesting military rule and vowed to hold elections as “soon as possible” but refused to set a time frame.

Editorial: Thailand after the coup A protester against military rule holds a sign in front of soldiers in Bangkok on Monday. Reuters

Eurosceptic ‘earthquake’ rocks EU boat
* National Front tops EU vote in France, UKIP in Britain
* Widespread protest vote against austerity

Brussels, May 26
Stunning victories in European Parliament elections by nationalist, Eurosceptic parties from France and Britain left the European Union licking its wounds on Monday and facing a giant policy dilemma.

Across the continent, anti-establishment parties of the far-right and hard left more than doubled their representation amid voter apathy, harnessing a mood of anger with Brussels over austerity, mass unemployment and immigration.

While the centre-right and centre-left will continue to control more than half of the 751 seats in the EU legislature, they will face an unprecedented challenge from noisy insurgents determined to stop business as usual in the 28-nation bloc.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls called the breakthrough by Marine Le Pen's anti-immigration, anti-euro National Front, which topped a national vote for the first time and pushed his Socialists into third place, a political "earthquake".

He rapidly countered by offering more tax cuts to spur an economy which is flatlining. Another tremor on the other side of the Channel raised new doubts about Britain's long-term future in the EU. Nigel Farage's UK Independence Party, which advocates immediate withdrawal, defeated the opposition Labour party and Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives.

The anti-EU vote was amplified in many countries by a low turnout of just 43.1 per cent, but the pro-European centre ground held firm in Germany, the EU's biggest member state with the largest number of seats, as well as Italy and Spain.

France is one of the EU's founder members and the weakness of President Francois Hollande may leave German Chancellor Angela Merkel without a strong partner for the next leg of European integration which economists say is vital to underpin a single currency but leaves voters, who want hope of better times to come, cold.

"The legitimacy of Europe is weakened, the legitimacy of France in Europe is weakened further," said Dominique Moisi of the French Institute of International Relations. "To function, Europe needs a strong balance between France and Germany. But France is moving the way of Italy or Greece in economic terms and moving the way of Britain in its relationship with Europe."

Earlier, a jubilant Le Pen told cheering supporters the French people had made clear "they no longer want to be led by those outside our borders, by EU commissioners and technocrats who are unelected. They want to be protected from globalization and take back the reins of their destiny."

In Britain, Cameron rebuffed UKIP leader Nigel Farage's call for an early referendum on an EU exit, sticking to his plan to renegotiate membership terms if he is re-elected next year, and put the result to an in/out plebiscite in 2017.

However, some analysts said UKIP's surge may force the Prime Minister to toughen his stance on Europe and could scare more pro-European voters in Scotland into opting to leave Britain in a September referendum.

Centre-left Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi bucked the trend of anti-EU, anti-incumbent votes, scoring a stunning 41 per cent to beat populist Beppe Grillo's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement by a wide margin, with disgraced ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right Forza Italia trailing a weak third. — Reuters

How they fared

France National Front storm to victory by getting 25%, 25 seats; Centre-right UMP 21%; President Hollande's Socialists a poor third with 14% - lowest ever EP score

Britain Eurosceptic UKIP in first place, with 27%, Conservatives on 24% and Labour about 25%, Greens beating Lib Dems

Germany Angela Merkel wins another election - 35% for her Christian Union, 27% for the centre-left SPD. Eurosceptic AfD score strong 7%

Italy In final results, centre-left PM Matteo Renzi scores strong 40%, fending off ex-comic Beppe Grillo's anti-establishment Five Star with 21%, and ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia with 17%

What is Euroscepticism

Euroscepticism is the body of criticism of the European Union (EU), and opposition to the process of political European integration, existing throughout the political spectrum. Traditionally, the main source of euroscepticism has been the notion that integration weakens the nation state.

About European Union

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 28 member states and operates through a system of supranational independent institutions and intergovernmental negotiated decisions by the member states.

The European Parliament is elected every five years by EU citizens. With a combined population of over 500 million inhabitants, or 7.3% of the world population, the EU in 2012 generated a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of $16.584 trillion.

A monetary union, the eurozone, was established in 1999 and is currently composed of 17 member states. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

Thai coup leader warns protesters
Vows to hold elections ‘soon’, but refuses to set a time frame

Bangkok, May 26
Buoyed by a royal endorsement to run a politically unstable country, Thailand’s coup leader today warned of a crackdown on people protesting military rule and vowed to hold elections as “soon as possible” but refused to set a time frame.

General Prayuth Chan-ocha, dressed in a white uniform and flanked by more than a dozen other military officials, addressed reporters here, saying he had received a royal command from the country’s deeply revered King to head the ruling military council.

“I’m not here to argue with anyone. I want to bring everything out in the open and fix it,” Prayuth said in his first news conference since taking power last week.

“Everyone must help me...Do not criticise, do not create new problems. It’s no use,” he said.

He issued a warning to the groups of protesters who have gathered in Bangkok in recent days to voice their opposition to the coup and call for democratic elections.

“Right now there are people coming out to protest. So do you want to go back to the old days? I’m asking the people in the country, if you want it that way, then I will have to enforce the law,” Prayuth said.

The demonstrators have scuffled with soldiers in the streets. So far, the military has allowed the small-but-growing protests to take place, even though martial law forbids gatherings of more than five people. With more protests expected, Prayuth said the military would not tolerate public displays of dissent indefinitely as the situation was reaching a “boiling point”. — PTI

Ex-PM Yingluck freed

Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was on Monday released by the military junta, three days after the Army put her under detention following a coup. Army deputy spokesman Col Winthai Sivari confirmed that Yingluck has been released from the Army's detention. Winthai said he could not tell what status Yingluck was in now, The Nation reported

Battle on to control Donetsk airport
New Ukraine leader Poroshenko says no talks with ‘terrorists’

Kiev/Donetsk, May 26
Ukraine launched air strikes and a paratrooper assault against pro-Russian rebels who seized an airport on Monday, as its newly elected leader rejected any talks with "terrorists" and said a robust military campaign in the east should be able to put down a separatist revolt in "a matter of hours".

Ukrainians rallied overwhelmingly in an election on Sunday behind Petro Poroshenko, a political veteran and billionaire owner of chocolate factories, hoping the burly 48-year-old can rescue the nation from the brink of bankruptcy, civil war and dismemberment by its former Soviet masters in the Kremlin.

Monday's rapid military response to separatists who seized the airport in Donetsk was a defiant answer to Moscow, which said it was ready for dialogue with Poroshenko but demanded he first scale back the armed forces' campaign in the east.

Even as the fighting was getting under way, Poroshenko held a news conference in Kiev where he said the government's military offensive needed to be "quicker and more effective". "The anti-terrorist operation should not last two or three months. It should last for a matter of hours," he said.

As for the rebel fighters: "They want to preserve a bandit state which is held in place by force of arms," he said. "These are simply bandits. Nobody in any civilised state will hold negotiations with terrorists."

Gunfire and explosions could be heard as a warplane flew over Donetsk's Sergei Prokofiev International Airport, hours after truckloads of armed rebel fighters arrived and seized a terminal. The government said its jets had strafed the area with warning shots and then struck a location where rebels were concentrated. — Reuters

Firm mandate to ‘Chocolate King’

• Preliminary results with more than three quarters of votes counted gave Poroshenko 54% of the vote, towering over a field of 21 candidates with enough support to avert a run-off.
• His closest challenger, former premier Yulia Tymoshenko, secured just 13.1% and made clear she would concede.

White House ‘blows cover’ of CIA chief in Afghanistan

Washington, May 26
In a rare gaffe, the White House inadvertently blew the cover of the CIA chief in Afghanistan by including his name in a list provided to journalists of US officials participating in President Obama Barack Obama’s surprise visit to the country.

The White House recognised the mistake and quickly issued a revised list that did not include the individual, who had been identified on the initial release as the “Chief of Station” in Kabul, a designation used by the CIA for its highest-ranking spy in a country, The Washington Post reported today.

The disclosure which was made on Saturday marked a rare instance in which a CIA officer working overseas had his cover blown by his own government, the report said.

The only other recent case came under significantly different circumstances, when former CIA operative Valerie Plame was exposed as officials of the George W Bush administration sought to discredit her husband, a former ambassador and fierce critic of the decision to invade Iraq.

The US daily did not give out the name of the CIA officer at the request of Obama administration officials who warned that the officer and his family could be at risk if the names were published. — PTI