On your mark, get set, vote!

Plenty on tap for global political junkies, make sure to stay hydrated during this wacky ride through the geopolitical landscape. List of key votes taking place in the next month:

Poland, Parliament (October 13)

If this was an English speaking nation the world would be outraged. Since 2015 Law and Justice have a stranglehold over polish politics, ensuring they suppress free speech and peddle their nasty brand of illiberalism. If recent polls are any indication bigotry will once again prevail. Civic Coalition is struggling as the main opposition, a bunch of modern parties doing their utmost to bring Poland back from 1936 into 2020 has been a struggle. The proud Polish people who have been pillaged by Germans and Russians for much of their history are now okay with copying the tactics of their former occupiers - we live in strange times.

Canada, House of Commons (October 21)

Three major parties, Liberal, Conservative, NDP (and three also-ran's, Bloc Québécois, Greens, People’s) vie for the hopes and aspirations of Canucks. We all know it will either be the lesser of two evils, Liberals or Conservatives who are victorious. Smart money is still on the Trudeau led Liberals, although he should be punished for upholding the $12 billion arms deal the Conservatives signed with Saudi Arabia in 2014, not to mention the brown-face fiasco. Conservatives leader, Andrew Scheer is a mild-mannered bumpkin all about tax cuts and (in the great Canadian tradition) passively aggressively whining about social equality. The country is booming economically, so it will be battle over climate change, Conservatives want to cut back emission regulations, Liberals want to regulate more, even though Trudeau himself gallivants around the world with two airplanes. Maybe the NDP (a party way too liberal for Americans) can shock the establishment and come through, thus making Jagmeet Singh Canada's first Prime Minister that openly practices sikhism.

Argentina, President and Parliament (October 27)

The thrice married Mauricio Macri is running for re-election, yes, you heard me right, Argentina is also governed by a sleazy politician, sound familiar? However, the alternative is even scarier. Argentina’s own delusional former President (2007-2015), Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (she somehow makes a Neanderthal by the name of Donald seem normal) backs the leading opposition candidate, Alberto Ángel Fernández. We’re all aware of the economic shambles the country is in, although there has been some good news of late with inflation currently down to 34% from 53% in August. Last thing Latin America needs is a weak Argentina, economic weakness is one thing, but mixing it with a bigoted insular government like we’re witnessing in Brazil will spell disaster.

Romania, President (November 10)

Incumbent Klaus Iohannis has been a beacon of pro-western leadership in Eastern Europe, some would say he is an american lackey others would say buffer to Putin, either way this vast land needs stability. One are where he has been forthright is uniting with its sister nation Moldova, where Russian influence is ever-present with its occupation of the disputed Transnistria. If he gets a second term then the likes of Hungary and Poland will be outraged, if he fails then Putin will pull out the bubbly, you can’t win when a nation straddling both a western and eastern mentality.

Spain, Parliament (November 10)

It’s Groundhog Day fiesta style. That’s tight people if you thought the April 28 election
(https://globaleditorial.blogspot.com/2019/05/espana-jumps-aboard-bigotry-express.html)
sorted out the mess of budget constraints, separatism and grand coalitions, then you were way off the mark. Time for 2019 election 2.0, $64,000 question: can the youthful Socialist Party leader, Pedro Sánchez cobble together a coalition that can actually tackle the aforementioned issues facing the nation. If nothing else it will be exciting, Spain is such a unique nation (made up of 5 languages and 17 regions held together tentatively by royalty) without its politics providing plenty of color (six parties with solid backing all in the mix). Hold onto your seats, Spain is going to the polls for the fourth time in four years, this is way better than any US Presidential tilt, no offence to a world obsessed by Uncle Sam.

Put your feet up, and enjoy the gladiator sport that will provide you endless entertainment of good old fashioned political rhetoric (in a variety of languages). Don’t blame me if you lose sleep over the next 30 days, that’s what you get for following Global Editorial - guaranteed brain exercises.

Nothing like puck drop to get the blood pumping

Time for geopolitics to take a backseat to make way for the best spectacle in sports, hockey on ice. Puck drop is only moments away for the 2019/20 NHL season. Anyone who knows anything is aware that the hardest trophy to win in sports is the Stanley Cup (greatest gift Canadians gave the world, no disrespect to the Blackberry). Put aside the grueling 82-game regular season, you then have to win four rounds of best of seven just lift Lord Stanley’s Mug. Unlike baseball and basketball the physicality makes it doubly harder to win. So, this all got me thinking, why is it that NHL players are still the most underpaid?

The following are the highest paid athletes ($US p.a.) in the four major sporting codes of North America, as of October 2, 2019

MLB (162-game regular season schedule for each team) - Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals: $38,333,334

NBA (82-game regular season schedule for each team) - Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors: $40,231,758

NFL (16-game regular season for each team) - Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions: $29,500,000

NHL (82-game regular season for each team) - Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers: $12,500,000

Okay, after seeing that list many are thinking, there is way too much money being splashed around in the sporting world. To put things in perspective, the wage of one of these players can pay all the players on the roster of an Australian Football team, yes, no one cares about this sport globally, but it’s the most exciting after hockey (according to yours truly and anyone with eyes). Hard to argue, but the old chestnut bandied about by players is that with all the revenue from ticket proceeds to income generated from the old media and the new, they still think they’re underpaid, and let’s not forget the owners who make sure they come out on top, living in a city with two of the richest owners in sports, Mark Cuban (Dallas Mavericks) and Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys) makes it a big talking point daily.

We either need to get back to sport being like the college system where it’s all about the jersey or pay athletes according to how entertaining and grueling the product is, so hands down the NHL needs to be respected more. Pigs will fly, no way Americans will allow a Canadian product to take center stage, even though the majority of NHL teams are American. Americans will always use TV revenue as what counts and the NHL lags the other three, NFL by far dominates the TV landscape followed by the NBA and MLB.

Now onto more pressing concerns, who will hoist the cup next June? I’m a Minnesota tragic through and through, but they won’t cloud my judgement. St. Louis breaking their 50 year cup drought (after being in last place on 1/1/19) last June has given hope to hapless teams. Still, as a realist I can't see the Wild taking home the chocolates. I’m going out on a limb and will give the San Jose Sharks one more chance. For so long they have been hyped in preseason only to choke, with this being 40-year-old Joe Thornton’s last kick at the can, I think they’ll get it done for one of the true stalwarts of the game. My prediction: Sharks defeat Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games. (Don’t be fooled by the names, both rosters are dominated by Canadians. Special shout-out to all the great Finns in the league, have the highest representation per head of population).

As is my ritual each season, I intend to lose my voice barracking for the State of Hockey among Dallas Stars fans who talk about football during games. I will keep wearing my colors at the American Airlines Center to annoy locals at all times.

Keep an eye out on the home of college football in Texas, the Cotton Bowl being turned into an on-ice spectacle for the Winter Classic on 1/1/2020. Happy hockey season, only 1271-games to go until the playoffs begin in April. Crank up Green Day's NHL anthem, 'Fire, ready, Aim' and enjoy all the action.

Austria’s wunderkind is back

Preface

If you were born before that shocking European bad hair band, 'Europe' ruined your ears forever by releasing the 'Final Countdown', then by definition you're a pensioner, well at least according to the Republik Österreich (Republic of Austria). Malaysia will obviously argue this point, as their Prime Minister comes in at the ripe old age of 94.

As I expressed in my piece on 10/25/2017 it’s not a good day when a Millennial with philistine views, Sebastian Kurz becomes the youngest democratically elected leader of a country. You see Kurz was re-elected as Austrian Chancellor on 9/29/2019 after caller for snap elections due to a corruption scandal. Now, you’d think a nation that gave birth to that homicidal maniac with a mustache would never accept anyone wanting to lurch to the right and inflame jingoism, but the wunderkind strikes again, so at the ripe old age of 33 he can continue leading the nationalistic Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) and dismantle the democratic gains of what is supposedly a landlocked paradise.

There is one saving grace, Kurz might have been a pragmatist all along, seeing at the time in 2017 that Europe was amidst a far right frenzy he joined in on the fad. Maybe now that he sees Europe having some sort of rebellion against illiberal populism (France, Italy and Spain have had a mini resurgence of liberalism of late, the same can’t be said for Eastern Europe where the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland are being led by zealots) he might actually look towards forming a coalition with centrists/greens due to the fact that his junior coalition partner the party further to his right, Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) only attracted 16% of the vote, a far cry from its 26% in 2017.

Austria is the 96th most populated country on earth, however it definitely punches above its weight with a GDP that comes ranks it 14th globally, in layman terms, it's the 14th richest country. I see Austria as a barometer for the First world, it is what we should strive for regarding economic and social mobility, but also one that serves as a caution that just because you have wealth and home to pristine cities doesn't mean you can’t suffer from a virus that is more common among nation not so advanced. Maybe this election will be a turning point, two years is a lifetime in politics, Kurz might just see that simply winning an election by fueling nationalism is not befitting of a modern nation, the public wants a youthful leader but not one that has a majority, instead one that builds a coalition with liberal ideals at the forefront.

I usually announce a boycott of brands from a nation when they go all 1936, however, I will give
Austria the benefit of the doubt for now. By all means keep supporting Austrian brands by drinking Red Bull and buying Swarovski crystal, the landlocked land of Sound of Music is still open to liberal ideals, just…