Week in Review: Talks, Makeovers and Lost Causes

Resuming Talks

The Turkish drilling vessel Yavuz (L) leaves from Dilovasi port as a Turkish military ship accompanies it, in Kocaeli, Turkey, 20 June 2019. Photo: EPA-EFE/ERDEM SAHIN

After years of escalating tensions, Greece and Turkey sat down to talk about their disputes at the end of January. The exploratory talks, resumed after a five year pause, were held on January 25 - while the precise agenda is not known, the two sides likely discussed maritime disputes in the Aegean and East Med.

Given that the two sides began these talks in 2002, there is not much reason to expect a quick breakthrough. Yet there are also some new driving factors behind the resumption of talks, which give some cause for optimism, as Hasan Selim Ozertem explains in his opinion piece for Balkan Insight.

Read more: Why Turkey is Dialing Down Tensions in East Med (February 25, 2021)

(No) Confidence

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa. Photo: EPA-EFE/IGOR KUPLJENIK.

Political life in Slovenia is anything but dull. A fragmented party political system has generated years of unwieldy and unstable governing coalitions. The same applies to the current government of Prime Minister Janez Jansa, a colourful and deeply divisive figure in Slovenia's politics.

Jansa's Government survived a motion of no confidence lodged last week, but only just. With elections due in May next year and the failure of the no confidence vote, it might be logical to assume that the Jansa Government will complete its mandate in relative peace. But will it? With the country sharply polarised and Jansa's own ability to attract scandal and public discontent, it seems that such assumptions are overly optimistic.

Read more: Jansa Survived No...

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