Conservatives

Greece's two dominant politicians on Sept.14 ruled out working with each other in a coalition, casting doubt on whether a stable government will emerge from an election that polls indicate neither of them can win outright. 

Support for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives has slipped by two percentage points due to divisions within her parliamentary bloc over a third bailout for Greece and even her own popularity has taken a hit, a poll showed on Aug. 26.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on August 2 called a parliamentary election for Oct 19, kicking off a marathon 11-week campaign likely to focus on a stubbornly sluggish economy and his decade in power.

Polls indicate that Harper's right-of-center Conservative Party, which has been in office since 2006, could well lose its majority in the House of Commons. 

British Prime Minister David Cameron has performed a U-turn and ruled out holding a European Union membership referendum on May 5, 2016, a shift to placate some of his own lawmakers who were opposed to it being held on the same day as local elections. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces growing dissent within her conservative party over efforts to keep Greece in the eurozone after months of drawn-out, quarrelsome debt talks.

The German government is against a third aid programme for Greece under any circumstances, even if there was an agreement between Athens and its international lenders on a cash-for-reforms deal, the German mass daily Bild reported on Thursday.

By Paul Carrel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing growing opposition among her ruling conservatives to granting Greece any further bailout funds, increasing pressure on her to drive a hard bargain with Athens.

Two percent fewer respondents said they would vote for ruling SYRIZA in the event of general elections compared to mid-May, a public opinion poll conducted by University of Macedonia for Skai has revealed, with the leftist party polling at 34.5 percent compared to 36.5 percent less than a month earlier.

Chancellor Angela Merkel is hoping to send a robust message on climate change from a G7 summit this weekend but may be undermined by Germany's own heavy dependence on coal.
 
Europe's top economy sees itself as a pioneer among industrialised nations for its "energy transformation" pushing the development of renewables while phasing out nuclear power.
 

Supporters of Britain's membership of the European Union will create a new group shortly to run the "Yes" campaign for a referendum Prime Minister David Cameron has promised by the end of 2017, four sources familiar with the plan told Reuters.