Brexit

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Nov. 20 that she would seek a fourth term in elections next year to defend democratic principles in the face of looming threats at home and abroad.

Everything points to New Democracy winning the next general election, whenever this takes place. While there are no waves of passionate voters gravitating towards the conservative party, it is clear that the "they have to go" movement is growing, while there are no other major players to take advantage of the situation on the political stage at this point.

Britain's first post-Brexit budget will focus on infrastructure and could spell an end to the previous government's rigid fiscal targets, according to a treasury statement released on Nov. 20.

The budget will be new finance minister Philip Hammond's first set-piece since replacing George Osborne who resigned following the June vote.

Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Meglena Kuneva has stressed the importance of keeping in office the administration that runs the EU Presidency preparations even after a new cabinet takes over.

There have been many articles about "Trexit" in the Turkish media since President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan raised the possibility of a referendum on Ankara's EU membership bid. The term, of course, is derived from "Brexit," and implies that Turks will vote their way out of the EU, just as the British did. 

British Prime Minister Theresa May has assured that the preparation of Brexit is going on schedule and that the legal process will begin by the end of March 2017.

"The preparation is ongoing and we are ready to start the procedure under Art.50 of the EU Treaty by the end of March 2017," stated Theresa May during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The European Union was never sincere with Turkey. It is still a mystery why it recognized Turkey as a candidate for full membership in 1999, and endorsed the start of negotiations in 2005. It probably believed Turkey could never fulfill the requirements and so there was no risk of appeasing it.

The question of whether Turkey could really bring back capital punishment has now been followed by the question of whether Turkey could really hold a referendum on the European Union.

If the latter question had been put to me a month ago, I would have said "no," just as I would have once ruled out the possibility of reinstituting the death penalty. 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has blasted European Parliament President Martin Schulz over his suggestion that economic sanctions could be imposed on Turkey, hinting at the possibility of a Brexit-like referendum on the fate of Turkey's EU membership candidacy. 

The election of Donald Trump to top job in the US was a slap across the face of professional politicians, pollsters, the media, gender equality, established etiquette and the campaigning rules and niceties of the post-WWII liberal order. It is a reminder too, that the shock waves of the 2007 financial crisis are still influencing events, almost a decade down the line.