An unsuccessful vote on same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland demonstrates Sinn Féin's willingness to defy the Catholic church, raising hopes that Ireland may be on the way to a less sectarian party system.
Category: Party matters
Fruitcake fringe poses problems for Cameron
Local elections in the UK don't tell you a great deal. But whatever their message is this week, it's bad for David Cameron.
Another roll of the Italian dice
For a party that won a majority in the lower house, Italy's centre-left has done about as badly in the post-election bargaining as it's possible to imagine.
Shambles in Italy as president re-elected
Italy gets its old president back – but still no government, and the prospects for the centre-left are looking bleaker than ever.
US stalemate on gun control
President Obama's modest plan for gun control falls victim to the paradox of gradualism.
New Zealand gets ahead again
New Zealand votes for marriage equality, with a bit more partisanship than you'd guess from the media reports.
Right vs. far-right in a French by-election
The centre-right narrowly wins a French by-election from the far-right National Front, with some tricky manoeuvring by the Socialist Party.
What happened yesterday
Simon Crean's spectacular failure yesterday illustrates a common failing among modern politicians – an aversion to actual, good-faith negotiation.
Could there be a libertarian Republican?
After being cheerleaders for authoritarianism for so long, some Republicans are starting to move a little in the other direction. Kentuckian Rand Paul is their spokesman.
Western Australian election wraps up
The Western Australian election is all decided, and neither Greens nor Liberals got any benefit from the other's preferences. But they probably didn't do them any harm either.
The World is Not Enough 