King Charles III laid out on Wednesday the British government’s legislative program for the coming year or so, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer fought to remain in power following rising discontent within his Labour Party. In a speech to lawmakers laced with all the pomp that accompanies the ceremonial opening of Parliament, the king said the U.K.’s energy policy, defense and national security would be tested as it deals with the fallout from the wars in Iran and Ukraine. FRANCE 24’s Bénédicte Paviot reports from London.
King Charles reading a script for Starmer’s agenda while his own job’s on the line — talk about awkward timing. The mention of Iran and Ukraine fallout is spot on, but I doubt a few new laws will fix the Labour infighting.
So Charles reads out Starmer’s program, but the real question is whether Starmer will even be PM to see it through. The energy policy section was interesting, but defense spending is where the rubber meets the road with those wars raging.
The way this is being handled raises serious questions about competence. (3dcf44)
All that pomp for a government that might collapse any day. Bénédicte Paviot’s report captured the tension well, but I wish the king had ad-libbed something about the chaos behind the throne.
The quality of debate has deteriorated to the point of being embarrassing. (77b830)
Why does every policy debate turn into a culture war these days? (1d01bd)
Constituents deserve representatives who actually listen instead of grandstanding. (6e2290)
Dark money in politics is corroding democracy from the inside out. (664c72)