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Good afternoon, and welcome back to The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
For all the secularity of the modern era, recent proceedings in the Vatican have transfixed the world as centuries-old rites brought theological debates into the political arena. The line between religion and statecraft was blurred as we pondered the nationality and social sympathies of the next pontiff.
It was a discussion that Donald Trump and his disciples couldn’t resist. Already J.D. Vance had weighed in on questions of faith in January when he asserted that love is hierarchical, limited by bonds of blood and nation. Despite being a self-professed “baby Catholic” the US vice president was quick to bend the teachings of the bible to the MAGA cause.
His interpretation was implicitly chided by Pope Francis, who felt the need to clarify the universality of Christian love in a letter to US bishops. But with Francis silenced forever just hours after meeting Vance in person, Team Trump has only been emboldened in opining on the next papal appointment.
And yet as the white smoke billowed from the chapel chimney, they were positively pissed. For Leo XIV might be American, but he’s also a “WOKE MARXIST”, they fumed. Their beef with the new pope (previously Robert Prevost) has focused on explicit critique of Vance, put plainly in a tweet – “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”
But at the tender age of 69, Pope Leo is surely more sprightly than his predecessor. Which could make for many more tiffs with irritable compatriots eager to appropriate holy Scripture. Popcorn at the ready.
And now back to EU matters, which provided drama of its own.
A close shave for Merz
That Friedrich Merz would become Germany’s next chancellor was a foregone conclusion. He already had a busy schedule planned this week, joining other heads of state to announce defence plans and affirm old alliances.
But what was considered a mere formality became a nightmare when he failed to secure the backing of MPs on Tuesday morning. It was a humiliation without precedent that prompted a scramble for a second vote in the afternoon.
He scraped through but the episode underlined Merz’ fragility and will haunt him as he tries to bring stability and security to the bloc.
In two minds about the AfD
Germany’s most popular party was labelled ‘extremist’ last Friday, a decision from the country’s domestic intelligence agency that would have been an important step towards banning the far-right group altogether.
“What had previously been treated as a suspected case has now solidified into certainty,” the agency stated.
But as AfD supporters cried tyranny of the state, the certainty dissolved this week as the designation was put on hold until a court issues a definitive ruling.
Make movies great again
As is his wont, Trump dropped a Truth bomb on the movie industry as he declared 100% tariffs on non-US films. Intended as a lifeline to Hollywood, the world was left wondering how the measure could actually be implemented.
Bad news for wolves
The protection status of wolves will be downgraded following years-long battles between conservationists and agriculture wonks who contend that the animals present a threat to livestock.
Their card was marked since a prize pony of Ursula von der Leyen was killed by wolves in 2022.