One Week Later...

Clinton comes a cropper

In Countdown: the US primary race,  we said that sinking Hillary Clinton would take a political-electoral typhoon.

• Yet Clinton came a cropper last week; her strategists acknowledged that her performance in Tuesday's debate in Philadelphia was not great.
• Her rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination rushed to maximise the damage -- but it will still take a great deal to beat Clinton.
• The Republican race will be much tighter: New Hampshire and South Carolina will determine whether Mitt Romney has sufficient early momentum to overcome his modest national poll standing and name recognition.

Argentina: hollow victory

In Argentina: Hollow victory,  we wrote that Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's election victory will have all the atmosphere of a washed out wedding -- with a political honeymoon to match.

• Fernandez's easy victory reflects the strength of the economy, as well as the weaknesses of a divided opposition.
• Concerns over economic policy and inflation in particular, will remain high, and the likely decline in performance next year will rapidly undermine Fernandez's already limited popularity.

Apathy in Bulgaria

In Protest vote in Sofia, we wrote that there was general dissatisfaction with the government ahead of local elections in Bulgaria.

• The Socialist party (BSP), the biggest party in a tripartite government coalition, emerged as the largest political force with 21% of the vote in the first round of elections.
• But the low turnout (42% compared to 57% in the 2003 local election) is symptomatic of growing dissatisfaction with the Socialist-led government. Polarisation is thus likely to increase in the run-off on Sunday.

Germany: lurch to the left

In Germany: party fireworks, we wrote that cracks are opening up within the ranks of the Social Democrats (SPD), uneasy partners of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU).

• Last week, the SPD congress committed the party to "democratic socialism", in what was described by the German commentariat as a shift to the left. 

Political Masterstroke

The World Next Week Political Masterstroke award goes Robert Mugabe. A failed UK bid to exclude Mugabe from an upcoming EU summit played straight into the hands of the Zimbabwean president, who gained support from his African peers. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown is now likely to stay at home. It will be a PR coup back in Zimbabwe, too.

News to us:

Good news from Iraq?

The number of violent civilian and military deaths in Iraq continues to drop, figures for October suggest.

Noel strikes

At least 90 people have died in floods sparked by Tropical Storm Noel in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

And finally…

LA County prosecutors have still not decided whether to prosecute a boy for starting one of the wildfires that swept across Southern California last month.