Political Snapshots – An Analysis of Challenges Facing Hollande’s Government

Today, APCO Worldwide’s Paris office published their latest edition of Political Snapshots, an analysis of the future challenges facing President Hollande’s government as he completes his first year in power.

Clearly the president faces an increasingly worrying economic situation at home. Faced with public anxiety over growing unemployment (which passed 5 million in March this year), the worrying state of public finances, plus the recent announcement that France has gone into recession, Hollande seems to have little room to maneuver over the coming months. With opinion polls already showing low levels of public confidence in his government, he is under pressure from Europe to launch significant reforms to achieve the targeted €60 billion savings in public spending. In addition, his majority relies on a very fragile consensus, with the rift between social democratic colleagues and the socialist left being felt at every level of the government.… Read more »

Posted on May 24, 2013 By APCOForum.com
Categories  EU Policy European Politics | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Disappointing Cap-and-Trade Funding Proposal

Jessyca SheehanAs reported in an earlier post, with two auctions already behind it, California must now determine how best to spend cap-and-trade revenues. Many proposals have been floated from environmental, transportation, clean tech and other industry advocates, ranging from supporting existing climate mitigation programs to establishing a Green Bank to incubate new emissions reducing technologies. Unfortunately for these advocates, Governor Jerry Brown’s May budget revision instead proposes shifting $500M in cap-and-trade revenue to the General Fund to help balance the budget.… Read more »

Posted on May 17, 2013 By Jessyca Sheehan
Categories  California Politics Energy & Clean Tech | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

iCrisis, version 2.0

buycottThree years ago I predicted the coming armageddon for brands by discussing databases and highlighting the Good Guide mobile app. If you haven’t heard of it, that’s the app where you scan the barcode of a box of cereal in a store with your smartphone and the app tells you that the cereal manufacturer “violated the Clean Water Act” or has some controversial ingredient in it. It also offers any number of “higher rated” substitute products that more closely meet the app founder’s standards. Back then I tried it and then I wrote:

And then I realized it’s just a matter of time before I’m going to learn if a company discriminates against gay people, or is a union buster, or has a CEO that denies climate change, or has a political action committee that gives only to Republicans, or has a slew of OSHA violations, or doesn’t pay any taxes, or has another product that’s being recalled – ALL AT THE POINT OF SALE.

The good news about Good Guide is the database is responsibly curated – while the owners of the database are of the west-coast, granola-crunchy variety, they are at least open to discussion with people from other points of view or agendas.… Read more »

Posted on May 16, 2013 By David Wescott
Categories  Corporate Responsibility Reputation Technology | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

An End to Italy’s Political Stalemate, But How Long Will the Grand Coalition Last?

Two months after the general elections, Italy finally has a new government, led by young but experienced Prime Minister Enrico Letta (Partito Democratico or PD, centre – left). Mr. Letta comes into office showing a strong determination to move forward with the country’s reform agenda. It is noteworthy that he managed successfully to form a coalition government that holds a large majority in both branches of the Parliament. This was not an easy task in a highly fragmented political landscape following elections with no conclusive results that brought the country to the edge of a major political crisis.… Read more »

Posted on May 7, 2013 By APCOForum.com
Categories  APCO Forum EU Policy European Politics | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

California Looks to China to Help Drive Bullet Train Forward – But Investment Should Start at Home

Jessyca SheehanFive years ago this fall, California voters approved Proposition 1A, authorizing $10 billion in state funds for the construction of a high-speed rail line from the Bay Area to Southern California. Fast forward to today and construction has yet to begin, as supporters continue their quest to secure the necessary public and private capital to make this project a reality.… Read more »

Posted on April 17, 2013 By Jessyca Sheehan
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Follow Us – European Election Monitoring Via @EPElections

EPElections on TwitterThis week, APCO Worldwide went live with a new Twitter account, focused on the exciting political changes coming up in the EU in the next 12-18 months. In 2014 we will see European Parliament elections in all 28 EU Member States, and new European Commissioners taking up their positions at the head of the EU’s Executive branch. These changes generate a great deal of public and... Read more »

Posted on April 17, 2013 By APCOForum.com
Categories  European Politics | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment