Eurotopics.net

Jean-Marie Le Pen died on Tuesday at the age of 96. Having founded the far-right Front National in 1972 - the predecessor of today's Rassemblement National - he reached the runoff vote in the French presidential election in 2002. In 2011 he handed over the party leadership to his daughter Marine. What is his legacy?

Elon Musk, Big Tech billionaire and future head of the US Department of Government Efficiency, is increasingly interfering in European politics. Only weeks before the German parliamentary elections he has endorsed the AfD and called Chancellor Olaf Scholz an "incompetent fool". He also accused British Prime Minister Keir Starmer of failing to properly investigate an abuse scandal when the latter was the UK's Director of Public Prosecutions.

After Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost his majority in the German Bundestag with the collapse of the coalition government, early elections have been called for 23 February. The rise of the right-wing populist AfD and economic policy are the main themes in election campaign. The media take a critical look at the parties' economic agendas and reform proposals: will they be able to convince voters?