I don’t think it is entirely bad. Le Pen will run with this producing something of a shadow over her, where if she had not been able to Bardella would have been the obvious candidate - and probably a stronger one.
I’m not sure about that. Le Pen has slowly built that image of the ‘Mother of the Nation’. She’s in politics since ages, and increasingly popular. If she has to wear that bracelet, she’ll use it to present her once more as the victim of a cruel and partisan judiciary system, a trick she uses since years. As we know from the USA, being convicted of wrongdoing won’t put voters off. Now that she can and will put herself forward for the job, there is an enormous chance that she’ll be elected.
Bardella on the other side is just a newly arrived rookie at top level. It doesn’t happen often in France that a rookie gets elected for presidency. Even Macron, the obvious exception, had some experience at ministerial level before being elected.
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Bardella wouldn’t stand a chance in a run off , unless it was against Melenchon.
As it stands , Le Pen probably has the beating of just about anyone you care to mention.
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Is there a French Binface?
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Oui , Pepe la Poubelle.
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In Saxony-Anhalt, a federal state of Germany, will maybe come the AfD into the government. #FCKAFD
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I hope, after the election of the German “Bundestag” in 2029, we in Germany have the so called “Kenia-Koalition” (CDU/CSU, SPD and Bündnis 90/Die Grünen).
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A real thriller now in Iceland !
It is surprisingly close. My bet might even be wrong (I think they will vote No, for the same reason I think there is still a majority for No in Norway, as our reasons for staying out of the EU is pretty similar or almost the same).
But it is close. Very exctiting and very important for both the EU and Iceland. Also very imporant for Norway. Pretty sure a lot of people along the coast in Norway pray they vote No, lol (Iceland entering the EU will make us staying outside, probably a lot harder in the long run) !
Looooots of good stuff in English to read there. So if you know little, that and a 2 might google ought to set you alright 
The last gallup before they started counting votes showed Yes 48.4% AND no 51.6%, but it is looking closer now as the real numbers come in.
Ah, nothing like a real actual democratic election to stay up for. This is much more important than a regular General Election in some random country and should obviously be headlines.
As for thriller, well, if you doubt me, look at this !!!
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Swinging to No with an urban/rural split:
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Great news imo. Nothing would have been worse than a small majority for, not to mention that they probably would have said no in the end anyway.
I get why this always gets framed from the perspective of smaller countries, but as a citizen of the largest one, I’m relieved. I would have seen very little benefits in exchange for even more headaches/dangers.
And we already have enough small to tiny countries, because of the mechanics of the EU at some point you have to ask the opposite question as well - can you really continue justifying the amount of voting power to a degree in the EP ('degressive proportionality) and more importantly in the Council on important questions from all these tiny countries from a democratic point of view.
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What happened is that the urban Yes vote was lower than expected. No simply got mote votes in Rekjavik and etc. than Yes had hoped for.
Considering that the negative aspects with an EU Membership directly hits the rural coastal areas, it’s not strange that opposition to membership will be strongest there.
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Interesting point of view.
No campaigns should use your argumentation as ammo, as your opinion is exactly what many truly fear and why most Norwegians don’t trust the EU and is very skeptical of how benevelent it will be for us.
We know what we have at least. Personally I am ambivelant (to the point I don’t know).
Given that Iceland is already in the EEA and Schengen, amongst other things, probably limits the potential advantages of joining anyway as they already have most of the actual trade advantages.
The one thing I thought might sway them is US expansionism.
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Many, sure. But there are of course many advantages with membership too.
But as for the US, why ? The problem with the EU is that it is not a political union and so not very relevant in Security Politics. That is state driven
There is no majority for any of that inside the EU, only lose talk. There is no alternative to NATO in the medium term for any state in a precarious geopolitical position. And really, it’s Russia Iceland looks to with unease like the rest of northern Europe, not the US.
Ironically, any change of these mechanisms would itself require anonimity. Which won’t happen of course, because of small and tiny countries protecting their interest.
But it does or should matter when considering expansions.
We’ve been adding so many small to tiny countries (and even more are on the waiting list) that what once might have been a reasonable compromise between democratic representation and national sovereignity and protecting smaller countries could come close to tipping the scale imo. E.g. a Maltese gets about 9 times as much representation in the EP as a German. Too lazy to do the maths for the Council, which would be even much worse in terms of proportional representation and voting/blocking power. The more Maltas or Icelands you’d add the worse it gets. Even as someone generally pro EU, there could be a point where I couldn’t reasonably defend that anymore from a German (or e.g. French or Italian) perspective.
As for Norway specifically I personally think this might be fine as it is right now for everyone. If opinion at one point should shift drastically towards joining the EU for whatever reasons - ok - but until then…
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Our membership is tied to Iceland’s fate, so when they vote No it means there won’t be a new referendum in Norway.
What you describe, being swamped by Germany and France within the EU, is one of the main arguments that come up with those who warn against membership, where many argue that Germany and France would find a way to neuter our voice and power.
I note that you advocate for that exactly, which is why I joked that your words could just be plastered on an poster as an anti EU-slogan, since you advocate for what Yes groups say “of course won’t happen and that it’s just an irrational fear from the No-Camp” 
I am some what surprised that you compare Iceland and Malta (there is a reason why the EU wants Icelandic and Norwegisn membership).
Anyway, moot point now after the Icelandic vote. It means I dont have to think about me voting Yes or No, since now it will no longer happen.
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I’m comparing them because of population size, since the argument is about representation. The flip side to small nations wanting power and not being ‘swamped’ by more populous countries is essentially saying I want more say per capita than others. That is the practical consequence of these mechanisms. That might be fine to a degree, but let’s at least acknowledge that. I’m not advocating for changing that, I’m advocating for considering that before letting even more tiny nations join. That’s a difference.
Didn’t know it was impossible for Norway to vote on that, once Iceland says no.
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Anyway, there is no Norwegian EU-Membership without Iceland, so if you dont want them, you don’t want us either and that is that. We would never have accepted an Iceland standing alone ever. So membership is tied.
Besides, the EU is full of states that are hardly even compliant and have lots of issues in the south and east. While Iceland and Norway on the other hand have been EU-Ready for decades.
When it comes to Norway and Iceland, we are in a position where it is the EU that must convince us, not the other way around (we are arguably not Malta)…
It’s politically impossible. In theory it is not, but in practice it is. We have a, sort of special, relationship with Iceland and look out for their interests when it is possible. I would also add that Iceland entering the EU would almost automatically trigger a Norwegian referendum due to us then losing our closest EFTA ally, so for reasons of self interest the Yes-side would get a lot of air in the sails. But for the same reason, now the opposite has happened, which means Status Quo for us too.
And you know. Stuff like NATO and the EU is sort of important
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