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David Brooks on the candidacy for U.S. President of Senator Rick Santorum. He says Santorum genuinely represents the working class- a grandson of a coal miner and the son of Italian immigrants who has represented workers of the steel manufacturing region of western Pennsylvania. Santorum has pushed hard in this campaign largely ignored by the media. He has visited 370 towns riding in a pickup truck trying to cover as much ground as possible and talking with great conviction about his positions distant from the corporate and financial wings of the Republican party, about family, and communities. Bring someone like Sherrod Brown of Ohio together with someone like Rick Santorum and you have good representation of the working class across the political spectrum to win this election for the working class of America, says Brooks, who sees this as a lot better alternative today than Harvard Law.

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The Washington Post is critical of the military's arrangements for the transition to democracy in Egypt. It calls on the Obama administration to make the military in Egypt accountable for a return to democratic government in Egypt, including suspension of aid. The military's role in ousting an elected government which would have been tested in coming legislative elections is seen as a serious mistake.

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A Pew Research Center poll in September 2016 finds 81 percent of Indians have a favorable opinion of Narendra Modi in 2016, compared to 87 percent in 2015. Even among supporters of the opposition Indian National Congress a majority say they have a favorable opinion of Mr. Modi. The author of the poll, Bruce Stokes, says the opinion of frustration of the Indian elites and media about the Modi administration is not reflected in public opinion. Recently the Modi government passed legislation for a national Goods and Services Tax replacing overlapping state and federal taxes that are seen as holding up growth.  Issues the Indian public ranks high are corruption, unemployment and terrorism.

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Prof. Neera Chandhoke of Delhi University points out that Jawaharlal Nehru and other leaders of the Congress made great contributions for India. First in the freedom movement and then in helping India take the first steps to modernization. During the early years India needed the leadership of Nehru and Gandhi to establish a functioning democracy. Even though the focus has shifted to the economy and the next steps in modernizing the economy, the contribution of the early years should not be forgotten, as it laid the basis for what happened later.

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This report by Thomas Erdbrink of the NYT from Tehran, shows the Iranian economy almost at a standstill as sanctions are lifted in Jan. 2016- with little or no growth after years of western economic sanctions. Iranians in Tehran do no expect an immediate improvement in conditions after the lifting of sanctions. The expectation is that it will take years to undo the damage done by sanctions.

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Patricia Kowsmann provides this picture of life in a town on Portugal's northern coast, Viana do Castelo, with a population of 87,000, as Portugal struggles to make a recovery. Viana do Castelo has shipyards and companies making metal bridges for highways. The money losing state owned shipyard was privatized and sold to Martifer SGPS SA to run till 2031. 600 workers at the shipyard were laid off. The new company plans to rehire 400 workers by 2016 but jobs will not be permanent. Companies making the bridges now sell to former Portuguese colonies of Angola, Mozambique, Brazil. 200,000 people have left the country to look for jobs or higer education, including the mayor's daughter in London. Exports are up and now make up 40% of Portugal's GDP, up from 27% in 2009. The economic growth is 0.9% in 2014, after declining 6% 2011-2013. Portugal accepted the last instalment of the bailout loan of 78 billion euros in 2014. It will auction 1.25 billion euros of bonds on July 22, 2015. Unemployment is now declining dropping to 14% from a high of 17%, and higher than the pre crisis level of 11%. Here in this coastal town the mayor Jose Maria Costa cut public employee salaries 15%, and also cut sports and cultural programs. Two food centers provide free lunch and dinner, and half of the 4000 children in school get subsidies for food and transport. A shipyard worker Antonio Gomes Barbosa 64, is one of the laid off workers. His son's architecture company closed and he left Portugal for Angola. Some of his co-workers now work at a shipyard in neighboring Spain....

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Greece is estimated to lose $30 billion in uncollected taxes each year. In an effort to make the wealthy pay their fair share in deficit reduction and austerity measures the Greek government is going after tax havens in London of Greeks shifting money abroad. This includes important members of parliament including the president of the Greek parliament.

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Friedman on the opportunity for president Morsi to move the Middle East towards a peace settlement between Israel and Palestine and acceptance of Israel in the broader Muslim community. For the U.S. it also means continuing support for the democracy movement in Egypt and the Middle East. For this to happen Israelis have to take the extra step away from the current position of being insecure in their borders and morally secure to a unknown but right direction of moving towards a lasting settlement of problems. This is looking beyond the conflicts with Syria and Iran- which are likely to be resolved by the people of Syria finally asserting themselves and the Iranian people choosing economic improvement over a weapons program.

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The Editorial Board of the Washington Post on the challenges facing Mario Monti, the new prime minister, and the Italian people in 2012-2015.

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Friedman visits the campaign office of Abdel Moneim Fotouh, a doctor running for president of Egypt. What he finds is a lively debate among Egyptians, new and many voices discussing the future of Egypt and a transition to democratic forms of government and economic progress. One newly elected member of parliament Hamzawy tells Friedman that Islamists from the Brotherhood have about two thirds of the seats, the liberals 20%. Moderates within the Islamists like Fotouh, who left the Brotherhood, form a separate faction inside the Brotherhood. There will be a need to transcend differences and work together. Egypt is still under the rule of the military, but many democratic voices are now present and a lively debate is on which will provide the impetus for real change and progress, if properly channelled.

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Spain has become a highly decentralized country in the response to decades under the military dictatorship of General Franco. Regional autonomy was suppressed in Galicia, Catalonia, Valencia and other regions during that period, and the trend after the country became a democracy was a high degree of decentralization and regional autonomy. This trend is being corrected in the area of spending discipline for all areas of administration in regional and state governments through a new agreement reached between the Mariano Rajoy government and the regions, including Valencia and Catalonia. In exchange for funding and liquidity from Madrid the regional governments have agreed to accept spending controls, penalties for exceeding deficit targets, and automatic spending cuts. The new legislation is being worked out between the Rajoy administration and regional governments. Rajoy says the failure of Spain to reach its 6% deficit target- it came out at 8%- was the result of overspending of 17 regions. The 17 regions together had a deficit of 2.7% of GDP, which was twice their 2011 deficit target. The new Budget Minister Cristobal Montero says the new agreement "has great political significance," as action can now be taken with new legislation for spending discipline at all levels of public administration in Spain. ...

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Reps. Eric Cantor (Va.), Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and Paul Ryan (Wis.) have jointly written a book "Young Guns," that completely distances the new leadership in the Republican party from the leaders of a prior generation. The book says the older Republican leadership "betrayed its principles," by not controlling spending. See the the link to David Stockman who has criticized previous Republican administrations for their attitude to spending, including President Reagan. A recent NBC/WSJ poll shows only 24% of those polled seeing the Republican party positively. The idea is to differentiate the younger leaders as new voices in the party, different from the party's previous role.

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The different approaches of presidential candidates Hollande and Sarkozy to reviving France's economy as they contest the elections on May 6, 2012. Sarkozy proposes a value added tax and has called for broadening the mandate of the European Central Bank to stimulate growth. Hollande proposes higher taxes on the wealthy, and hiring more teachers and making no cuts in the civil service. Hollande opposes the austerity measures being pushed by Germany and adopted in eurozone countries.

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Analysts say the odds are now three in four that Greece will exit the euro. The young leader of the Coalition of the Radical Left, which came in second with 16.78% of the vote after New Democracy party's 18.8%, says: "We believe that the path of salvation doesn't pass through the barbarity of austerity measures." A new election is expected as talks to form a new government are expected to fail, with the likelihood that more votes would go to parties other than New Democracy and the Socialist Pasok party, the two parties that have governed Greece. This would mean a smaller vote for the two parties, smaller than the 18.8% New Democracy and 13% Pasok received in this election, relegating them to insignificance in the Greek political landscape. And opening a new chapter for Greece outside the euro.

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The new Australian budget is designed to generate a slight surplus from the A$44 billion deficit for the fiscal year ending June 30. This prepares the Australian government of Julia Gillard for elections in 2013. The budget depends on the mining boom to generate the tax revenues for planned economic growth of over 3% in 2012-2013. This is based on the large number of projects planned for investments in oil, gas and other energy projects, valued at US$456 billion. GE as supplier of turbines and other products to the Chevron-Total gas project and other projects in Australia, has sales in Australia match its sales level in China in 2012-2013. This gives an idea of the extent of the boom in the mining and energy sector. Even the widening trade deficit to A$1.59 in March 2012 reflects large imports for the mining sector. The weakness of this approach is that too much is dependent on the mining and offshore gas boom. Retail spending is weak and Australia is increasingly looking like a two tier economy, subject to the boom and bust cycles that its mining companies have experienced in the past. A bubble in Australia's housing markets and uncertainties in the global economy pose other risks....

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The exit of Greece from the eurozone would cost Germany $127 billion or 3% of GDP, according to economists at a German bank. Francois Baroin, departing finance minister of France, estimated the cost for France to be $50 billion, or 3% of GDP. The costs in terms of disorderly exit in how it impacts Spain and Italy in financial markets is less certain.

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The Post's Lally Weymouth interviews Enrique Pena Nieto, leading presidential candidate in Mexico. Nieto discusses the war on drug cartels. He says his government is commited to continuing the fight, but says Calderon's strategy has not worked, and the need now is for reducing the rising level of crime. Nieto's priorities are to open up the economy to competition by reducing the power of the monopolies and oligarchs, reduce poverty by providing social security to all Mexicans, increasing private investment in Pemex, and increasing the taxpayer base to finance new investment and programs.

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The Center for Strategic Studies in Moscow was prescient in predicting problems of declining support for Mr. Putin before the December 2011 parliamentary elections. Work with 32 focus groups by the Center in May 2012 shows a continuing erosion of support for Putin as efforts to open the political system have faded. The discontent focusses on the delivery of basic services such as healthcare, education, law enforcement, infrastructure.

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Lally Weymouth of the Washington Post interviews Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak on June 20, 2012. On the negotiations of the P5+1 countries with Iran in Baghdad, Istanbul and Moscow, Barak says the Iranians are simply buying time, hoping that by being a little forthcoming they can delay giving up nuclear weapons programs capabilities and see if the situation changes with a new President in office in the U.S.. The Iranians are trying to reach a "zone of immunity," the way Pakistan and N. Korea did, and it will take a resolute determination on the part of the U.S. the Europeans, the Russians and the Chinese to prevent a nuclear Iran and nuclear proliferation. By the third meeting in Moscow it should be clear whether the Iranians are willing to give up capabilities that lead to nuclear weapons. Ayatollah Khamanei is the person in charge in Iran, but decisions are made collectively with the moderate Ayatollahs still ayatollahs, says Barak. The addition of the Khadima party to the coalition government of prime minister Netanyahu increases Israel's desire for dialogue and seeking progress on a peace with the Palestinian Authority- if not a peace arrangement then even unilateral steps towards peace by both sides. The way forward in Syria is for the U.S. to talk with the Russians about a new government. The important thing is for the removal of the Assad family, the entire Syrian state does not need to be dismantled as happened with the Baath party in Iraq. Israel continues to build a fence in the Sinai facing Egypt, as it fears infiltration during the period of civil strife in Egypt. Israel views Egypt from the standpoint of any future Egyptian government honoring its treaty committments with Israel, otherwise says Barak it is upto Egypt to decide its future government....

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Yannis Stournaras, economcs professor at the University of Athens becomes the finance minister in the new administration of prime minister Antonis Samaras. He holds a doctorate from Oxford University in economic theory and policy, lectured at St. Catherine's College, Oxford and at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. He was special advisor on monetary policy to the finance minstry and Greece's central bank. His public official positions include vice chairman of the Greek natural gas company and board member of the public debt management agency. He is well qualified to lead the effort for Greece to remain in the European Union with modified terms that extend the achievement of deficit targets by 2 years to 2016, and offer tax cuts and other growth oriented measures to get the Greek economy back on the path to recovery and growth after 4 years of declining GDP. He also brings a sense of committment to the EU, because he was chief economic advisor to Greece's Finance Ministry in 1994-2000 and took part in the negotiations that led to Greece's joining the eurozone in 2001. His strong views about changes needed to Greece's overregulated economy which favors special interests also coincide with the moves for labor and other reforms taken by the Monti and Rajoy governments in Italy and Spain. ...