Word: parliament
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...right parties are attracting applause in many corners of Europe these days. Almost a million British voters honked their horns for the BNP in June's European elections, giving the party its first two seats in the European Parliament and a corresponding boost to legitimacy and funding. In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders' Partij voor de Vrijheid (Party for Freedom, PVV) elbowed aside centrist rivals to grab second place in the Netherlands' Euro poll. Around Europe a ragbag of extremist parties, as varied as the countries that produced them yet united by a vehement nationalism that singles out minority groups...
...which numbered in the hundreds, possibly thousands, many openly wearing the rebel green in support of Ahmadinejad's closest rival in the election, Mir-Hossein Mousavi. Others, however, wore black to mourn another four years under Ahmadinejad. Many yelled, "Death to the dictators." Because the area around the pyramidal parliament building was so tightly cordoned off, many protesters moved to the nearby Grand Bazaar, where they chanted "Allahu Akbar...
...began his controversial second term, one that many political insiders do not expect him to finish. In a blatant slight, visible to all from the televised proceedings, few reformist lawmakers and no opposition leaders - including former Presidents Mohammad Khatami and Ayatullah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani - attended the open session of parliament. Several remaining reformists walked out when Ahmadinejad began his address, according to news reports. (Read a story about the prospects for a weakened Ahmadinejad...
Even if the hard-liners can hold their faction together, they must deal with an increasingly unruly Ahmadinejad, who briefly defied the Supreme Leader in trying to appoint an in-law as his Vice President. Now, within two weeks, he must appoint a new Cabinet that a divided parliament must approve. But perhaps most pressing is the impending showdown with the West. U.S. President Barack Obama has given the Iranian government a September deadline to come to the negotiating table on the nuclear issue...
Meanwhile, even though the government forces had the upper hand in the morning, the protests continued on Wednesday evening. Hours after the inaugural rites in parliament, more protests broke out at Vanak and Valiasr squares, although the crowds were quickly dispersed by security forces already stationed throughout central Tehran for much of the day. There are apparently plans for further demonstrations on Thursday evening, when the Basij force - which is established on conservative Shi'ite tenets - may be preoccupied with celebrating the birthday of the 12th "hidden" imam, a messianic figure of the Islamic sect. Says one would-be protester...