Whether it’s in Europe, with the approaching European elections, or in the USA, the upcoming elections are anything but reassuring. The rise of the far right is virtually guaranteed in Europe, amidst political void and an economic policy that has been leading the populations into a dead end since the Maastricht Treaty, with democracy fading away day by day. In the USA, the Republican Party seems completely absorbed by Trumpism and the extremists behind him. Whether in Europe or in the USA, these far-right parties use violent and insulting language, seeking to portray an image of strength. However, in the USA, there is a moderate politician not far behind Trump in terms of popularity who is still in the race: Nikki Haley. She is likely the only representative of moderate Republicans. Even though Trump seems to be winning the primaries at the moment, there are probably moderates scattered everywhere who could make a difference in the coming weeks. Some current polls even place her ahead of President Biden if the elections were held today. For example, you can read this article on CBS News: [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nikki-haley-fares-best-against-biden-2024-presidential-election-poll/]

On the Democratic side, things are slowly gaining momentum. It is better to let the Republicans fight among themselves during their primaries. Hopefully, some new faces from the Republican primaries will emerge, as that is what the majority of the population seems to expect. They do not want to see the same actors in the next elections.

Europe, the USA – moving towards the unknown, which is not very reassuring in a world undergoing decomposition and re-composition, where the economic actors of tomorrow will be the USA and China, the latter is currently inundating the world with its electric vehicles, which are more affordable and more luxurious than the most common brands on the market today. Clearly, the market will undergo restructuring, and many European and American brands will likely disappear. However, going fully electric is certainly not the future as it is costly to produce and resource-intensive. There will certainly be a need to find something else quickly.

On the arts side, particularly jazz, thank you, everything is going well. There have never been as many albums produced in the USA, and talents are multiplying to the point that we are now updating our music catalog daily and refreshing albums every month. Some jazz, folk, or funk albums are considered timeless as they are part of the history of music and have deeply ingrained themselves in people’s memories. You can listen to us via our website, on your smart TVs using the MyTuner application, and soon on FM radio in the USA.

February marks the beginning of spring, with parks and gardens soon blooming with the first flowers, which are the messengers of sunny days. It is important to remember this at a time when grayness seems to have settled almost everywhere.

Thierry De Clemensat

Editor in chief Bayou Blue Radio/Bayou Blue News