Perspective With Alison Smith

Alison Smith: A Vote for Europe’s Future With or Without Brexit Eric Reguly, European bureau chief for The Globe and Mail, comments on what the EU elections might mean in light of the growing populist sentiment in Europe. Rosa Balfour, senior fellow in the Europe program at The German Marshall Fund of the United States, looks more broadly at the forces at play in the coming European elections. Helena Chmielewska-Szlajfer, assistant professor at Kozminski University in Warsaw, talks about the broad support the EU has in Poland, despite the ongoing criticism within the country of certain aspects of the union. We hear from voters on the streets in London and Paris about what the European elections and EU membership mean for them.

Pieter Wezeman, a senior researcher with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, discusses the organization’s recent report on the increase in global military spending. Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow and director of research at the Brookings Institution, shares his thoughts on what the numbers mean for international rivalries and relationships. Vasily Kashin, senior fellow at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, comments on the deepening relationship between China and Russia and what it might mean for the West. More info - cpac.ca/perspective

Hala al-Karib, regional director of the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa and activist for women’s rights, comments on the protests on the streets of Khartoum and the way women have helped shape the uprising. Eric Reeves, a senior fellow at Harvard University’s François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights, discusses the broader implications of the removal of Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir from power and what that might mean for the region. Nuha Zein, spokesperson for the Sudanese Professionals Association, talks about the way forward for the protesters and also the role the Sudanese diaspora has played in supporting the country’s push towards democracy. More at - cpac.ca/perspective

Freelance journalist Stefano Pozzebon reports from Caracas on the daily struggles Venezuelans face to get food, water, medicine and electricity. Eric Farnsworth, vice-president of the Council of the Americas and the Americas Society, discusses the broader geopolitical forces at play with regards to the Venezuela crisis. Tamara Taraciuk Broner, senior Americas researcher for Human Rights Watch, comments on the country’s current humanitarian situation and the need for the United Nations to declare it an emergency. Isaac Nahon, a Venezuelan expat and professor in the department of communication at the University of Ottawa, talks about what more Canada and the Lima Group should be doing to address the severe circumstances in his home country. More at cpac.ca/perspective

Lahav Harkov, senior contributing editor with The Jerusalem Post, talks about the election campaign and the close race between incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main challenger Benny Gantz. We also hear from Israeli citizens on the streets in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem about their thoughts on the coming election. Neri Zilber, analyst and adjunct fellow with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, discusses the broader implications of the election campaign and how Netanyahu is using his standing on the world stage to campaign for re-election. Khalil Shikaki, director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, comments on the opinions of Palestinians over next week’s election and whether the results could ultimately lead to concrete change on the ground with regards to the Israeli-Palestinian issue. More at - cpac.ca/perspective

David Herszenhorn, chief Brussels correspondent for POLITICO Europe, discusses the details of the EU’s decision to extend the Brexit deadline. Freelance journalist Cindy Pom reports from the streets of London on this weekend’s anti-Brexit protests. Peter Kellner, former president of YouGov and visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe, comments on the broader implications of the political developments in Westminster and Brussels. Jim Pickard, chief political correspondent for the Financial Times, speaks about what might potentially happen next week when Prime Minister Theresa May puts the Brexit-deal vote to the House of Commons for the third time.