Media Matters: Why Britain’s P.M. Is Popular Abroad But Hated At Home

The EU wants a fairer system without a U.S.-style litigation industry; big punitive damages remain rare. Cases like Deutsche Telekom's will test that balance.
—Stefan Theil

Bullets To Ballots: From Rebels To Ruler
After more than a decade in the bush, Nepal's Maoists recently gave up on their bloody People's War. And the Nepalese welcomed them: in a mostly free and fair poll on April 10, the Maoists became the single largest party in Parliament, even as they failed to win a simple majority. That means they'll likely form a coalition government, raising a vital question: how will the radicals rule? History shows that ex-rebels have a mixed record when it comes to governance.

Nicaragua's Sandinistas curtailed civil liberties when they assumed power after an 18-year-long civil war. But other policies—such as reducing illiteracy by more than 75 percent—indicated responsible rule, and proved so popular that the Sandinista leader, Daniel Ortega, was voted back into office last year. In Gaza, Hamas has devoted considerable money to civil services since it took over. But it's also kept up its wars against Israel and Fatah and murdered Palestinian opponents.

As for Nepal's Maoists, the signs are positive. They've laid down their arms and the election was relatively clean. Nepal's other parties will also play a checking role: the Marxists may have won a mandate, but they'll still have to negotiate with rivals to form the coalition. And their promise to respect private property and lure investors suggests they may have come in from the cold for good.
—Adam B. Kushner  and  Sudip Mazumdar

By The Numbers
Italy has a new prime minister—but he's had the job before. Why do some states have revolving-door CEOs? Scholars say these once-and-future kings occur when parties are weaker than the personalities who lead them.

3 Number of times (nonconsecutive) that businessman Silvio Berlusconi has been elected prime minister of Italy

2 Number of times each that David Ben-Gurion, Yitzhak Rabin, Yitzhak Shamir and Shimon Peres have led Israel