The Week Unwrapped: Europe’s right turn, abortion and snakes

Olly Mann and The Week delve behind the headlines and debate what really matters from the past seven days. With Jamie Timson, Felicity Capon and Arion McNicoll.

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In this week’s episode, we discuss:

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European turns right

Greece’s former governing party Syriza found itself a distant second in elections this week, a result that is being replicated across Europe. Once-ascendant parties of the radical left face an existential crisis amid internal divisions and the rise of the far right. Even the green parties that have grown large enough that they have joined governing coalitions are now facing a backlash, accused of making too many compromises once they reach office.

Abortion and infanticide

Two recent, and unconnected, trials have drawn attention to the sharp divergence in public attitudes towards the way the law attempts to deal with abortion and infanticide. In one, a woman received widespread sympathy after she was sent to prison for aborting her baby in her eighth month of pregnancy. In another, a 15-year-old girl was vilified by many after killing her newborn child. How should society deal with these rare and disturbing cases?

Snakes on the loose

The RSPCA has said that increasingly warm weather is causing pet snakes in the UK to become more active and “escape a lot more”. The charity said calls to its snake hotline are at an all-time high. Should we be worried about more exotic pets colonising the British landscape?