Current Political News

The landscape of politics, regardless of whether it’s regional or global is always changing; what is breaking news one minute is outdated mere hours later. That means that, despite its importance, political news can be hard to follow. However, there are certain issues that despite their mass interest generated will remain in the public water cooler for weeks to come.

One of the bigger political stories of the last few days is the arrest of director Roman Polanski. While this doesn’t come off as inherently political, after a few days it developed into quite the powder keg. The back story is that on 1977, Polanski was charged with the molestation of a 13-year-old girl while in the States. He then fled to France, where he has citizenship, and has essentially evaded arrest for over 30 years. The man behind “Rosemary’s Baby” was arrested in Switzerland and is awaiting trial. This debacle has become political for two key reasons. One, France is protesting the arrest of one of its citizens. This could open up a whole can of legal worms and cause tensions between within a sometimes tense French/American alliance. Secondly, and more prevalent in political pundit’s minds, is that the district attorney for the state of California ordered the investigation despite massive state debt and dwindling funds and services to state residents. This sheds light on the workings of a political entity like California and their political priorities during the current economic climate. Many experts point out if the state can’t pay its bills, how is it able to track down Polanski, who has no prior arrests and lives abroad.

While other news may come and go, undoubtedly the Polanski case will stay fresh in our minds for months to come as a celebrated and artistically complex director begins a case that could have long-lasting political ramifications.