Three items in the news and some light relief

A few things that I feel the need to highlight but don't have time to comment on;

Fascist electoral gains in Austria

The Freedom Party and the Alliance for the Future of Austria took nearly 29% of the vote, preliminary results show.

The Social Democrats won the polls with 30%. But they, and the conservative People's Party, with 26%, suffered their worst results since 1945.

Social Democrats - 29.7% (58 seats)

People's Party - 25.6% (50 seats)

Freedom Party - 18% (35 seats)

Alliance for Austria's Future - 11% (21 seats)

Greens - 9.8% (19 seats)

Other parties - 5.8%

Peter Tatchell on Iran

Ahmadinejad was asked: "If the Palestinian leaders agree to a two-state solution, could Iran live with an Israeli state?"

This was his astonishing reply:

If they [the Palestinians] want to keep the Zionists, they can stay ... Whatever the people decide, we will respect it. I mean, it's very much in correspondence with our proposal to allow Palestinian people to decide through free referendums.

Since most Palestinians are willing to accept a two-state solution, the Iranian president is, in effect, agreeing to Israel's right to exist and opening the door to a peace deal that Iran will endorse.

Olmert concedes Israel will need to go back to pre-67 border

The outgoing Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert, has publicly acknowledged for the first time that "almost all" of the territory seized during the Six-Day War in 1967 will have to be given back in return for peace with the Palestinians.

"In the end, we will have to withdraw from the lion's share of the territories and, for the territories we leave in our hands, we will have to give compensation in the form of territories within the State of Israel at a ratio that is more or less one to one."

And for light relief: Sarah Mitchell, Green Party campaigns coordinator in the Telegraph

Is there a stereotype of a Green? Yes! Sandal-wearing, beardy men. It's completely out of date and it's actually quite fun to confound people's expectations because if they've got a particular stereotype in their minds they can dismiss you.

How important is image to a politician? Even people who say they don't judge on appearances do to some extent. The fact is, people are interested in the personal lives of politicians and what they wear is a good indicator of what they're like as a person.

Is it harder for female politicians to get it right? There is a real double standard in politics. Men can just wear a suit, whereas what women wear is scrutinised - remember when Theresa May's shoes made front-page news?

Describe your own style Vintage. I go for a 1950s look. I got married earlier this year in a 1950s cocktail dress. I really love the feminine, flattering shapes.

Do you adapt your wardrobe for work? I wouldn't have worn a really bright vintage dress to speak at conference. I was standing for national campaigns co-ordinator and I think people would have been thinking about what I was wearing rather than what I was saying.

What did you wear? A smart jacket from M&S, a box-pleat skirt from Zara and a 1950s red polka-dot blouse. So I got my little signature bits in there but wasn't totally outlandish.When I came off stage some people complimented me on my speech, others on my lipstick and glasses.