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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented his home constituency as a showcase for development. But the election results highlight that despite significant infrastructure investments, his economic policies have not delivered for those living in poverty.
Also in today’s edition: What’s happening in the wake of European elections, and the scene at the Paris Peace Forum’s meetings in Morocco.
+ Tomorrow we’ll be hearing from a panel of experts about what’s at stake for aid in the U.K. election. Join the discussion and hear from the experts the key issues to watch for the globaldev sector and each party's differing visions for aid. Save your spot now!
Modi’s operandi
In a timely reminder that unless economic advances actually reach the voters, they’ll get their revenge on election day, Indian leader Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party has lost its majority in Parliament.
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After a drawn-out seven-week election, Modi took a hit, reflecting public discontent with policies that emphasized infrastructure investment, welfare, and Hindu nationalism — but largely failed to deliver jobs or widespread prosperity, writes Devex contributor Catherine Davison.
The surprising election outcome now forces Modi to rely on coalition partners, and perhaps grapple with the fact that widespread poverty persists despite his own increasingly prominent presence in global affairs.
“People had had enough,” says Kavita Srivastava of human rights organization People’s Union for Civil Liberties. “The people of India are suffering. There are a lot of issues which are unaddressed, like employment, the breakdown of everyday survival systems.”
A report from the World Inequality Lab earlier this year warned of historic inequality levels, stressing the need for public investment in health, education, and nutrition to benefit all Indians.
In Varanasi, Modi's constituency, infrastructure projects have boosted tourism but primarily benefited a select few, leaving rural and minority populations behind. Despite spending over $100 billion annually on infrastructure aiming for a developed India by 2047, the anticipated "crowd-in" effect — where public investment stimulates private sector growth and job creation — hasn't materialized.
Read: Why Modi's victory in India looks like a loss (Pro)
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Paix attention
Don’t let the name fool you: the Paris Peace Forum’s spring meetings took place yesterday in Morocco, and Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar was there. He tells me despite the location, there was no escaping the French capital, as conference attendees from around the world absorbed the news that a far-right party had handily won European Parliamentary elections in France.
The stunning political news underlined the challenges facing the so-called just transition that is the theme of these meetings. Leaders gathered to pursue action plans around critical minerals, nutrition, agriculture, and health — an optimistic scene overshadowed by the forum’s patron, French President Emmanuel Macron, calling snap legislative elections. Should far-right parties such as the French National Rally and the Alliance for Germany continue to gain power, the global solidarity on display here may be no more than a mirage in the Moroccan desert.
But the desert location of these meetings was itself a cause for some hope — and the first time the forum has come to the African continent. It was hosted this year by the main campus of Morocco’s University of Mohammed VI Polytechnic, or UM6P as it’s known. The university leans into innovation as the way forward for Africa, and these meetings took some solace in the idea that new approaches could be the answer to closing the yawning gap — both in terms of economic growth and trust — between the global north and south.
“There was an underlying fear that global cooperation itself is on the line, as European election results rolled in and participants whispered about how November’s U.S. elections might turn out,” Raj, who moderated three panels at the forum, tells me. “But there was also a strong belief that this kind of dialogue between the global north and south can lead to real action — including on some of the agendas spotlighted by the forum, from a new critical minerals coalition they’ve organized here to an expert group they’ve stood up for Nutrition for Growth, the big nutrition pledging summit to be held in Paris in the summer of 2025.”
+ Spotted at the meetings: Pascal Lamy, Lawrence Haddad, Meera Shekar, Shawn Baker, Rémy Rioux, Afshan Khan, Hayat Sindi, Magda Robalo, Eloise Todd, Brieuc Pont, and Satya Tripathi.
Vox populi
And on that very note — the results of elections to the European Parliament are in and, as expected, voters have turned to anti-aid, anti-migrant, and anti-climate action populist politicians. But it is more of a tilt than the lurch long predicted, my colleague Rob Merrick tells me.
The key conclusion is that mainstream pro-European Union parties have clung on comfortably to a majority in the 720-seat Brussels assembly — despite a far-right triumph in France, and success in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands.
But, as we reported last month, the crunch issue was not whether the hard right would win outright, but whether it would advance enough to disrupt development, migration, and green agendas for the next five years. On that, the jury is still out.
Ursula von der Leyen is expected to secure a second term as European Commission president in a Parliament vote at the end of July, after her center-right European People's Party group made the biggest gains, but what deals might she need to strike to win?
Five years ago, von der Leyen needed the support of right-wing parties in Poland and Italy to cross the line. This time, she has been cozying up to Italy’s far-right prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, in order to keep her options open.
At stake is whether the EU will step up its shift to tying aid to curbing migration — it is already breaching its own guidelines — and away from poverty-fighting. It will be several months before the commissioners for development and for crisis response are picked, if those portfolios survive in their current form, and these questions can start to be answered.
Background reading:
• 'Dangerous' moment for aid policy as EU braces for far-right surge (Pro)
• EU breaches aid spending guideline in shift to ‘migration management’
+ Up for a quick challenge? Take our five-item news quiz on May’s top headlines.
Border crossing
The age-old image of the NGO expatriate from the U.S. or Europe handing out largesse while globetrotting and filling passports with colorful stamps is outdated to say the least. Today, the typical expat is more likely from the global south, working in their region but not their home country.
While many would rather work in their home country, they are drawn by higher wages, so it’s often more lucrative to move across borders. But that creates a barrier to local leadership, human resources experts say.
“We're stuck. We want local candidates, but we reward people for going outside their home countries,” says Laura Wigglesworth, senior director of global talent acquisition at CARE USA.
“Why wouldn't this person be living and working in Yemen? Because you could move 30 miles or 100 miles and live as an expat,” she says. This is a sectorwide problem holding back the localization agenda, Wigglesworth added.
Some recruiters note an increase in senior-level professionals from the global south in expatriate roles, writes Devex contributing reporter Rebecca Root. This dynamic, while beneficial for gaining skills and advancing careers, poses challenges when workers want to return home but might take a significant pay cut to do so.
Read: The rise of the global south expat — and why it's bad for localization (Pro)
+ Download your copy of our report on the localization agenda, which tracks USAID’s and global development leaders’ localization progress since the start of the decade.
In other news
The U.S. military plans to stockpile aid shipments on a secure beach in Gaza as the World Food Programme temporarily pauses aid distribution from the U.S.-built pier while it reviews the safety of staff delivering aid. [AP News]
The U.N. migration agency said that over 10 million Sudanese have been internally displaced largely due to the ongoing war, adding to the 2.8 million already displaced before the conflict began. [PBS]
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will skip the upcoming G7 summit as his party seeks coalition partners to form a national unity government after losing its majority in last month's election. [Reuters]
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About the author
Helen Murphy
Helen is an award-winning journalist and Senior Editor at Devex, where she edits coverage on global development in the Americas. Based in Colombia, she previously covered war, politics, financial markets, and general news for Reuters, where she headed the bureau, and for Bloomberg in Colombia and Argentina, where she witnessed the financial meltdown. She started her career in London as a reporter for Euromoney Publications before moving to Hong Kong to work for a daily newspaper.
