Intro LO: I recommend reading this article by Simon Kuper, one of my favourite FT authors. FT: Trump is Europe’s best enemy yet FT subtitle: Lack of a common foe enfeebled Europe — but not any more By: Simon Kuper Date: 5 February 2026 “It’s an old tenet of political thought that to build a collective identity you need an enemy. An adversary can force your people to...
On 18 June 2024, Hungary announced its official motto for its 2024 Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union: Make Europe Great Again or MEGA (source). Early 2025, a MEGA rally was held in Madrid. I hardly noticed that alternative MAGA slogan, until the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) - as well as Elon Musk - started using it (very) recently: “Forget MAGA,...
Trump’s recent comments on Ukraine president Zelenskyy might well be Trump’s well-timed distraction for much more relevant Trump news: American inflation is back and “I had nothing to do with it” (eg, the Hill, 19 February 2025). Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence reacted as follows to Trump’s version of the truth on the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: “Mr....
Increasingly, it looks like every nation is an economic, geopolitical, and/or military enemy of China, once their national interests collide with Chinese interests. Remarkably, China is now also creating domestic adversaries. I cannot imagine that China needs and/or wants such adversaries or enemies. Hence, the explanation must be about (extreme) beliefs. Such...
Late 2023, former Dutch PM Mark Rutte (b.1967) acknowledged the criticism that he overstayed his position, while adding that “you notice your decreasing effectiveness when you stay too long” (AD, translation by LO). Hence, Joe Biden (b.1942) must know this as well. The criticism by Dilan Yesilgöz (the new leader of the liberal party) included an interesting unite vs...
Axios title: We're not OK Axios subtitle: Americans' confidence that life for their children’s generation will be better than it has been for them By: Mike Allen Date: 28 March 2023 "Rarely does one poll stare so deeply into the soul of a nation and tell its story. But a new Wall Street Journal-NORC poll exposes generational and political divides that echo...
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