Observers of German politics are witnessing a rather puzzling drama. More than four months after the election there is still no new government and the last hope to form one hinges on a membership ballot of the Social Democratic party. If party members vote down the coalition agreement, new elections are unavoidable. They would take […]
SPD: Snatching Revival From The Jaws Of Defeat
There is no beating around the bush. Yesterday‘s election result for the SPD, the worst since World War Two, hurts. It hurts a lot. And while Angela Merkel seemed unduly happy about her result, the worst since 1949, the SPD accepted the sobering outcome and announced the end of the Grand Coalition. As if this […]
Understanding The Digital Revolution And What It Means
The digital revolution, used here as shorthand for broader technological change, is one of today’s most hotly debated topics in politics, economics and business. It makes politicians wary about which preparatory policies to pursue, economists ponder productivity increases and trade unions think about the future of work. We are undoubtedly faced with large-scale disruptions in […]
No Need For Basic Income: Five Policies To Deal With The Threat Of Technological Unemployment
The potential threat of technological unemployment is one of the most hotly debated economic issues of our times: in boardrooms and trade union offices but also increasingly amongst policy-makers. The catch-all term ‘digital’ may have been added to numerous political concepts in recent years but beyond such branding there has been very little debate of […]
Five Filters Moderate The Technological Revolution
The technological revolution is one of today’s most hotly debated topics in politics, economics and business. It makes politicians wary about which preparatory policies to pursue, economists ponder vast productivity increases and the future of labor and business leaders think about how to make use of the new possibilities in their organisational environments. We are […]
Political And Economic Cross-pressures Post-EUref: UK Caught Between A Rock And A Hard Place
As the shockwaves of Brexit ripple through Britain, Europe and the rest of world it becomes more and more clear that the UK is caught between a rock and a hard place – a situation in which the status quo will get worse no matter what option is drawn. That is probably also the reason […]
Why ‘Taking Back Control’ Means UK Isolation
The upcoming Brexit referendum is firmly about ‘taking back control’ if Leave campaigners are to be believed. They want to take back control over UK borders, over the number of immigrants and over the laws that, according to them, are mostly decided in Brussels (not the case by the way). The idea of national sovereignty that resides […]
Here Is Why Brexiters Are Completely Wrong On Trade
The fight for the UK to remain a member of the European Union is now fully on. The country will have a momentous decision to make on 23rd June this year. I unfortunately won’t have a vote on my future as a German living in the UK, the country I have lived and paid my taxes […]
Five Reasons Why A Basic Income Won’t Solve Technological Unemployment
There has been a buzz recently about the idea of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) and why it could be a solution to technological unemployment. VOX reported a few days ago that Y Combinator, a start-up incubator, is about to start a five-year research project on how a UBI could work. Noah Kulwin over at re/code […]
Why German Political Tensions Over The Refugee Crisis Are Likely To Get Worse
The refugee crisis has already polarised German politics to an extent many people – including myself – would not have believed possible only a few months ago. Within the conservative party (CDU/CSU) there are thinly concealed discussions about getting rid of Angela Merkel and the right-wing populist party AfD is riding high in the polls. What […]
A Note On Terrorism, Muslims And Multiculturalism
Since the hateful attacks in Paris last Friday there has been a lot of soul-searching about the type of Islamist terrorism we are confronted with and what can be done about it. A lot of commentary, including on Social Europe, has identified Western policies as a root cause of the problem. Western actions over recent […]
A Four Point Framework To Tackle Europe’s Refugee Crisis
The European Union is faced with a massive refugee crisis and political leaders have obviously very few ideas on how to deal with it. The Hungarian government has revived the old and misguided practice of building razor-wire fences that the French government has heavily criticised. A fair criticism but this rather ignores the situation back home in Calais […]
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