Olaf Scholz, the improbable role model
A state that protects—and a bulwark for democracy and modernity. Is this, Robert Misik asks, the new paradigm of the democratic left?
Politics
Analysis and debate on European and national politics, democracy, the rule of law, parties and elections, and Europe’s place in the world.
Facing Europe’s huge challenges
The outlines of a new progressive narrative for Europe are emerging amid the smoke from forest fires and the war in Ukraine.
Europe facing three threats to its future
The EU has to navigate disturbing internal dynamics, external challenges and a weak economic outlook.
Refugees: ‘how could we possibly get here?’
The European Union is crossing human-rights red lines with its Common European Asylum System.
How populists stay popular, from Ankara to Budapest
Once installed in power, authoritarian leaders such as Erdoğan and Orbán are very hard to dislodge.
Election in Spain: Faustian pact with far right looms?
Parliamentary elections this weekend in Spain could see the far-right party win a share of power.
The Supreme Court kicks away the ladder
The US Supreme Court’s decision to ban affirmative action in university admissions has struck at the heart of the ‘American dream’.
Moving—bottom-up—beyond the crisis in Kosovo
Civil-society-led dialogue will be key if disinformation is to be rebutted and trust is to be rebuilt.
Orbán, ethnonationalism and xenophobia
Rejection of the EU’s latest plan for a co-ordinated approach to people movement stems from Orbán’s redefinition of Hungary.
Seeing through Orbán’s anti-‘woke’ smokescreen
Western liberals, Eszter Kováts writes, should avoid being seduced by Hungary’s authoritarian mouthpieces.
EU needs to take violence against women seriously
A clash is looming between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU on including rape in a coming directive.
Russia’s dangerous nuclear consensus
The war in Ukraine has raised the spectre not only of Russia’s disintegration but also of a catastrophic nuclear confrontation.
After the Pegasus inquiry: watching Big Brother
The European Parliament’s inquiry on Pegasus is over; the struggle for freedom from illegitimate surveillance is not.
EU’s values should dictate an ethos of hospitality
Violations of the rights of migrants and the silencing of human-rights defenders stem from a mindset of security and control.
Greek election outcome: towards a new disorder
Last month’s election produced an unexpected destabilisation of the party system and triggered a repeat contest on June 25th.
Berlusconi: populist pioneer who rode Italy into the sand
Since Berlusconi’s death, the media have focused on his persona—not Berlusconism and its legacy.