Pensions, Housing, Jobs: One Fund to Fix Them All
A compulsory second-tier pension fund invested exclusively in social housing would tame rents, boost employment, and deliver stable retirement income.
Politics
Analysis and debate on European and national politics, democracy, the rule of law, parties and elections, and Europe’s place in the world.
Populism’s Real Target in Europe Is Not the Elite — It Is the Worker
Populist leaders promise to empower “the people” but systematically sideline the institutions through which workers actually exercise power.
The Iran War Has Nothing to Do with Nuclear Weapons
The assault on Iran defies every stated justification; the real motives point to democratic backsliding and personal enrichment.
Iran Crisis Proves Europe Cannot Delay Its Industrial Transformation
The US–Israeli strikes on Iran lay bare every fault line in Europe’s energy dependence, industrial fragility, and strategic exposure — and demand an immediate policy response.
European Sovereignty Demands a Social Foundation, Not a US Blueprint
László Andor and Robin Huguenot-Noël
A ‘Draghi light’ agenda of deregulation risks social repression — but a bolder path rooted in Europe’s social democratic tradition offers a credible alternative.
Disorientation Is the Point: How Permanent Unpredictability Broke Democratic Politics
Chronic uncertainty does not mobilise democratic publics — it paralyses them, and that paralysis is itself a tool of power.
The War on Iran Has Begun — Here Are Ten Issues That Will Shape What Comes Next
The American-Israeli assault has decapitated Iran’s regime, but the cascade of geopolitical consequences threatens to destabilise the entire global order.
Aid Is Not Development: We Need a Different Conversation
Despite trillions spent over decades, more people than ever face starvation—because aid was never designed to end poverty.
Trump The Rebel King
Donald Trump has taken the exercise of power to its most absurd extreme. He rules a state that he seeks to destroy.
How Orbán’s Fidesz Instrumentalises Hungary’s Roma as an Electoral Prop
Zsuzsanna Árendás and Vera Messing
A senior minister’s vulgar remark about Roma “cleaning train toilets” was no gaffe — it was a campaign programme in miniature.
Why a Club of Six Nations Is Both Europe’s Best Hope and Its Greatest Risk
A German proposal to unite the EU’s six largest countries confronts a Union paralysed by the dominance of its smallest members.
All Quiet on the Eastern Front
Russia’s war on Ukraine grinds into its fifth year, yet the Kremlin’s strategic position is deteriorating on every front.
How Gender Attitudes Shape Climate Concerns
Rahel Weier, Miriam Rehm and Neva Löw
Women are more likely to worry about the climate crisis than men. The concept of “hegemonic masculinity” explains this gender gap.
Right-Wing Think Tanks Are Building a New Hegemony — Europe’s Progressives Must Fight Back
US plans to bankroll MAGA-aligned think tanks in Europe demand a forceful counterhegemonic response from democratic forces.
Europe’s Industrial Workers Back the Green Transition — It’s Political Chaos They Cannot Stomach
Austrian workers embrace sustainability but demand an end to the policy reversals that undermine their confidence and competitiveness.
Democratise Firms to Save Democracy and the Planet
To sustain democratic states, we must dismantle the autocracies that persist in our workplaces.