Why has Donald Trump done much better than Europeans expected — again? November 4, 2020 As was the case four years ago, most media outlets in Europe have been predicting a massive victory for the Democrats. Now the election results are much tighter than expected. Why? Well, among lots of Europeans it was the wish for an overwhelming victory for Joe Biden that shaped the narrative. The majority of western [...]
Coronavirus: The state is strong where it should be weak, and weak where it should be strong April 16, 2020 After politicians in countries all around the world – including political leaders in the United States and Europe – initially ignored and massively underestimated the dangers associated with the coronavirus, it is now clear that huge numbers of people will sooner or later become infected. Even with decisive action, hundreds of thousands will die worldwide. [...]
Germany’s SPD following Labour’s footsteps December 2, 2019 Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) have just elected Norbert Walter-Borjans, the former finance minister of north Rhine-Westphalia, and Saskia Esken, a member of the German parliament, as their party’s new joint leaders. The two left-wing candidates gained 53.06 per cent of the vote in the run-off election, clearly beating the moderate German vice-chancellor Olaf Scholz, and [...]
South Korea is shifting to the left, but pro-capitalists are fighting back June 10, 2019 At this year’s Cannes film festival, the South Korean director Bong Joon-ho was awarded the coveted Palme d’Or for his satire Parasite. The film is an attack on capitalism: a poor family insinuate themselves as servants into a much richer one. One of the film’s core messages is that it is almost impossible to bridge [...]