As Ursula von der Leyen begins her second term as President of the European Commission, she does so as a colossus, enjoying sweeping authority over the European Union and its 450 million inhabitants. The Empress rules a bloc that’s undemocratic …
Angela Merkel: mother of German decline
“Merkel-Nostalgie” has swept a Germany grappling with war, a tanking economy and a collapsed government. The former German chancellor’s autobiography sold 35,000 copies on the day of publication, and Berliners queued for hours to have her sign their copies. As …
Ireland’s liberal fantasy
Ireland has a strange effect on the English. A fantasy land so near and yet so far; at once foreign and, in some intangible sense, never entirely so. “Lonely in Ireland, since it was not home,” reflected Philip Larkin in …
Who will bring down Michel Barnier?
During a recent visit to a Michelin factory, on the outskirts of Paris, the minister for industrial affairs Marc Ferracci was heckled and shouted at. The factory is one of many to be shut down as part of a wave …
Ireland’s migration election
In many ways, Dundrum looks like the average Irish village. There’s a family butcher, a pub called Bertie’s, and rows of squatting slate-grey terraces. Yet walk down the R505, where Dundrum melts into the hedgerows of County Tipperary, and you’ll …
Will Putin escalate in Ukraine?
Putin’s nuclear sabre-rattling may be intended to alarm Western publics. But the course of the war has been shaped precisely by Western fear of escalation. In the frankest terms, Nato has not directly entered the war as a combatant because …
Marseille can’t escape its drug gangs
Marseille is making headlines — as usual for the wrong reasons. Back in October, two teenagers were caught up in the deadly gang wars that have long plagued France’s second largest city. The first, aged 14, was arrested for killing …
How Orthodoxy can save Russia’s soul
When Lucy Ash was escorted round the vast and numinous island monastery of Valaam, located in Lake Ladoga near St. Petersburg, she had an intriguing guide: a monk who introduced himself as Father Iosif but spoke fluent English in the …
How Trump will transform Poland
Across much of Eastern Europe, being a Trump whisperer has become an overnight job requirement. Aside from Viktor Orbán and a few other examples of genuine giddiness, leaders right across the former Soviet bloc have rushed to show their value …
The dangers of normalising Bashar al-Assad
A few weeks ago, a refugee using the pseudonym “Laila” left Dahiye, a South Beirut suburb smashed by Israeli airstrikes. She fled with her family, and travelled east to the Syrian border, with just enough money to cover the journey. …
Is Ukraine becoming a kleptocracy?
Tanks. Howitzers. Missiles. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the West has delivered a mountain of aid to the beleaguered Kyiv government. The Pentagon alone is estimated to have sent over £50 billion in military support, even as tiny Luxembourg managed …
Italy’s past isn’t history
Many countries fall silent to honour their war dead at the start of November, but the rituals of remembrance are very different here in Italy. Nothing seems settled. There’s no single event or occasion, only rival dates, ceremonies and stories. …
America First leaves Europe last
“False and dangerous.” “Deeply concerning.” “A neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath.” Many of Europe’s leaders may have been regretting their previous criticisms of Donald Trump. From Donald Tusk to David Lammy, the bloc’s liberals rushed to offer their stiff congratulations to the newly …
Why are we Polanski hypocrites?
This is a tale of censorship. In 2019, Roman Polanski’s film about the Dreyfus Affair, An Officer and a Spy, was nominated for 12 César awards and won the Grand Jury prize at Venice. But, due to #MeToo, it was …
How Trump could liberate Europe
The EU’s worst nightmare has come true: Donald Trump is returning to the White House. It’s not hard to imagine the panic that many leaders must feeling as they gather this morning in Budapest for the European Political Community summit. …