“On one side are “#farright forces that are coming to power, or trying to come to power, through ambiguity — essentially playing the system, pursuing normalisation and institutionalisation.” On the other are “forces that are more reactionary”, as in the US under Donald #Trump or the AfD in Germany.”

Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 4d ago

France’s Le Pen stays silent on far-right victory in German election ft.trib.al/fpsDGIc

"Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union speech on 16 September will show whether she's able to design a trajectory for Europe where it can be assertive and compete economically." good luck with that

euobserver — EU news that matters@euobserver.com · 6d ago

[Interview] Europe needs to finish single market or lose more scale-ups to China and the US, warns Enrico Letta

we are in the midst of a battle of #visions for the future; nobody has a convincing one, people are scared of the future & angry with the present - we need a positive credible & believable vision for a better future, one that sells itself (no more idolatry) & which is not smug or patronising 🙏

Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 6d ago

Germany’s Merz is running out of time ft.trib.al/xz6z7vc | opinion

"Rebuilding effective international #climate #diplomacy will require letting go of unrealistic expectations about old tools that no longer function well and an honest reckoning with a geopolitical landscape that has fundamentally shifted."

Climate Diplomacy with Chinese Dimensions

By: Li ShuoAug 21, 2026Download Article

wri.org

“We are in a lawless and unpredictable world.” 😬

Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 2w ago

The wheels are coming off the US world order ft.trib.al/TxTQ1Yg | opinion

Is #Germany 🇩🇪 about to get its first #farright government since 1945, and if it does what to do about it ... (don't panic)

Germany’s establishment has a plan to contain the far right. Sort of.

On Sept. 6, the Alternative for Germany party is expected to break through the country’s political “firewall.”

politico.eu

We are getting closer to a #lePen presidency of #France 🇫🇷

Marine Le Pen's career has been resurrected – and she is a bigger threat than ever | Mujtaba Rahman

No longer banned from next year’s presidential election, Le Pen is a far more formidable force than her understudy, Jordan Bardella, says Mujtaba Rahman of Europe at Eurasia Group

theguardian.com

"As soon as citizens regained their capacity to deliberate and to act, they seized it. #Democracy is like a muscle: It needs to be built up." we really need to explore this, the way out of the present liberal democracy dead-end, involving people in designing & realising their societies #Democracy27

'Citizens no longer trusted us': Belgium's attempt to revive democracy

'Room for Hope' (1/6). High voter abstention, unfulfilled political promises and the growing influence of authoritarian movements have weakened democracies. In response to this crisis, Belgian writer ...

lemonde.fr

🇫🇷 And the need for a credible left candidate ...

France's urgent need for a left-wing alternative in the 2027 presidential election

EDITORIAL. Social democrats and Greens have so far failed to compete with radical left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Doing so is essential to avoid the 2027 presidential election becoming a showdown b...

lemonde.fr

Le Monde in English@english.lemonde.fr · 3w ago

French presidential election 2027: The battle for the left begins

"There is a lesson here for everyone working on systemic #change. Ideas do not cross over when they get louder. They cross over when someone translates them into the native language of the institution that needs to hear them." #trudat

The Most Radical Post Growth Text I Read This Year Came From Wall Street

And it will teach you how to build a financial portfolio fit for a post-growth future.

kasperbenjamin.substack.com

As #Meloni prepares to celebrate being the longest serving post-WW2 Italian government, she faces opposition for next years election from the #farright

Far-right rhetoric escalates in Italy as former general Roberto Vannacci gains ground

The rise in the polls of the leader of National Future, a party with an identitarian and masculinist vision founded by the former member of the League, has prompted the parties in Giorgia Meloni's coa...

lemonde.fr

" #Europe 🇪🇺 allowed Chinese expansion to continue for too long without adequate oversight mechanisms. #China 🇨🇳 has made very effective use of the openness of Western investment and the advantages that this model brought it, and it continues to benefit from them today." #uhoh #electriccars

euobserver — EU news that matters@euobserver.com · 4w ago

[Interview] EU’s carmakers face their own Nokia challenge to survive Chinese threat, says industry expert

@europeelects.bsky.social poling indicates a possible further shift to #farright in the #EuropeanParliament elections in 2029, in addition to the #CDU loosing its majority within the #EPP ... seismic shifts continue

EU's centrist coalition projected to fall short of a majority

A new Europe Elects projection suggests Europe’s mainstream parties could lose their EU-level majority, reflecting the growing strength of right-wing and populist forces. #EuropeNews

euronews.com

“If you want to stop global warming, you must get to #netzero carbon emissions. If you don’t get to net zero, the world will continue warming, and all the things we’re seeing at the moment will get more intense and more challenging. That’s basically the choice.” #climatechange

Financial Times@financialtimes.com · last mo.

Opinion: Political thinking on net zero needs to shift, writes Pilita Clark. The cost of climate action cannot be ignored, but nor can the cost of inaction. Reasonable people can debate the best way forward. Blinkered, ideological zealots will never get us anywhere ft.trib.al/jKrWY9y

@financialtimes.com Martin Wolf "The biggest question this important book fails to answer is how, even if it is indeed desirable, the political forces needed to bring about the restoration of mid-20th-century liberalism are to re-emerge." important question for #democrarcy in the face of #AI

Is it too late to save liberal democracy?

Martin Wolf on Daron Acemoglu’s urgent rallying cry for a new politics of shared prosperity

ft.com

"A joke followed Angela Merkel for years: Traveling with her was like boarding a plane piloted by an experienced captain. The flight was smooth, the landing safe; only the destination remained mysterious." a really good insight into where #Germany 🇩🇪 and #Merz are at www.lemonde.fr/en/opinion/a...

Germany: 'Friedrich Merz's political solitude raises doubts over his lasting ability to persuade'

OP-ED. The German chancellor, who finds himself increasingly isolated, even within his own party, repeatedly makes missteps and fails to set a clear political course for Germany, laments Franco-German...

lemonde.fr

"...how billionaires are f*cking everything all at once" more genius courtesy of @thejuicemedia.com #AI www.youtube.com/watch?v=kON2...

Honest Government Ad | Ai Data Centres

YouTube video by thejuicemedia

youtube.com

"What I am missing is a genuine vision of what a future that is not the past could look like — one that is not based on tribal instincts in the sense of “we look the same, we look after each other”, but on the more civilised part of our brains and asks: “Okay, how can we actually make this work?”"

euobserver — EU news that matters@euobserver.com · last mo.

German MEP Damian Boeselager: Locking 27 leaders in a castle and thinking they will deliver a good outcome is a categorical mistake

Is #Meloni not far enough to the right? A new party and ex-army general, #Vannacci, think she is not, and it in part this explains her response to #Ceuta & her fight with #Sanchez, another seismic election for the 🇪🇺 in 2027 newleftreview.org/sidecar/post...

Matteo Pucciarelli, Meloni’s Challenger — Sidecar

The rise of Roberto Vannacci.

newleftreview.org

A splintering #farright in #Poland 🇵🇱 does not necessarily mean a strengthening of support for the moderate centre-right, it could mean the opposite like a cells dividing and growing - it will be a pivotal election in 2027 for the 🇪🇺 www.politico.eu/article/pola...

Why Poland’s right-wing split may not save Donald Tusk

Poland’s leading opposition party has broken apart, but that may not help PM Donald Tusk.

politico.eu

There could a very difficult few months ahead for #politics in #Germany 🇩🇪, including the possibility of #Merz being replaced as Chancellor, keep an eye out for the result of local elections on Sep. 4 & 20, with expected wins for etc #farright www.politico.eu/article/frie...

Germany’s hot topic this summer: A chancellor swap

Germany was once seen as Europe’s anchor of stability. Now Friedrich Merz’s own party is discussing whether the chancellor should go after little more than a year in office.

politico.eu

“ #Socialmedia algorithms drive users to what most outrages them, which is what stimulates engagement and makes money. This is a threat to humanity in general. But it is a particular bane for the future of #democracy since it gives extremism an inbuilt advantage.”

Edward Luce@edwardluce.bsky.social · last mo.

“Any Democrat associated with Aipac — a dwindling band — has a vanishing chance of becoming their party’s 2028 nominee.” Me on how Israel is splitting Dems. www.ft.com/content/07ae...

and we are back, after a ten year hiatus: maerkelig.com

maerkelig

35mm film photography, shot on Leica R6.2 and R7

maerkelig.com

" #Merz used the trip to reiterate Berlin’s demand for a fundamental overhaul of both the structure and priorities of the #EU’s next spending cycle." this will be an intense negotiation, that fact that he travelled to #Dublin to deliver the message shows real intent

Euractiv@euractiv.com · 2mo ago

Germany’s Merz demands sweeping EU budget cuts

"Everything I read from the Conservatives and the #farright is that we need to limit the number of foreigners here; we should even send them back. Fair enough, but if we don’t take these measures with #globalwarming, you’ll be getting more and more of them."

euobserver — EU news that matters@euobserver.com · 2mo ago

[Interview] Belgian climate minister Crucke: ‘there will be a revolution’ if Europe doesn’t take urgent climate action

" #Europe needs a road map, or at least a faint idea of its destination in the new world. This in turn requires some theory of European history, a sense that — as Hegel and Kojève insisted — past, present & future may be linked up to form a whole." #damnstraight, we need to imagine better future ...

Opinion | Meet Europe’s New Machiavelli

Luuk van Middelaar, a Dutch scholar, is emerging as the continent’s master strategist.

nytimes.com

"They [@greens-efa.eu @reneweurope.bsky.social & @socialistsanddemocrats.eu] have become the EPP's [@eppgroup.bsky.social] democratic insurance policy: indispensable when an aura of legitimacy is needed, dispensable when policy must be pushed through on the right." no more flirting with #farright

euobserver — EU news that matters@euobserver.com · 2mo ago

Europe’s grand coalition is over: It’s time for mainstream parties to break with the European People’s Party

We need more #rightwing politicians like this 👇❤️🌳🌲

"We recognise the challenge caused by #plastic waste in Samoa and around the world. We take these concerns seriously and are working with our partners to make progress. This progress depends on building effective local systems." 🐂💩 #cocacola if you took them seriously use #reuse @oceana.bsky.social

@irishtimes.com what is wrong with this picture? you really couldn’t find anything other than middle-aged white male opinion today? 🥱