The Daily Mail, a potent right-wing political force in the UK, is to change editor after 26 years as Paul Dacre steps down. A fervent Brexiteer he’ll be replaced by the Mail on Sunday editor Geordie Grieg, who’s a staunch Remainer, answering directly to the owner Lord Rothermere, also pro-European. Dacre was respected … Read more
Rumblings about an IndyRef2 for Scottish independence have been growing stronger in the midst of the Brexit blunders though support remains at 45% in the polls and the last election cut SNP MPs from 56 to 35. An economic report commissioned by Nicola Sturgeon avoids the ‘moonshine’ of the last IndyRef promises of … Read more
Alarm is rising about a collision between Italy’s new populist coalition government, which campaigned for lower taxes and higher spending, and the EU. The suggested Minister of Finance, Paolo Savona, has to date been vetoed by the Italian president which is evidently his prerogative. Savona is a vocal critic of the euro, deriding … Read more
A possible free trade agreement amongst Commonwealth countries raised excitement at the recent London meeting. The Commonwealth is a loose organisation mainly of former British colonies and covers 20% of the world’s land area on all six inhabited continents, housing nearly a third of the world population. Brexit has opened up new possibilities … Read more
Like a bad penny which keeps boomeranging back, Tony Blair pops up again with thoughts from his lofty perch about Brexit, the Good Friday Agreement, Syria. There also word that his son Euan is involved in a potential new centrist party, hoping to launch. The Blair name would be the kiss of death … Read more
Martin Selmayr, Juncker’s chief of staff, in what is being described as Machiavellian machinations – parachutage in French – has been dropped at speed into the top civil servant job in the European Commission. He is said to be too junior, without the normal experience for such a job and it adds another … Read more
The Eurosceptics have swung the Italian election, where immigration and the economy were the two key issues in addition to political corruption. The two parties garnering most votes campaigned on a radical overhaul of the EU’s legally binding restrictions on public spending and low taxes. The result is being compared with Brexit … Read more
The Brexit chaos is causing major alarm in Northern Ireland with talk of the Good Friday Agreement being threatened. That was the power-sharing deal struck on 10 April 1998 which saw an end to hostilities. The DUP was the only party to oppose it. No definitive or constructive ideas have been forthcoming … Read more
Michael Barnier, chief EU negotiator for Brexit, has been issuing dire threats about a punishment clause that would allow Brussels to ground aircraft and block trade if the UK failed to obey EU rules during the transition period. Not only is he making himself even more unpopular in the UK, he’s becoming … Read more
George Soros, billionaire, philanthropist and a pro-active campaigner for democracy arouses strong reactions. Some applaud his fight against apartheid, his support for the LGBT community, for opponents of communist regimes, for persecuted minorities like the Roma and for freedom of expression and human rights. Others, especially right-wingers, nationalists and populists call him … Read more