Browsing: Media opinion 1

“Rather, the entire political elite must ask itself whether it has grasped the seriousness of the situation. France is sitting on Europe’s highest mountain of debt and needs to make cutbacks in order to preserve some budgetary leeway and not gamble away the dented confidence of rating agencies and bond markets. There has been no shortage of warning shots. And one thing is also clear: in the coming months, France’s ability to act will be even more limited than it already is. This is bad news for Europe, which should actually be worrying about other things in view of the geopolitical challenges.”

He has, of course, proposed hitting China with 50% tariffs and then tariffs on all other imports of up to 20%, including for European countries. So they’re going to have to not only deal with that, but figure out whether they line up behind America on that, or whether they line up behind China on that as well.

The Prime Minister insisted slavery reparations would not be on the agenda at the summit in Samoa this week. Canny politicians from elsewhere in the Commonwealth – astute at spotting the weakest link – appear to have outsmarted him to secure a debate on the topic…Any wobble by Sir Keir should concern us all and begs the question, yet again, whether he is really up to the job. On the world stage – beyond the cosy confines of Labour Party internal politicking – he seems to struggle with the twilight arts of diplomacy, distraction and negotiation.

One thing needs to be made clear at this point. It would be wholly incorrect to accuse Jeff Powell of the Daily Mail of either intentionally or unintentionally reframing the rhetoric and phrasing of Adolf Hitler in the form of a football article. Or indeed, of being in some way Nazi-adjacent in the rhetoric of what was a logical, well-reasoned article this week on the issues surrounding overseas managerial appointments.

A key lesson of the week, however, is just how vital it is to stay in control of our message; to be so, so careful about how we express

Firstly, if the rest of the world is going to be inspired by the decommissioning of Britain’s coal-fired plants there is little sign of it yet… Britain may have managed to displace coal with a combination of gas and wind power, with a small contribution from solar (4.9 per cent last year), but it is not a practical course for many countries which do not have easy access to gas supplies, and who would have no other practical means of coping with the intermittency of wind and solar. The advantage of coal is that it is very easy to transport, store and stockpile.

“If you zoom out of France and look at the whole of Europe, you see that by appointing Michel Barnier as prime minister the once moderate Emmanuel Macron has brought his country into line with many of its neighbours. On the same weekend, the AfD only narrowly lost to the SPD in the Brandenburg elections. … In Belgium, a poll published on Saturday showed a Flanders that is further to the right in its voting preferences than ever before – Vlaams Belang is on form. … Above all, these events mark the end of a week in which the new EU Commission has been dominated by the right.”

“Teresa Ribera will be a sort of super commissioner with significant influence on European industrial policy. She will apply the antitrust rules and oversee state aid and mergers. This is a key position and will make Spain one of the EU’s main partners. … In her new term in office, von der Leyen has announced that she is reserving the right to change the structure of the Commission. And she has appointed 40 percent women to the top of the commissions. Although this falls short of the strict parity she had hoped for, she has nevertheless almost doubled the pitiful 22 percent that would have resulted from the governments’ proposals.”

“Harris held up well in terms of content. … Doubts about her ability to perform expressed before the debate proved to be unfounded, even if she once again failed to justify the many U-turns she has made on various issues. The Democrat laid out her plans with verve, including tax cuts for middle-income groups and measures for the housing market. She also distanced herself from the incumbent president and presented herself as the leader of a ‘new generation’. However, to one question she had no answer: if her plans are so important, why is she not implementing them now, as vice president?”