Thoughts – Insights

Building a coalition isn’t purely about mathematics.  Numbers do not make a government: their mandate to rule does. Just remember Pedro Sanchez in Spain who became Prime Minister in June 2018 despite his party holding only 84 seats. Almost a year passed before he went to the polls to cement his mandate. ….Nor is it purely about…

Exit polls show everyone underperformed their own expectations: The Greens had hoped to clear 20% but failed The FDP had hoped to be the third largest party The Left are barely scraping the 5% threshold The CDU are on track for their worst ever result The SPD are too close to the CDU/CSU for comfort…

The leader of the CDU’s sister party, the CSU, stood up in the Bavarian State Parliament on 21st July and set out his “Klima-Programm Bayern”. Markus Söder deliberately invoked the words of Churchill as he demanded “Action this day” to deal with the climate crisis. He admitted it would cost money. A lot of money. (“By 2040, it…

It’s not just the end of Merkel on Sunday. It heralds the dawn of a very different Germany. And with it, a new direction for Europe. Germany is going left and going green, whatever the election outcome Spending taps switched on Covid opened the door Climate crisis provides the ongoing rationale Europe can finally go…

In 26 days, Angela Merkel will no longer be relevant. Her sixteen years at the helm of Europe’s largest economy will be over. The departure of such a colossus, whether loved or hated, always raises the spectre of turbulence. A well-respected, experienced and fully endorsed successor inheriting a buoyant economy can mitigate the risks. That…