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Merkel’s shameful silence
Dear Angela Merkel, We address this letter to you as academics, writers and activists who are deeply disturbed by your complicity with the attacks on Hungarian democracy. Since he was elected prime...
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Why Japan is begging Trump for help
Escaping overseas as scandals explode at home is perhaps the oldest of political strategies. Japan’s Shinzō Abe hopes to make it seem new again as he arrives at Mar-a-Lago this week. There are few...
View ArticleMacron needs the EU to bring peace in Syria
In Syria, French President Emmanuel Macron has acted like the leader of a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council and a country with significant military assets. Last week, France joined the...
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Spain’s real rap battles
MADRID — In a small venue in southern Madrid, Pablo Hasél is about to perform what could be one of his last shows before going to prison. The Catalan rapper will spend two years and one day in jail for...
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A Castro in all but name
This is still Cuba — so the only candidate on the ballot to assume the presidency as Raúl Castro leaves power is a 57-year-old Communist Party operative who looks to be straight out of revolutionary...
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The last thing Catalonia needs is more autonomy
Negotiations are like marriages. It’s fairly simple to get in but you never know how they will end, until it’s too late to do anything about it. After a German court dismissed Madrid’s accusations of...
View ArticleBrussels’ loving embrace smothers Balkan hopes of EU membership
PODGORICA, Montenegro — When Commissioner Johannes Hahn announced Tuesday that Western Balkans countries were making “good progress” toward joining the EU, one could be forgiven for wondering if he was...
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How Macron can win over Trump on Iran
WASHINGTON — French President Emmanuel Macron comes to Washington next week with two important items on his agenda: keep American troops in Syria and keep U.S. President Donald Trump in the Iran...
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How Macron got played by Trump
LONDON — “I like him a lot!” This week’s state visit provides ample proof that French President Emmanuel Macron has found a special place in his American counterpart Donald Trump’s heart. Their hand...
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What playing Russian poker taught me about Putin
MINSK — The Western media often likens Vladimir Putin’s governing style of brinkmanship, covert aggression and blatant deceit to those of a brilliant poker player. The poker-faced Russian president...
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How Europe can punch back at Beijing and Washington
There’s a fight going on — for global technological and economic leadership. In one corner, the U.S. is aggressively defending its position as the traditional business superpower. In the other, China...
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Move over Britain, France is America’s ‘special’ friend
Emmanuel Macron has been to Washington. He had a rollicking time with Donald Trump and delivered a speech so fine to the U.S. Congress that many Americans wished that he were president of the United...
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No bailout fund without representation
BERLIN — The next month will be a crucial one for the future of the eurozone. In May, the EU has to decide whether it goes ahead with the ambitious set of proposals French President Emmanuel Macron...
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My secret summer with Stalin’s daughter
My father, the diplomat George F. Kennan, disliked the telephone. So when he called me in March 1967, I knew it was something important. At the time, I was 36 years old and living in California —...
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Emmanuel Macron’s coalition of the willing
PARIS — Impatient with German foot-dragging on defense, French President Emmanuel Macron will bring together a 10-nation coalition of the willing next month designed to prepare European armed forces to...
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Marx’s Kapital crimes
Two hundred years after he was born, Karl Marx is still causing controversy. The donation of a statue by the People’s Republic of China to commemorate the anniversary of his birth Saturday in the small...
View ArticleIf women ruled
The European Union wants to restart a debate on the future of Europe. But its efforts so far aren’t promising. European policy debates tend to be dominated by male voices. A recent task force set up by...
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Freeloading Europe unprepared for Trump’s America
WASHINGTON — Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright called America “the indispensable nation.” With Donald Trump in the White House, Europeans have been acutely reminded of just how true...
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Your political Eurovision cheatsheet
LONDON — We are living in the age of soft power. Planting a tree with a golden shovel, hosting a tournament where 22 men kick a ball around, wearing a feathered cape to a royal reception — these events...
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