Their candidate Hagel has compared... unfavourably with Özdemir
07.03.2026 09:36
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Their candidate Hagel has compared... unfavourably with Özdemir
The first of five German state elections this year takes place tomorrow in Baden-Württemberg (home of Daimler, Porsche, Bosch, SAP). Looks set to be photo finish between CDU and Greens - remarkable achievement by Greens' @oezdemir.de, whose party was 10+ points behind in autumn.
It would be strategic lunacy for Europe to support the US/Israeli war on Iran. It is an illegal war that comes with huge costs: regional spillover, higher energy costs, helping Putin in Ukraine. It risks drawing Europe into a new regime change quagmire
ecfr.eu/article/stra...
2 wars in 4 years. This war will accelerate Solar +Batteries + EVs as real Energy Security.
"rest of the world will learn an important lesson from China. Build out your renewables so you aren't as dependent on imported fossil fuels & the whims of idiots"
Be like Spain. bsky.app/profile/jere...
The remarkable thing about Pedro Sánchez is that he has faced everything modern European politics has to throw at a government - the scars of the eurozone crisis, a polarised and fragmented politics, snobbery from other Europeans - and built the most successful economy and foreign policy in Europe.
Meanwhile, Spain's massive investment in renewables is paying dividends now: with prices for Spanish industry and consumers low and stable compared with other European economies.
www.ft.com/content/ac77...
Fascinating to watch 🇫🇷, then 🇬🇧, then 🇮🇹, now 🇩🇪 start to acknowledge what 🇪🇸's government recognised from the very start: the Trump-Netanyahu war on Iran is a reckless intervention conducted without regard for rules of war and without a strategy for what comes next.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Strategic lunacy: Why Europeans must stand up to Trump’s illegal war in Iran
- my new piece with Ellie Geranmayeh @ecfr.eu ecfr.eu/article/stra...
Spain is a sovereign country — not a colony or a protectorate.
• US bases in Spain are not US sovereign territory. Their use must reflect the bilateral interests of both countries.
• Spain remains a loyal NATO ally, with troops deployed in Latvia, Turkey, Lebanon, and Iraq.
Germany’s @taz.de on Merz’s trip to Washington: “Clueless tourist stranded in crisis zone”
The geoeconomic power of the future will be shaped by climate policy. Countries that play the right moves in regulation, clean-tech production & climate finance today will win in the electrified world of tomorrow. @alberto-rizzi.bsky.social @ecfrgeotech.bsky.social
ecfr.eu/publication/...
Our big @ecfr.eu 360° reaction piece to the Iran conflict, assessing regional & global positioning, risks and implications as the war plays out in devastating fashion across the Middle East - and beyond ecfr.eu/article/a-wa...
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bsky.app/profile/jere...
Rhetorically at least, Merz’s statements are a green light to Putin in Ukraine and to Trump himself in Greenland. They also consign the resounding success of the JCPOA, including Germany’s laudable participation in it, to the dustbin of history.
Trump’s strikes on Iran are an illegal war of choice—and Europeans should say so: ecfr.eu/article/trum...
Ellie Geranmayeh for @ecfr.eu: "Europeans should communicate clearly that this is a war of choice by America, in contravention of the same UN charter the Europeans have themselves invoked to condemn Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and insist on Greenland’s sovereignty."
ecfr.eu/article/trum...
"permitirse" typically means "to afford"
They preach sovereignty then demand vassalage
Spain’s Sánchez rejects both “unilateral military action by US & Israel, which represents an escalation and contributes to a more uncertain, hostile international order” and “actions of Iranian regime & Revolutionary Guard.”
“We cannot afford another prolonged and devastating war in Middle East.”
Uncomfortable moment for European populists - especially if US intervention drags the country into a quagmire or otherwise goes wrong. The longer the second Trump presidency goes on, the bigger a liability he is posing to likeminded parties in Europe.
Truly bizarre. What does Rishi Sunaak know about European integration?
Pleased to speak to @mattduss.bsky.social about a potential US war on Iran.
"There’s no plausible legal basis for the Trump administration to attack Iran."
foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/27/d...
With America’s credibility eroding, Europeans are looking for alternatives to US extended nuclear deterrence.
In this context, French president Emmanuel Macron’s address on nuclear deterrence, which is due to take place on Monday, is sure to draw particular scrutiny.
My latest for @ecfr.eu 👇
Merz strikes cooperative tone with China before his departure for Beijing, but says he will raise a number of contentious issues with the Chinese leadership including: fair competition, Chinese overcapacities, Beijing's support for Russia, and human rights issues
🎧 Is Mark Carney right that there is a rupture in the old order? How did the Bretton Woods institutions underpin the old order? Listen to what @markhleonard.bsky.social and Mark Malloch-Brown think about this.
👉 Link to the latest episode: https://bit.ly/46exDGr
As it is en vogue to describe Germany’s political landscape as resembling “Weimar conditions,” its worth taking a closer look at the era’s high levels of political fragility. In just 14 years of existence, the Weimar Republic saw 20 different governments. On average, a cabinet lasted only 244 days.
This move is a declaration of war on UK-European families like mine and makes joint trips to the UK impossible for the foreseeable future. It was abysmally communicated. The message from this Labour (!) government to the British diaspora: f-off and don’t come back.
My latest (this time NOT on European security). 👇
🎧 New week, new episode!
@markhleonard.bsky.social welcomes Mark Malloch-Brown to talk about the future of the Bretton Woods institutions. Is Mark Carney right that there is a rupture in the old order? Are the World Bank and IMF problematic and outdated?
Our newest episode: https://bit.ly/46exDGr
It was a global poll so sadly not possible to include every European country. But Denmark is in there :)
Glad you enjoyed the piece.