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Author: David Herdson

Germany’s inherited war-shame is in danger of eating itself

Germany’s inherited war-shame is in danger of eating itself

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But the consequences of Merkel’s madness will be felt Europe-wide Germany paid a heavy price for the world wars. Only during Angela Merkel’s chancellorship were the loans for WWI reparations finally paid off. That cost, however, pales into insignificance compared with the legacy of the second War. The human and material losses were of course disastrous but perhaps the most lasting legacy was psychological: the national shame of the past and the consequent and reflexive determination – craving, even –…

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British politics 2016 in one word: Europe

British politics 2016 in one word: Europe

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One issue; three interlinking components Can 2016 live up to the excitement that last year gave us? Remarkably, it could. Internationally, the extremely interesting year-long elections in the US may well produce the first female president of the United States (albeit the wife of a former president), and if not, could well put an untested populist with no political experience in the White House. But in Britain, one issue is likely to dominate: the European referendum on David Cameron’s deal…

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David Herdson says 2016 could be a good year for the GOP to pick a loser

David Herdson says 2016 could be a good year for the GOP to pick a loser

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The lessons of a Trump defeat would resonate for decades Only one person has set the race for next year’s GOP nomination alight and that person is Donald Trump. Behind his blaze of controversy, energy, self-publicity and populism lies a field strewn with the bewilderment of his rivals: how has he lasted so long? Why have his gaffes not brought him down? How can he be effectively taken on? As yet, they have no answers. That was painfully apparent in…

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Oldham has firmed up the chances of a Labocalypse

Oldham has firmed up the chances of a Labocalypse

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Corbyn is now safe for months It’s been an up-and-down week for Labour. Rows, splits, mishandled Autumn Budget replies – all forgotten in one swift and decisive victory. Except that’s not true: they’ve not been forgotten and although Labour’s right has gained a new MP, tilting the PLP even further away from the leadership, it’s the left of the party that’s gained the strategic victory. Most obviously but also most transiently, the news narrative has turned positive for Labour and…

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So what happened to the long-term plan, George?

So what happened to the long-term plan, George?

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Labour’s current travails have hidden the Chancellor’s own problems George Osborne is fond of saying that he’s fixing the roof while the sun is shining. Well, this week he decided to knock off early and catch some rays. After all, what’s the rush? It’s not going to rain overnight. Mañana. Nor will it rain economically tomorrow, next week, next month and in all probability, next year. The economy is growing healthily, employment and wages are rising, inflation remains subdued, consumer…

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Time to back Biden (if you can)

Time to back Biden (if you can)

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  It may be worth having a cover against Hillary US presidential elections are brilliant. The fractal-like complexity of the process by which someone ends up in the White House provides endless scope for novelists, script-writers and conspiracy theorists to come up with weird and wonderful ways for the most implausible individuals to follow in the footsteps of Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelts and Obama. And in theory, they could. The reality, of course, is that the nominations are usually all but…

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Electoral pacts: the siren voice of destruction for Labour

Electoral pacts: the siren voice of destruction for Labour

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Q Nothing else would so effectively combine surrender with contempt for the electorate Parties that do badly at elections should always reflect on why that was the case. It’s not an easy question to ask because almost certainly there’ll be tough answers, if the question’s answered honestly. In all probability, those answers will include ‘our campaign was ineffective’, ‘the public did not support our policies’, ‘we did not look credible as a government / force of opposition’, ‘our record in…

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Confidence, resilience, determination: the necessary response to the Paris attacks

Confidence, resilience, determination: the necessary response to the Paris attacks

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37 It is time to reaffirm and protect Europe’s values The first duty of the state is to protect its citizens. In that duty, France failed yesterday, as all states do from time to time because that duty can never be held to be absolute. It is impossible to protect against every threat every time, and any attempt to do so would impinge so heavily on other rights and values that it would in itself be an attack on the…

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