So today, the impossible happened: Donald Trump has officially been elected president of the United States. The campaign has been much more about the candidates’ style than their actual policies, partly due to Trump being more vague than any presidential candidate that I can remember during my lifetime. Time to make broad assumptions: How will he behave? Continue reading The Trump Doctrine
Well, it looks like the United Kingdom is leaving now, and while everyone in the Bremain-camp is shocked and worried, the shocking and worrying has only begun. The next three to five years will be full of uncertainty and interesting possibilities. Continue reading Not So United Anymore
Elections are won in the political centre, right? Leftists like Schröder or Blair redefined Labour-politics and went on to dominate elections; conservatives like Merkel or Chirac were able to govern by making concessions to the left. In American politics, moderates like Clinton are considered more likely to win elections than outliers, like Sanders or Cruz. So what do you do when parties start losing in the political centre? Continue reading Centrism might not be the smartest strategy for European parties
Sunday’s elections in Germany are generally considered a serious blow to Chancellor Merkel’s stance on refugees. Her conservative party did not gain majorities in two states, and does have an easy government option in the other one. Meanwhile, the AfD, founded on the basis of criticism of her european policies and incorporating a growing anti-refugee sentiment, entered all three state legislatures with 12 to 24 percent of the vote. However, despite both AfD and Merkel’s CDU being on the right wing of politics, they are not the main competitors in this political shakeup. Continue reading The big loser was not Merkel
The gruesome attacks in Paris were framed by some as a significant change in politics, linking it to a Third World War, a “clash of civilisations“, and a possible invocation of the NATO’s 5th article. Despite all these voices stressing the huge impact, I do not see much changing for now. Continue reading How the Paris Attacks did NOT change international relations