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I generally leave the psychohistory to Hari Seldon, but just this once I feel sufficiently motivated to venture into the field. The immediate spur for this departure is the spectacle – half-fascination, half-disgust – of Boris Johnson, Britain’s part-time prime minister, gradually foundering in a sea of his own
The Olympics are the poster child for waste and corruption. That the Winter Games are currently playing out in China just makes matters worse. The International Olympic Committee, abetted by politicians and profiteers in countries seeking to host the Games, has been a hotbed of graft, over-budget spectacles and
After a week of intense discussions about ‘security’ between Russia and the NATO countries, this is the week when the Western allies will send their written replies to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Various pundits, some of whom have actually been to Russia, warn us that there will be ‘War in Europe’ if
The right enemy can make or break election chances The right enemy can be a major asset in politics, as Chilean voters have just demonstrated once again. All the opinion polls had the two presidential candidates neck and neck before Sunday’s election, but a few days before the vote it came out that the father of
The geopolitical question of the moment is: how important is it to humour Russian leader Vladimir Putin? The answer is: not very. Throw him a fish or two, because he’s running a bluff and you don’t want to humiliate him, but there’s no need to placate him with major concessions. This question has become urgent