So much is being written and said about this tragic moment in modern history, it is difficult to offer any perspective which has not already been explored elsewhere. Nevertheless there are some thoughts worth putting down. The first thing that strikes about the footage everywhere being replayed, is just how terrible an event or set […]
The Foreign Secretary, William Hague, has announced a considerable beefing up of the coverage and capacity of the Foreign Office, in spite of the cuts in its budget, which represent very welcome news. He has also remarked on the evident dysfunctionality and peculiar rivalries at its heart, revealed when he took over. This blog has in the […]
One of the challenges of being Chancellor of the Exchequer is the torrent of advice from many economic experts who think they have better ideas and City lobbyists who have interests to protect. None of these people present a rounded picture. Osborne and his team have to do that for themselves. At present they are […]
Like chickens in a pen with a wolf circling around them, the markets are uneasy. They crash and recover day after day. Their problem is that the wolf, ie the problems with the managementof the Euro, will not go away. Now everyone, including the British Government, thinks that there has to be central management of […]
As the politicians return from, sometimes interrupted, holidays and Parliament reassembles, it is worth looking at the general dynamic of the Westminster Village. Before the break it was wall to wall Murdoch, then the riots. Now it will be Libya, eduction, health and the banks. Labour, comfortably in the lead on all the polls before, […]
The summit in Paris meets in much more favourable circumstances than might have seemed likely not long ago. The Gaddafi regime is over for sure. What replaces it is not clear, but it is clear that the Libyan people are united in wanting to rebuild their country and install freedom at its core. The NTC shows […]
Vince Cable is right to lay into the Bankers and their lobbyists. To delay re-structuring is to play with fire. Even if there is some slowing of economic recovery as a consequence, it is far preferable to the economic collapse which would follow doing nothing. The banks are still in a precarious state. A lot of their […]
The problem with recognising any rebel government in a civil war, however laudable its cause, is that there has to be some certainty that it has the capacity to govern. There is now anxiety about the general breakdown of affairs in Tripoli and the apparent inability of the TNC to offer, so far anyway, coherent […]
Before the advocates of the NATO intervention celebrate success, they must be reminded of its purpose. This was to protect civilians and, as a sub text to support the rebels in the drive to get rid of Gaddafi. But all of that stood not alone, but on a foundation which was fundamental to everything. To […]
This blog has been opposed to the NATO intervention, but there can now be cautious optimism that the mission, essentially driven by France and Britain, has paid off. There is no longer stalemate. The Gaddafi family has clearly lost even if it is not entirely clear who has won. This is because nobody knows for […]