Category: European Politics
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The End of Cakeism
“My policy on cake”, said Boris Johnson, “is pro having it and pro eating it.” So much for the common view that you can’t have your cake and eat it too; in particular, with Brexit, the foreign secretary proclaims his views on the grandiose future that awaits Britain after leaving the EU that perhaps event…
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In Brexit Britain, the Knives Are Out
A knife in the back is something that British foreign secretary Boris Johnson should know quite a bit about. It was just last year when the flamboyant Brexit poster-boy, who had been so sure that he was about to succeed David Cameron as prime minister, was betrayed by best buddy Michael Gove. It worked out…
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Emperor Macron
Emmanuel Macron seems to have royal aspirations. That is an odd statement to have to make about France’s new president. At 39, he is France’s youngest president in history; hardly a man who would have the gravitas necessary for the grandeur of royalty. A political centrist who favours greater European integration and globalisation, the forward-looking…
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The Puzzling Embrace of Jeremy Corbyn
I didn’t intend to write about the British election again so soon, but a topic has intrigued me enough that I felt the need to write a short post. Over the past few days since the UK general election, we have been witness to one of the more rapid and curious transformations in public opinion…
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The Ironic Lady
This was not how it was meant to be. A month and a half ago, Theresa May, the British prime minister, stood confident in front of 10 Downing Street. She had come out to declare the need for a snap election to ensure that Brexit can properly be delivered. “Our opponents believe that because the…
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Theresa May’s Poisoned Chalice
Adults in the Room is the title of the memoirs written by Greece’s former finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis. In the book, Varoufakis describes the negotiations he conducted with the Eurogroup and the institutions in order to try to secure a new agreement on how to solve Greece’s debt crisis and to secure debt relief. While this…
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What Theresa May Must Decide
The image of a female leader once again taking residence at 10 Downing Street was always bound to evoke memories. After all, for eleven years, Margaret Thatcher had been prime minister of the United Kingdom. Regardless of their political leanings, people widely hailed her for her steely determination and tendency to get her way. “The…
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Tumultuous Revolution
Lee Kuan Yew, among many other things, was known in his later years as a foreign policy sage who regularly dispelled his wisdom about international affairs. His views on the United States and China are well documented. But, interestingly enough, Lee also touched on other topics, including the European Union: he stated that he did…
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‘Project Fear’
One week is all that remains from now and United Kingdom EU referendum. It has been a tedious campaigning season where debate has devolved into scaremongering and bickering; even Nigel Farage and Bob Geldof’s Battle of the Thames has only provied light relief. The most interesting development so far is the fact that many polls…
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The European Migrant Crisis & the Rise of Extremist Politics
This essay was originally written as a submission for the Gulen Youth Platform competition of the University of Houston. As no winners were announced for the competition, I have decided to post this essay here. Extremism is probably an appropriate topic on this blog in the light of the shooting in Orlando, although this essay…
Ken Mathis Lohatepanont 