“Scholz is the new Merkel,” opined Michael Hanfeld, an online columnist for the conservative German daily FAZ after the first of the televised ‘Triells’ between himself as social democrat Kanzlerkandidat and Armin Laschet for the Christian Democrats and Annalena Baerbock for the Greens on August 29. It’s a common view among the German commentariat. Something remarkable is … [Read more...] about A new Germany?
Social democracy
The green ascendancy
Almost unnoticed in Scotland, as the results of the elections to Holyrood trickled in over two days last week, was the remarkable success of the Greens in Bristol. They gained 14 seats and are now-co-equal with Labour on the city council, with the Tories in third. Not perhaps as arresting as the winning of power in Baden-Württemberg or Bordeaux but striking in its own … [Read more...] about The green ascendancy
Road to recovery bypasses Red Morningside
In 1968 a Labour MP sat down to co-author a pamphlet entitled ‘Don’t Butcher Scotland’s Future’ – a strident rebuke to the nascent force of Scottish nationalism. This was a moment when ‘hammering the nats’ became a key part of a good Scottish Labour man’s vocation, and the young Jim Sillars would prove to be no slacker in this regard. The ensuing transformation of Sillars into … [Read more...] about Road to recovery bypasses Red Morningside
Compromising unity (never)
'I bitterly regret the day I compromised the unity of my party by admitting the second member’ Oliver Brown, WitdomWith his usual wit, Oliver Brown captured the challenges faced by all political parties. For many activists, the party is all important – ‘my party right or wrong’ – through all the trials and tribulations. Brown spent a lifetime up to his death in 1976 … [Read more...] about Compromising unity (never)
Covid19 and the future of capitalism
While nursing his gravely ill godson in the spring of 1876, Lewis Carroll wrote the 141-stanza absurdist poem "The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in 8 Fits". In the plot, a crew of ten sets out on a sea voyage chasing an elusive creature, a Snark – an allegory for the search of happiness. The venture does not pan out well – the Snark eventually turns out to be a highly … [Read more...] about Covid19 and the future of capitalism