For all his bragging, Trump knows he has little leverage with either Putin or Netanyahu
Donald Trump loyalists point to the fact that he has never initiated a war in either of his two terms as US president. That suggestion is true insofar as he has scrupulously avoided new deployments of US ground forces in potential conflict zones across the world. This does not mean that Binyamin Netanyahu is not being armed and […]
Migration policy is the EU’s biggest weakness and Donald Trump is aiming to exploit it
The result of the Romanian presidential election run-off, in which the centrist Nicusor Dan beat far-right populist George Simion by 53.6 per cent to 46.4 per cent, will be a cause for some relief. It offers hope that Trumpism can be resisted by centre democrats in the member states of the EU. The possibility that Romania would turn away […]
Military axis of Russia, China and North Korea will test what the West stands for
“Up Periscope”. We are all familiar with these words from wartime movies. They signify that those who have been tensely awaiting events are about to reconnect through a narrow aperture with the wider world. In the fast-moving world of international politics, diplomacy and trade, sometimes there is urgent need to survey where we are, while […]
Ministers need to stop pointing out obstacles to delivery – and start tackling them
When I wrote here last week about the vast range of issues that come within the remit of the Planning Board, I omitted to mention another very important category of decision-making powers that is vested in the board. These are functions in relation to compulsory purchase of land by the State or by local authorities and other State […]
In Victorian era a railway in Ireland could be built in three years, but now even planning approval would take way longer
If your next door neighbour built an extension which was 9in higher than was permitted under its planning permission, and an objection was made, the issue as to whether retention could be granted would be a matter for your local council at first instance. After that, it would go on appeal to the planning board, An Bord […]
There is no ‘right’ to subvert women’s freedom to have their own events and spaces
The decision by the UK’s supreme court on the meaning of the term “woman” for the purposes of its Equality Act created a small but noisy reaction among trans activists. The court held that “the concept of sex is binary” – that is, there is a male and a female sex. This outcome is reassuring for many people who […]