Ireland cannot play an observer role in Brexit matters
Last week, Theresa May has set out her government’s wish-list for its Brexit deal with the EU. Her Lancaster House speech was aspirational rather than specific. The bottom line is that she envisages a post-Brexit relationship in which the UK is no longer part of the EU or of the EU’s single market but is […]
Gerry Adams’ post-factual parallel universe
The phrase “living in a parallel universe” is often used to describe the mind-set of people who inhabit a different moral space from most people and have created their own moral and factual order. This week it has been used about Gerry Adams as he wriggles and twists in an attempt to reconcile his membership […]
Renzi’s reckless promises sealed his fate
Whatever the outcomes in today’s Italian referendum and the Austrian election for president, there is a sense of restlessness and unease abroad in the western democracies. It can be argued that the Italian referendum is not of any inherent international significance save for the fact that Matteo Renzi, the master of silly political gestures, indicated […]
Time for the West to atone for the damage it has caused in Syria
As the siege of Aleppo enters its final stages, and the reins of power in Washington are transferred to Trump, it is very likely that the Syrian conflict will result in Bashar Al Assad remaining President of the Syrian state under some negotiated “peace” deal at some point in the future. Western opinion has not […]
A government in office but not in power attracts disastrous outcomes
With typical hype, the pendulum of lazy journalism and that class of corridor-prowlers who feed regular doses of nonsense to silly journalists has swung into action yet again. This time, we are told, that Angela Merkel is “now the leader of the free world”. Assuming that Ireland still remains part of “the free world”, is […]
Growing worldwide alienation must be factored into the election of Trump
When the dust settles over the election of Donald Trump and the furore dies down somewhat, those, like me, who spoke and wrote against his candidacy will have to examine the factors that lie behind his success. There is no single, simple explanation. I wrote here in the last few months about some of the […]