Boris Johnson’s foreign policy is a combination of pompous internationalism and wilful parochialismOne of the first comedy routines I can remember seeing was Les Dawson, on some Saturday night light entertainment show, playing the piano badly, which he…
Labour looks aimless because it’s already searching for Starmer’s replacement | Rafael Behr
The opposition leader might think he is treading the road to government, but he is surrounded by people mapping routes for his successorA national fuel crisis coinciding with Labour’s annual conference was good and bad news for Keir Starmer. The bad ne…
Brexit made an unlikely hero of Angela Merkel for Britain’s remainers | Rafael Behr
The German chancellor’s record is mixed, but her exit brings home how adrift Europhiles in the UK now areAngela Merkel is used to being unimpressed by British prime ministers. She was appalled by David Cameron’s casual surrender of influence in Europe,…
Tory MPs call it reform, but the elections bill looks more like a heist
Alongside mandating voter ID, the government plans to keep the Electoral Commission – which oversees elections – in checkWhen judging a law that rewrites the rules of democracy, the test is not whether it does what the current government promises, but …
Thirty years after the Moscow coup, democracy is in a crisis of self-esteem | Rafael Behr
Much has been squandered since 1991, but the biggest threat to democracy today is the global contagion of cynicismOn 19 August 1991, citizens of the Soviet Union woke up to the news that Mikhail Gorbachev, the general secretary of the Communist party, …
Johnson’s disregard for rules helped him get elected – but it’s starting to wear thin | Rafael Behr
From travel to vaccine passports, Covid policy is a mess because the prime minister struggles with the concept of protocolAre we nearly there yet? It is the backseat question that haunts long journeys, except in Britain’s pandemic road trip the impatie…