The upcoming French municipal elections have unearthed a huge problem. In many municipalities there is a dearth of candidates, particularly for the post of Mayor. In the Gironde area 45% of the smaller communes are still without a candidate – and it does not stop there. The main reason given for the dearth of candidates […]
The leader in this week’s Economist advocates a form of financial federalism as a sort of Plan B to combat the economic crisis. Europe has moved far from the “deepening vs widening” debates of the mid-nineties. After Maastricht the questions being asked were mainly with regard to the various geometries that the next step of […]
In parliament it’s been reduced to a question of motions and counter-motions. While the nation fakes a collective breath-holding session as the MP’s battle out the latest round the few who can be bothered set up impromptu betting odds as to what will happen next in the drawn-out Debono saga. In the press we have […]
Last time that I hinted at a link between Franco Debono and a historical figure I was told off in private by one of the blog’s more finicky readers. Well, mea culpa if Franco does not quite fit the “Generalissimo” label but the Rebel MP has now taken to quoting another general for his purposes. […]
Fiorello revises an old Italian cabaret classic. Modern Times? Dreams In my dreams I have a plan
Today, Monday 14th November 2011, J’accuse : The New Republic is born . We’re officially dropping the “la verité si je mens” (the truth if I lie) slogan and kicking off the new season by declaring the Age of the New Republic open*. This is the age of crisis after crisis, the era of the […]
