The Mirror Crack'd

Writing my previous piece, Hard truths, shocked me even as I was writing it. I don't know what my small but loyal cohort of readers will have made of it - and, as I haven't enabled comments, I may never find out - but, while thinking the previously unthinkable was an uncomfortable experience, publishing my conclusions was agonising. If my writing goes down to posterity at all (which I very much doubt) I wouldn't want it to be as the ravings of a crypto-fascist. Nevertheless, I stand by what I wrote and was interested, therefore, to read a piece in Engelsberg Ideas by Jack Dickens entitled Europe's Lost Reason of State. This came as a revelation to me and I admit I was initially somewhat alarmed to learn that the concept derives from the writings of Machiavelli. (If one is judged by the company one keeps, what does quoting the godfather of the dark arts of Renaissance political philosophy say about one's moral compass?) To quote Dickens: "Reason of State was for...

On 22 June the EU's three main institutions reached a landmark decision. After twenty years of fierce debate around the handling of irregular migration the European Commission, the European Council and European Parliament reached a political consensus on this highly contentious issue. Driven in part - possibly in large part - by the growth of rightwing politics in many European countries, the change of mood - and therefore of policy - seems to be a response to decades of un- or poorly-controlled migration. Much of the anti-migrant sentiment has undoubtedly been whipped up by hate-fuelled rhetoric from commentators with a clearly xenophobic, and more particularly, Islamophobic axe to grind. However, even those more liberal and sympathetic onlookers now appear to be questioning some of their former assumptions in light of recent highly-publicised events. I count myself amongst them. The EU has given its members the green light to pursue 'return hubs' - third countries to whic...

Of the thousands of young Moroccans who entered Ceuta by sea recently, 72 drowned in the attempt. Just process that statistic for a moment. That's 72 young people who left home in high spirits one day only to be returned in body bags the next; 72 families grieving children lost in a moment of juvenile enthusiasm gone fatally wrong; 72 funerals for mourners to lament a senseless loss of a young life. The repercussions of this will be generational and could become existential for the Moroccan state if, or when, that grief turns to anger. Meanwhile, those opportunist politicians in Europe and the United States who disseminate mis- and disinformation whenever a situation like this arises make mischief with human tragedy in an attempt to stir up xenophobic hatred. Facts are never allowed to get in the way of their hate-filled messaging, or are dismissed as 'fake news'. Admittedly, independently verified facts can be hard to uncover but they are available if you bother to look fo...

The self-immolation of Tunisian, Mohamed Bouazizi, on 17 December 2010 triggered the Arab Spring. The 26 year-old street vendor was driven to take his own life in such a horrific fashion out of despair at his experience of grinding poverty and relentless police harrassment. His death caused a wave of anger and revulsion amongst the Tunisian population and, on 14 January 2011, the country's President, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, was forced to step down and fled into exile. The unrest spread throughout the Arab world, triggering the overthrow of several despotic regimes and seeming to hold out the prospect of widespread democratisation. Sadly, but perhaps predictably, the movement was stifled through a combination of vicious state crackdowns and Western unwillingness to upset the status quo in a strategically critical region. A combination of self-interest, complicity and indifference on the part of Western powers effectively snuffed out the movement and, in 2012, the uprising was over....

The 23rd Commonwealth Games opened tonight in Glasgow under this inspiring, if contentious, motto. You could be forgiven for not noticing, given its low profile, but it used to be a big deal. The British Empire Games began in 1930, becoming the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1950 before finally settling on its current name in 1966. Just through its changing titles it's possible to chart the evolving story over the years, not just of the sporting fixture itself but of British imperialism and colonialism. The pared-down, scaled-back nature of this year's Games compared with those last held in the Scottish city in 2014 seems to suggest a faltering present and an uncertain future. Three Games were to have been held in Victoria, Australia, but in 2023 the state government announced it was pulling out on cost grounds so Glasgow came to the rescue and the King, Queen and Prime Minister will be there at tonight's opening ceremony. The suspicion must be that Australia, a s...

It looks like one of the first decisions Andy Burnham will be making on Monday will involve energy supply. On arriving in Downing Street having 'kissed hands' with the King he will face the serried ranks of press and media assembled on a specially constructed grandstand to cover his totemic moment behind the lectern. It's not clear if he will be taking questions afterwards but, depending on how his speech is received, it could easily be downhill all the way after that. I wish him well because this performance could make or break his premiership. Presumably by Monday morning he will have finalised his Cabinet choices, the two major ones at this particular juncture being Chancellor and Energy Secretary, with the most hotly-tipped candidates being Ed Milliband and Shabana Mahmood, interchangeably. In Sir Keir Starmer's Cabinet, Ed Milliband was Energy and Net Zero Secretary and Mahmood Home Secretary. With Milliband being the champion of renewable energy and net zero polic...