Poland’s pro-USA President, Andrzej Duda, appears to have defeated a challenge by the more EU-leaning mayor of Warsaw, Rafel Trzaskowski. The BBC reports (abridged): Poland’s incumbent President Andrzej Duda has narrowly beaten challenger Rafal Trzaskowski in Sunday’s presidential vote. The National Electoral Commission said Mr Duda had won 51.2% of the votes. It is Poland’s […]

Originally posted May 26, 2020. Ali Zerdin reports at the Washington Times on Janez Jansa’s elevation to the post of Prime Minister of a coalition government in Slovenia. Jansa is from the hardline anti-immigrant Democratic Party, and an ally of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Organ. He writes (abridged): LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) – Slovenia’s new, right-leaning […]

Taki Theodorocopulous writes in Taki’s Mag: With its baroque streetscapes and rambling imperial palaces, its winding cobbled lanes and art-filled museums, the Austrian capital is a natural for invading tourists ….Last week, though, I had the whole place to myself, walking up and down the pedestrians-only Karntner Strasse, along with a few bikers and some […]

Originally posted on May 21, 2019.  Roger Kimball, writing at American Greatness, praises Christopher Caldwell’s portrayal of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Kimball notes that Orban “in a speech in 2015, ‘Hungary must protect its ethnic and cultural composition. I am convinced that Hungary has the right—and every nation has the right—to say that it […]

In The American Spectator, Yoav J. Tenembaum recounts how Winston Churchill’s ascent to the British Prime Ministership 80 years ago changed the course of history, and set the stage for Nazi Germany’s ultimate defeat. He writes (abridged): On May 10, 80 years ago, Winston Churchill became prime minister of Britain. Germany had already become the […]

Fredrik Erixon reports in Spectator USA: Two weeks ago, I wrote about ‘The Swedish experiment’ in The Spectator. As the world went into lockdown, Sweden opted for a different approach to tackling coronavirus: cities, schools and restaurants have remained open. This was judged by critics to be utterly foolish: it would allow the virus to spread much faster than […]

Fredrik Erixon writes in Spectator USA: Sweden is sticking to its policy because, on the whole, it is balanced and effectual. So far, the actual development is generally following the government’s prediction. On Monday, 1,580 people had died and tested positive for COVID-19. The number of daily deaths has remained pretty stable at about 75 for a […]

Steve Goldstein reports in MarketWatch on which EU countries are reopening their economies in the wake of COVID-19. He writes (abridged): German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday night set out plans for a gradual reopening of the eurozone’s largest economy. The European Commission, meanwhile, has expressed its concerns about the uncoordinated approach. “We see three lessons from […]