Author: staff

On Thursday, an account on X posted news of the latest Tory defection to Reform’s ranks with the comment: “Reform will win the next general election.” Sharing the post with his more than 200 million followers, Musk said: “Yes.” Reform declined to comment on The Times story Monday. The party’s former Director of Communications Gawain Towler raised an eyebrow at what he called “febrile Westminster gossip.” But he said the donation was not “100 percent out of the question,” arguing that Musk sees the U.K. as “where the ideas of liberty and freedom came from in the first place.” Musk,…

177 staff members are threatening to quit in frustration over the Ministry of Culture’s management of the country’s foremost art institution. The Slovak National Gallery (SNG) is in turmoil as its executive board – comprising the heads of four key departments – has tendered their resignations in a public letter to Slovakia’s Minister of Culture, Martina Šimkovičová, according to The Art Newspaper. The letter, signed also by Ľubica Orechovská, the SNG’s director of exhibitions and expositions production, was issued on Tuesday (November 26), following a meeting with the gallery’s newly appointed acting director general, Jaroslav Niňaj. In their resignation letter, the five…

Historical grievances further complicate the trade talks.  The Volhynia Massacre, a World War II-era atrocity that remains a sore point in Polish-Ukrainian relations, has resurfaced in the public discourse. While Poland and Ukraine have worked to deepen ties since the Russian invasion, festering historical wounds and nationalist posturing on both sides are undermining trust. “On the Polish side, there is no positive answer to the question of how to build these relations,” said Smolar. “On the Ukrainian side, too, it is difficult to demand any political creativity today — they are at war, after all.” Under Tusk’s reign, Poland’s presidency…

Bardella’s comments come ahead of a crucial few days for France, with the reverberations likely to be felt across Europe. In just a few hours on Monday, lawmakers are set to gather in the National Assembly to vote on next year’s social security budget, with Barnier aiming to regain control over France’s spiraling deficit. If Barnier tries to circumvent a vote, the political opposition could cause his government to fall. Barnier, who has only been prime minister since September, had initially planned €40 billion in spending cuts and €20 billion in tax hikes, but has been forced to make some…

BERLIN — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Ukraine Monday for a surprise visit during which he is set to announce arms deliveries worth hundreds of millions, due to arrive in Kyiv before year-end. “I would like to make clear, here on the ground, that Germany will remain Ukraine’s strongest supporter in Europe,” Scholz said in a statement. “In my meeting with [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy, I will announce further arms worth €650 million, which are to be delivered before the end of December.” While Scholz has repeatedly stressed that Germany is among Ukraine’s top military supporters, the center-left politician…

Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico’s Jack Blanchard share their daily guide to the day ahead in politics in under 20 minutes. With just over two weeks to go until parliament breaks for Christmas, the prime minister is planning to set out a new “Plan for Change” for the country this week. Why is Sir Keir Starmer doing this now? Is this a big reset for the government? And will it cut through? Also today, we hear 20,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats since Labour won the election. So how is the home secretary…

A new 3-km fissure has opened up on the Reykjanes Peninsula and lava has reached the Blue Lagoon tourist attraction. A volcano in Iceland has erupted for the seventh time since December, spewing red lava through a 3-kilometre fissure on the Reykjanes Peninsula.The eruption started at 11:14pm on Wednesday with little warning. Lava from the Sundhnúkur fissure was moving at a speed of 100m per hour yesterday, moving further westwards than ever before according to the Icelandic Met Office.Despite this, the volcanic activity is estimated to be considerably smaller than the last eruption, in August, the Met Office said.“In the…

Issues with the budget If Barnier chooses the latter route, he can only hope Le Pen gets cold feet about plunging the country into financial chaos. But the National Rally’s official position, for now, is that it won’t budge unless all its “red lines” are removed from the budget. “We still have issues [with the budget]… [Barnier] has until Monday,” Le Pen told Le Monde on Thursday. Meanwhile, her wish list has expanded over the past few days. The National Rally is asking that the government scrap a tax hike on electricity, abandon a planned postponement to a yearly inflation…

Wie können die Liberalen zurück in den Wahlkampf finden, nachdem das D-Day-Papier und die Rücktritte großen Schaden angerichtet haben? Das analysiert Gordon Repinski zusammen mit POLITICO-Reporterin Rixa Früsen. Im 200-Sekunden-Interview spricht das FDP-Präsidiumsmitglied und die Europaabgeordnete Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann über das Kommunikationsdesaster und darüber, wie die Liberalen wieder aus der Krise finden wollen. Der EU- und Diplomatie-Experte Hans von der Burchard berichtet, wie Frankreichs Regierung am Haushalt zu zerbrechen droht und wie die Staatsfinanzen die Märkte beunruhigen, die eine Schuldenkrise wie in Griechenland fürchten. Und: Gordon Repinski begleitet zu Beginn dieser Woche die Außenministerin Annalena Baerbock auf ihrem Kurzbesuch in China.…

But being known as a country facing geopolitical threats also has its drawbacks — particularly when it comes to the economy. What company would want to do business where there’s a risk of attack? Of course, in today’s world, it’s not just Finland facing such risks. There are many other countries that must also try to square that circle, and how Finland chooses to respond and reassure the business community will likely be a leading example. Those googling “Finland” these days are likely to receive a lot of hits about Russian threats, the Finnish government’s response to Russia’s threats, stories…