❗️"Pressure on Ukraine will not lead to a quick end to the war," — Zelenskyy "I believe that if the United States really wants a quick end to this war, it will not be achieved by increasing pressure on Ukraine. This will be resolved by greater pressure on Russia.

1,81€ for the 158-minute journey from San Sebastián to Bilbao on the Euskotren. Is this the cheapest fare per minute (and perhaps per km) in Europe? (Random photo out of the window)

How local governments can implement missions - like the categories in this new toolkit by New Local www.newlocal.org.uk/on-a-mission...

damnatio memoriae, you're hearing it more and more, folks, we're going to erase his name from the history books very strongly, big strong men, tears in their eyes, they're going to say, "trump, that's an unusual name, i've never heard that one"

On the possibility of the US seizing Kharg Island, William Hickman had some things to say in a 1983 edition of the NWC Review, which I will quote in this thread. 1/n www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/44636275.pdf?refreqid=fastly-default%3A8a508e9d69a5df5858735196a1452802&ab_segments=&initiator=&acceptTC=1

Lot of extra time in the first half of Italy v Norn Irn (per @rtbf.be)

I stand with @szabolcspanyi.bsky.social, a trusted, leading investigative journalist who is serving his country and democracy. He received the Quality Journalism Award and the Transparency-Soma Award four times each; and he was twice shortlisted for the European Press Prize. #PressFreedom #Hungary

A new extract from my book, 'The #Bosnian Straitjacket,' is available courtesy of #Hodophiles. It tells the story of the 'boring' #peace of Bosanski Petrovac. #Bosnia-#Herzegovina. www.hodophile.com/travel/europ...

Hoe moeten we omgaan met FVD nu ze lokaal zo groot zijn geworden? @leoniedejonge.bsky.social en ik pleiten op basis van onderzoek voor een cordon www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2026/...

Bimbling along through the Basque mountains on the Euskotren between Bilbao and San Sebastián. All my Basque colleagues told me I’m odd for preferring it to the (30 mins faster) motorway bus … but I know I’m right.

After working late in my Bilbao hotel room I nipped into a local bar and got (for 11,50€) a beer and a hamburger served with jamón ibérico, manchego and a fried egg on top which was genuinely excellent. What a town.

Haven’t seen this many viziers racing toward Budapest since 1526

Yes, but not ironically.

Metric system solves this #184cmAndRelaxedAboutIt

This is sort of the point I was making in my Geddes lecture: there's a difference between 'are you neutral between red or blue' and 'are we neutral about stirring up forces that would destroy the open society and with it the basis on which journalism thrives?'

Happy Independence Day my fellow Greeks! It's 25th of March and traditionally we eat salt cod and skordalia, aka garlic mash! listen this episode to find out why! open.spotify.com/episode/0INR...

Flamands de droite et Wallons de gauche, vraiment ? Cette étude contredit les stéréotypes

'Hey, look at #Denmark! Social Democrats can stay relevant and marginalise the #farright by becoming - get this! - a bit like the far right!' Parrotted by every medium, contemplated by every SD party, ridiculed by every political scientist.

Europe's real achievement was cutting Russian gas dependency from 40% to 15% in 18 months. That proved the body can rewire. Now the same lesson applies to rare earths: China controls 94% of permanent magnets. No magnets, no wind turbines. The next rewiring is harder.

Danish Social Democrats adopted hardline, nativist anti-immigration policies and look to have recorded their worst election result in over 100 years. So, the lesson for the European left from the “Danish model” is that copying and normalizing the far-right leads to gutting your own support.

Red and Blue blocs neck and neck after the Danish election, with the centrist “Moderates” the kingmakers. Life mimics art! #Borgen.

Absolutely right. Europe should be determined not scared in the face of an energy crisis. A lot has been achieved and we could have achieved a lot more. The second best time is now.

Bilbao is very pleasant to wander around in the sun between meetings. Taking advantage of the sunshine which is not forecast to last.

I did not know that, just assumed the bit that sticks up was standard British uniform

European politicians don't know how to do visionary speeches à la Obama and when they do when don't elect them because we tried visionary stuff in the 30s in Germany and Italy and no thanks. But the absence of media savvy political communication does not mean the absence of real political progress.

Americans: "Don't you dare touch the Second Amendment!" Italians: "Don't you dare touch Article 87 paragraph 10, Article 102 paragraph 1, Aricle 104, Article 105, Article 106 paragraph 3, Article 107 paragraph 1, and Article 110!"

Modern autocracy in action: use culture war methods to rob people you're claiming to protect

Un milliardaire français finance depuis la Belgique l'extrême droite pour bannir l'islam de France. 4000 candidats formés, millions investis dans l'ombre. Quand l'argent privé menace la démocratie. #Droi#DroitsHumainss

Emmanuel Grégoire has been elected mayor of Paris, a vindication of Anne Hidalgo's climate-focused legacy. “We won a cultural battle in Paris,” Grégoire told me in 2022. “The idea that our great cities of the world…are facing a major sustainability issue.” www.nybooks.com/articles/202...

Can Hungary Vote Out Its Autocrat? substack.com/@palmapolyak... - a view from the ground by @palmapolyak.bsky.social

I honestly think Italians are more attached to their constitution than Americans are to theirs.

This is (naturally, given the source) a good and thorough piece but the obsession with Trumpism is no good sign - and hopefully also bad for them electorally.

Greatly Concerning is quite high up the EU escalation ladder. Sarcasm aside, this is quite difficult for the EU to deal with. Commission and other member states will need a very very firm reaction, without at the same time playing into Orbáns election campaign.

okay! i wrote about The Secret Agent and how it's portrayal of death on screen feels more real than any other film i've seen www.jesseraub.online/the-absence-...

Our latest on the Orban System: how a dozen or so businessmen closely tied to the Hungarian premier hit gold from state contracts when he took over www.ft.com/content/70c2...

These were mayoral 🇫🇷 elections, so any national extrapolation is of course hazardous. But if you go by voting in towns with > 100,000 population, one cautious conclusion from last night’s voting is this : the broad non-populist centre can hold

I've been asked over the last few days/weeks what I think will happen on April 12th in Orbán's 🇭🇺 (and the aftermath), so here's my assessment, looking at everything as it stands now 🧵 tldr: It's complicated, and no one really knows (and those who say they do are either lying or overly confident) 1/

Two weeks ago, the German Greens defended the position of the Prime Minister of „The Länd“ Baden-Württemberg, tonight their candidate is elected Mayor of Munich by a large majority. Greens in Germany are not only back after dropping out of federal government - they are able to represent majorities!

PLM is safe…

Paris and Marseille - big centre-left wins against centre right (Paris) and far right (Marseille). Phew!

🗳️ Municipales à Marseille: le maire de gauche Benoît Payan largement réélu face au RN Franck Allisio.

One of the worst Anderlecht performances of the season, presaging a terrible playoff campaign and a heavy defeat in the Cup. Just didn’t have it in them against a team struggling to avoid relegation.

Well, 3-1 down after 35 minutes … Anderlecht are definitely bringing the excitement.

Une exposition que j'ai déjà hâte de découvrir sera visible dès mercredi 25/03 au musée Cognacq-Jay. Il en sera bien sûr question sur ce compte. #HDA

"“I am even further to the right than the far right on immigration,” said Mr. Stérin (...) Since he funds Christian projects, he said, he hopes he might eventually be canonized as a saint." www.nytimes.com/2026/03/22/w...

Tien jaar na de aanslagen ❤️‍🩹

Great piece on world cuisine on offer on Dublin’s Talbot St 😋😋 ‘This is my first foray into business in Ireland’: Multicultural cuisines of Talbot Street www.irishtimes.com/food/2026/03...

Wird es #Verbrenneraus oder #Deutscheautoraus?