Shifts underway in Czech mainstream opposition - South Bohemia governor Martin Kuba quits Civic Democrats (ODS) to found new party (called Super Czechia). Was tipped as next ODS leaders. Long time critic of Together coalition & its focus on Babis as threat to dem www.seznamzpravy.cz/clanek/domac...

Never heard about this before . Interesting story. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Indeed. And he’s also not writing about “gut appeal”.

Twitter accounts are based in Russia. BlueSky accounts are based in homes with, frankly, too many books, plants, obsolete cables, and pieces of rustic pottery, that could do with a bit of a tidying up, to be honest.

After more than 10 years of “the Danish Model”, nativism is hegemonic in the country, the far right polls near level highs again, and the Social Democrats lost Copenhagen and poll at historic low. European Social Democrats should look at the facts, not the myths! Me in @theguardian.com

And older and middle aged can be the electoral backbone of some populist parties- the more interesting question, why the variation?

Winter is Coming - in the not unknown form of fateful alliances between the traditional right and the centre-right and technocratic centre-left with no better idea than to compete on cultural illiberalism. It won’t end well.

Have been thinking about “immigration has been tearing this country apart.” Surely I’m not the only person to think that it isn’t true, but inflamed rhetoric about immigration by politicians is what is tearing this country apart and so statements like that only makes it worse.

Velvet, Tender, Orange, Rose, Jasmine, Umbrella …. and now the Chalk Revolution. Robert Fico’s efforts to debate wuth high school students - clips of him sound patronising - backfire… spectator.sme.sk/politics-and...

Great podcast. This long winding red brick company town is the most atypical Czech city you’ll ever see. Built on shoes, not cars of course…. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/c...

Think @theguardian.com @jonhenley.bsky.social don’t have it 100% right here. Nothing in Czech Constitution as far as I know on conflict of interest. Presidential Office relying Constitutional Court ruling on conflict of interest laws how prez can take into account www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

They were talking after Fico first ruled it out in July (see below) but now Slovak media says it’s off again with Smer and Patriots for Europe. www.msn.com/en-us/politi...

#Farright and centre right unite in #EU parliament to undermine green rules www.ft.com/content/387d... #politics

"What matters is people’s party identification not the constituency they live in....Blue Labour believe...that Labour voters in the marginal Red Wall district have fundamentally different views on social...issues than Labour voters in safe London seats. They don’t." Fab by @benansell.bsky.social

Bloomsbury already looking pretty festive this evening.

A supplement to your compulsory company training - courtesy of @privateeyenews.bsky.social

Typically excellent by @anandmenon.bsky.social

Is #Russia the most malign actor in the global information sphere? Listen to another episode of my 🎙 #podcast, #TheGlobalAgora. I talked to #foreignpolicy and #security expert Jennifer Irish. ▶️ podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/and...

"The fact is that, through our own stupid fault, we’ve lost our status as the main Right-of-centre party. It’s now time to accept this loss — and focus instead on something we’ve gained....[W]e represent the neither/nor option i.e. neither unfettered populism nor a new coalition of chaos."

Czechoslovak Legion could have prevented formation of Soviet Union claims Czech historian. Now there’s a thought. www.seznamzpravy.cz/clanek/magaz...

sometimes to read a book of poetry is to be reminded that another person is much funnier and better at expressing their pain than you are

Slovak prosecutor decides giving #Ukraine fighter jets was not a crime www.politico.eu/article/slov... #Slovakia #Putinswar #Russia

Jingoistic types have knowingly stepped into the vexillological vacuum of European flag bearing. Mindful of the provocation, moderates are striking back. The subtext is that progressives need not leave patriotism to the demagogic fringes

Ukraine’s best defence against Putin’s energy war is more attacks on Russia’s oil refining sector www.chathamhouse.org/2025/11/ukra... #Ukraine #Putinswar #Russia

Tim Berners-Lee dreamed of a World Wide Web for everyone. Nick Clegg and Meta had different ideas. In new books, both ignore how profit undermined the internet.

incredible that these guys have a massive hard on for a country that, if it were a state, would rank behind kansas in terms of wealth and which would be a total backwater if it weren’t economically integrated with more functional countries

The Slow Death of Russian Oil: Why Ukraine’s Campaign Against Moscow’s Energy Sector Is Working www.foreignaffairs.com/russia/slow-... via @foreignaffairs.com #Russia #Ukraine #Putinswar

It is both ethically wrong & fundamentally anti-democratic for one man to command this much wealth and power. States spent centuries trying to tame the power of over-mighty subjects. The rise of the global barons is not compatible with democracy as we've understood it. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

#EU candidate countries must choose sides before joining bloc, Commissioner Kos tells Euronews www.euronews.com/my-europe/20... #politics #foreignpolicy

Liberal minds are neurologically wired to accept greater uncertainty than conservative minds. Which leads the latter to reject change: medicine, tech, migration. Fascinating. www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...

Czech lower house elects #farright party leader Tomio Okamura as speaker www.reuters.com/world/czech-... #Czechia #politics

www.seznamzpravy.cz/clanek/zahra... Foreign policy of the emerging Babiš government in Czechia stresses sovereignty, national interests & economic diplomacy. Doesn’t mention values or support for Ukraine. Orbanesque say journalists. Well yes, kinda. But also descendant of Klaus outlook of 2000s

A majority of voters, and a plurality of white voters, think that Reform is a racist party with racist policies.

💥 Viktor Orbán faces a possible ousting in April 2026 — and whether he manages to cling to power or not, his regime and its global allure as a model for autocrats worldwide are crumbling. Read the sharpest analysis available.

The experience of some east European countries absolutely confirms this.

Constitutions are only as strong as the willingness of institutions, parties & - above all - voters to uphold them. A constitution cobbled together in a contested process, that lacked broad public support, in the absence of agreement on big constitutional questions, would be a high road to disaster

Snažím se přeložit do angličtiny nejnovější výraz z českého politického slangu, „strejcokracie“. Nic lepšího mě nenapadá než „codger-ocracy“, což ale asi nebude srozumitelné pro mluvčí americké angličtiny.

The tangled internal politics of Czechia’s Civic Democratic Party (ODS), have again enriched the Czech language. Latest new term - describing dominance of past-it generation of politicians - “strejcokracie”. My translation to British English? “codgerocracy” cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strejco...

when all this is over we need to have a pretty serious conversation about the utter moral failure of the elite of this country

Well, yes, crisis of democracy.

After visiting National Gallery in London, I realised that my thoughts about the post-election situation in the Czech Republic can be summarised like this:

US ‘on a trajectory’ toward authoritarian rule, ex-officials warn www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Missed last week’s round table discussion of the Czech elections @uclssees.bsky.social ? Listen on YouTube youtu.be/25qTe3NM4-M?...

Filip Turek’s surprise, surprise) racist and misogynistic social media posts are leading prominent ANO figures publicly to reject Motorist leader as a possible Foreign Minister. A cynic might say they probably knew of these messages for a long time and anticipated playing this card.

“Win every election” is not a viable strategy for preventing authoritarianism

The centre-right and liberal centre in Czechia only ever win when lots small parties on left and populist side fall below 5% threshold (1992, 2010, 2022), - the default is for them be out of power argues @jindrichsidlo.zpravobot.news.ap.brid.gy Yes, spot on. www.seznamzpravy.cz/clanek/domac...

Orbán's regime is a psychiatric case: László Krasznahorkai, #NobelPrize for Literature winner. yalereview.org/article/l%C3... #Hungary

The advice I give young people on choice of degree programme. Choose something you love. You’ve got the rest of your life to be frustrated and miserable.

After a conversation with Monday’s MA class, now wondering what a meeting between Donald Trump and Nicolae Ceaucescu would’ve been like.

A Wargame to Take #Taiwan, from China’s Perspective warontherocks.com/2025/10/a-wa... #China