Latest Articles
We are encouraged to rely more and more on government officials to do for us what we could equally well do for ourselves—and, maybe more importantly, not to do what might help us solve our own problems.
Sep 08 2024
10 mins
If we imagine a metric called the Pinocchio Scale, which measures the number of lies told by a politician as a percentage of his or her overall public statements, our current prime minister (for want of a better description), Airbus Albo, has moved well into uncharted territory.
Sep 06 2024
5 mins
The Importance of Being Germany
dThe far-right Allianz für Deutschland, which has had seats in the Bundestag for a while now, has won some new local elections. At 20 per cent support, it is the second-most popular party in the former East German lands, not far behind Kanzler Scholz’s Socialists (SPD), who lead an awkward GroKo with the Greens and FDP (fiscal conservatives). The main Conservatives (CDU) once swore never to co-operate with AfD but, out of office, are alternately mulling and denying such plans. Berlin’s political classes, possibly the world’s most educated, are taking notice.1
Events faintly recall Germany’s last “traffic light” coalition, which also made a U-turn on defence spending. The Chancellor then was Gerhart Schröder; environment was Angela Merkel; and foreign affairs Joschka Fischer. The “red-black-green” Groko was a first with Greens, first to cut welfare, first to send troops out of Germany (to the Balkans). “Never yet,” mused the Austrian novelist Robert Musil last…
We are encouraged to rely more and more on government officials to do for us what we could equally well do for ourselves—and, maybe more importantly, not to do what might help us solve our own problems.
Sep 08 2024
10 mins
If we imagine a metric called the Pinocchio Scale, which measures the number of lies told by a politician as a percentage of his or her overall public statements, our current prime minister (for want of a better description), Airbus Albo, has moved well into uncharted territory.
Sep 06 2024
5 mins
The proportions of Aboriginal children and young people placed in a relative or kin placement or with an Aboriginal foster carer have decreased, and the proportion of Aboriginal children who were reunified with their families has declined.
Aug 29 2024
17 mins
