Robinson was banned from Twitter in 2018 for violating its guidelines on “hateful content,” but his account was reinstated last year following Musk’s takeover and rebranding of the platform. He is currently serving an 18-month prison sentence for breaching a court order relating to false claims about a Syrian schoolboy he had made in a … Read more
Flattery from Macron Musk hasn’t yet thrown his endorsement behind Marine Le Pen and the French far right. But President Macron — who, like Scholz in Germany, is politically fragile and facing domestic turbulence — is desperate to get him onside. He has been urging the tech entrepreneur, alongside Trump, to attend a major artificial … Read more
Musk’s comments come amid an ongoing feud with the U.K.’s governing Labour Party — and just days after the tech billionaire spoke out in support of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. “Musk’s support not just for Tommy Robinson, but also the AfD in Germany, shows just how big a problem he is for … Read more
But to what extent this can be blamed on social media is still an open question. “Polarization,” once painted as a global crisis stemming from online platforms, now looks more like a product of the highly idiosyncratic political and media culture in the U.S. One recent study found that polarization stayed the same or decreased … Read more
The endorsement sparked a firestorm in Germany, with the government and politicians across the spectrum accusing Musk of attempting to influence the outcome of the February election. “Musk is strengthening those who are weakening Europe,” Germany’s vice chancellor and economy minister, Robert Habeck, also said in his New Year’s address. Musk has launched a series … Read more
At the other end of Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine continues. Ukrainians chalked up some successes in 2024, becoming a dominant force in the Black Sea despite the country’s tiny navy, and mounting a counteroffensive into Russia’s Kursk region in August. But they are ending this year on the back foot, having lost many of … Read more
Salome Zourabichvili’s term in office ends on Sunday — but Georgia’s pro-Western president says she’s not going anywhere. Zourabichvili on Saturday joined thousands of people across the country forming human chains to protest against the installation of a new president — far-right firebrand and former footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili — set to take place Sunday. Speaking … Read more
LONDON — There wasn’t a great deal of time for reading in Westminster this year. Labour’s election supermajority, dramas over freebies and staff, war everywhere, a tax-hiking budget, and a heap of missions, milestones, foundations, pillars and steps kept Britain’s politicians on their toes. But, thankfully, some of Westminster’s finest still managed to steal a … Read more
“We’ve seen a deterioration in the sense of control of the public realm,” said Conservative MP Kit Malthouse, who served as deputy mayor of London for policing between 2008 and 2012. “If a city gets a reputation for being high crime, it puts a lot of people off.” Everyone POLITICO interviewed agreed that more active … Read more
Fragile coalition So far, the junior coalition partner — left-wing Sumar — has stood by the PSOE. However, with its majority depending on a broad array of parties including Catalan and Basque nationalists, the government’s stability is shaky. That became apparent when the Catalan separatist party Junts, Sánchez’s most restive ally, this month proposed a … Read more
