Almost all countries require their political leaders to relinquish power before they are ready to. Different political systems have different exit requirements. Tony Blair, who stepped down yesterday after ten years as British prime minister, was under no constitutional obligation to leave. Formally, a British prime minister exercises power on behalf of the Queen, who … Continue reading Prime Ministers and Presidents

What are the chances of another world depression? Even to ask the question might seem mischievous. Everything is going marvellously well. We have discovered the secret of everlasting growth. Don’t ruin it with inconvenient scepticism. Yet in 2001, after the Wall Street bubble burst (and only four years after the global 1998 crisis, which severely … Continue reading What are the chances of another world depression?

In my last column, I talked about how Russia’s great power illusion clashed with the facts of American power. I argued that, in present circumstances, its foreign policy should be designed to conciliate and please, not threaten and annoy. This is not the way Russia’s policy makers see things. Today I want to unpick two … Continue reading ‘Liberal Empire’ vs. ‘Sovereign Democracy’

Old men who have lost their potency comfort themselves with the thought that they can ‘still do it’. So do collapsed great powers. The outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair fantasised that his country’s ‘special relationship’ with the United States gave him unique influence over President George W. Bush. The European Union, having lost its … Continue reading Russia must tread more softly

The latest spat between Britain and Russia is largely a newspaper creation. The refugee oligarch Boris Berezovsky told the Guardian (13 April) that ‘he is planning the violent overthrow of President Putin from his base in Britain’. The Russian government was predictably, and understandably, annoyed. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s chief spokesman, said Russia would be … Continue reading Russia can beat Berezovsky with better PR

President Putin’s proposal for a ‘social’ parliament to ‘improve the links between government and society’, put forward after the attack on Beslan in September, has a chequered political lineage. The main historical idea is that a ‘social’, or ‘industrial’, or ‘functional’ parliament should be set up alongside the ‘political’ parliament, though in some schemes it … Continue reading Russia: Putin’s Public Chamber

On Monday I went to the launch in London of the 2005 Index of Economic Freedom. It is published every year by the Washington-based think-tank, the Heritage Foundation, in conjunction with the Wall Street Journal. It ranks 155 countries by how economically ‘free’ they are, according to 10 criteria. Seventeen countries are classified as ‘free’, … Continue reading Economic Freedom

Seizing the moment of pity and guilt created by the East Asian tsunami, the British government has launched an ambitious ‘Marshall Aid’ plan for the poorest countries in the world. It consists of three elements: debt relief, trade reform, and aid. As well as cancelling poor country debts owing to them, the wealthiest nations would … Continue reading Marshall Aid for Asia?

With Yasser Arafat dead, peace in the Middle East supposedly has a new chance. It is time to revive the ‘road map’, leading to the creation of a ‘viable’ Palestinian state. This presupposes that Arafat was the main obstacle to peace. He was the terrorist leader who never made the transition to being a statesman. … Continue reading Myths vs. Truths: The Middle East

Asked why he beat George Bush Senior in the US Presidential election of 1992, Bill Clinton answered ‘It’s the economy, stupid’. Last week Bush’s son might well have been tempted to say, ‘It’s moral values, stupid’. George Bush Junior, the reformed alcoholic and born-again Christian, became the standard-bearer of Middle America’s crusade against evil – … Continue reading Bush’s Arsenal