On Sunday Poland votes in the second round of the 2015 presidential elections, with current president Bronislaw Komorowski fighting to fend off the challenge of a younger Andrzej Duda. My account of the first round is at Poland presidential elections 2015. On Sunday evening I’ll be at the excellent Topolski Bar […]
++ UPDATE ++ Haha never believe opinion polls. According to the exit polls Duda has won the first round (35% or so) with Komorowski failing into second place (32%). Kukiz scored a mighty 20%. A huge battle will ensue for the second round run-off in two weeks’ time… * * […]
Here is my new piece at PunditWire about the tragic fate of UK Labour Party leader Ed Miliband: One of the best quotes about politics and democracy is attributed to US Senator Russell B Long: Democracy is like a raft. It won’t sink, but your feet are always wet. Here […]
My piece on the withdrawing by Australia of its ambassador to Indonesia following the execution in Indonesia of two Australian citizens described this move in rather uncharitable terms: The real problem with withdrawing an ambassador ‘in protest’ is that it actually is a gesture of weakness, of faux toughness You […]
Here is my piece over at PunditWire and Commentator describing a draft leaked keynote speech by Vladimir Putin in which he makes a decisive break with Soviet-era iconography and paranoia in favour of basic decency: Traditionally we have taken the Great Patriotic War as starting in June 1941 when Hitler […]
If you are in London on Tuesday and sick of the UK general elections, have fun thinking about Poland’s Presidential elections instead. You can watch the Polish Ambassador Witold Sobkow and me in discussion with Liam Halligan on the always interesting subject of Poland’s transition from communism to what it is now. […]
Here is a good example (video plus text) of how to deliver a speech using consecutive interpreting: short, sharp sentences. This rather diminishes the sense of the flow of the argument, but it (crucially) keeps up the sense of conversation with the audience. See Speechwriting for Leaders where I explain this […]
Actor Michael Sheen makes a ‘blistering’ speech about the UK National Health Service. Hurrah! If only our milksop politicians would have a bit of that passion and sincerity! Or not. Here is the speech. It’s a fine example of a good but very bad speech. Rather like the ill-fated Neil […]
So, in the past two weeks I have spent a week in chilly Kazakhstan (Astana) where the road-signs are rather difficult to fathom. Does this mean that public drinking while ten-pin bowling and carrying a primitive smartphone is banned? If it isn’t, it should be. In Astana I gave two […]
Off to Budapest tomorrow for a debate at the Danube Institute: Do Russia’s Ukraine policies threaten European stability? You might think that that falls into the QTWTAIY category fairly easily. That’s the side I’m arguing, ably assisted by James Sherr. But two hardy souls will be opposing this proposition. Vlad Sobell, […]
