Parliament for a week

The renaming of the world's largest cricket stadium after India's prime minister, has renewed accusations of narcissism and a growing personality cult around the nationalist leader, in the latest row over politically-driven name changes in the country. The announcement that the 132,000-seat venue formerly known as Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad would be become the Narendra Modi Stadium sparked delight in his supporters and scorn from political opponents. Mr Modi's gift for oratory and keen populist instincts have made him by far the most popular politician in India, and in 2019 won his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a second term. Yet he has also attracted accusations of vanity and attempting to glorify himself as the founder of a new Hindu India. Critics last week asked whether the stadium's new name was an attempt to bolster his legacy with a relabelling spree. Dedicating sports stadiums to former prime ministers is common in India, but renaming such a high-profile venue for … [Read more...] about Modi accused of remaking India in his image after renaming world’s largest stadium after himself

Not believing in very much is usually a strength in a politician, and it has served Boris Johnson well. But there are times when it is a weakness and now is one of those times. He had to pretend to be Conservative to get himself out of a hole earlier this year, only to find that he was like a worm that went down when it thought it was coming up. In order to buy off a rebellion among Conservative MPs, who came close to getting rid of him in January, Johnson changed the team in No 10, appointing a cabinet minister, Steve Barclay, as chief of staff to replace Dan Rosenfield. Rosenfield was a political appointment but had been a civil servant, whereas Barclay was a political appointment of an actual politician. Andrew Griffith, a Tory MP, was brought in to head the No 10 policy unit. And David Canzini, a more “political” special adviser than Rosenfield, was brought in as deputy chief of staff. Canzini was quickly credited by Tory MPs with repairing a connection between the … [Read more...] about It won’t be long before Boris Johnson does the popular thing, and adopts Labour’s policy

Ukraine's bid to join the European Union has left the bloc struggling to square its support for Ukraine with the concerns of western member states, many of which are skeptical of enlargement and wary of setting a precedent of "fast-track" membership. Member states appear largely open to eventual Ukrainian membership, but division between east and west has arisen as to exactly how and when this might happen. The road to Brussels is long and, at times, painful for aspirants. The journey can typically take around a decade, involving labyrinthine negotiations and structural national reforms. The shortest process was for Austria, Finland, and Sweden—all took nearly five years to meet the criteria. Negotiations to expand into eastern Europe took more than 10 years. The existential threat from Russia prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his top officials to call for an accelerated process, an appeal which appears to have fallen flat. The EU has acted with … [Read more...] about Ukraine’s EU application is splitting Europe in two