As ever, it was quite a sight to see the mall decked out with the pomp of a state visit yesterday, with the turkish president in town, a country I know well from hosting a wonderful group of young lawyers and then in turn being taken around the antechambers of ankara and istanbul, making friendships I still have today (the photo is me with the last turkish president). By the time I was working for europe, accession talks were many years in, but by 2007 they were stalled, mainly over the cyprus issue, and they’ve now pretty much ground to a halt, even as others like croatia (25 may 2011) are nearing completion. There’s a bitter flavour in turkey now,…

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Once spanish elections tomorrow deliver a strong centre-right government, not one single large european country will have a government of the centre left; indeed of the 27 it’s just denmark, cyprus and slovenia (austria’s a left-right coalition), just over 2% of the population. And this at a time when it is supposedly the evils of capitalism, free markets gone mad and greedy profit-taking bonus-paying banks that have miserably failed, calling massively on statist support and plunging everything into recession and oblivion. So why have europeans turned so markedly to the traditional centre-right home of capital ? Part of the answer lies in a traditional wave effect, throwing the bums out and seeking change, and part is in sending nixon to…

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There are a few characters in my family (goodbye ralph, 15 february 2010), and one is my great uncle jack white, who was I think the second jew to be awarded britain’s highest military honour, the victoria cross. He got it at gallipoli, when his boat came under attack, and as the only man not injured, he jumped into the water and, under heavy fire, tied telephone wire to the boat, took it in his teeth, and towed everyone to safety. I mustn’t have been going to enough family barmitzvahs lately, as I saw a sign above my cousin’s law firm today that led me to this amazing website and the discovery that jack’s factory, which he returned from the…

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Despite the fact that for rather too many people (especially brits) “europe” is in its death throes, the pronounced trend of senior eu officials and politicians vaulting back into prominent national positions continues apace, suggesting that most think they have savvy experience. Romano prodi, former commission president, was I think the first to make prime minister, and the last sensible italian one, very ably supported by my old ecb boss tomasso padoa schioppa (25 october 2009) as his excellent finance minister; the same role held in spain by ex-commissioner pedro solbes. In finland the foreign minister is the boyish alexander stubb, who I had the absolute delight of hosting for lunch once in frankfurt (31 august 2010) at one of…

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Sometimes, a little time to reflect is better than instant reaction, and a week on, as opposed to a day, the results of last week’s euro summit look pretty much as they did on the night: it is enough. Or at least, it is until it’s not, when the actors showed themselves determined enough to go the next half-mile. The day after, the greek prime-minister’s referendum announcement shattered the “no surprise” rule, and merkel and sarkozy responded in kind, breaking the “never talk about a break up” rule, saying that there was a choice for greece: take the medicine or leave the euro. That was the dose of salts needed, as while some 60% of greeks are against…

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The big force behind the tea party movement in america is the perception that through government action thrifty and sensible americans are paying for the reckless overstretch of others, "do we really want to subsidise the losers' mortgages ?" ranted rick santelli, "this is america ! How many of you people want to pay for your neighbour's mortgage that has an extra bathroom and can't pay their bills ?". That’s moral hazard of the personal kind, with a policy also echoed in europe. Now, they’re at it again, as obama announces more government loans for homeowners whose mortgages are rather too high. Like quantative easing, the basic rationale for this seems to be stimulus, i.e. how can we get people…

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We have been klocking up the kilometres recently. Yesterday, we drove down to halton hall to meet my sister’s family (coming up from london), although without my other half, who has gone to budapest (see this amazing photo) for a few days. And earlier this week, we had a much-needed few days in the scottish highlands. We drove up to crianlaroch, taking the train to fort william, where we spent the night, and saw snow for the first time this year, sitting nonchalantly on ben nevis. The next day was the major highlight of the gorgeous train to mallaig, now to be known forever as the harry potter train, due to the scene from the film, which was indeed breathtakingly…

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At the more sensible end of british think tanks on europe, the centre for european reform has maintained a cogent analysis of the euro crisis, which is essentially that its genesis lies in the inbuilt need for wages to fall for competitiveness to be maintained in one part of the eurozone vis a vis others, because the traditional way to do that, devaluation, is no longer an option. Over the euro’s lifetime, germans have done precisely that, becoming both keenly competitive and also, because wages and consumer confidence have stagnated, avid savers, so depressing consumption. Being so competitive, exports boomed, great for germany, but bad for those uncompetitive areas sucking in imports, where wages and asset prices boomed instead,…

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It’s kol nidrei (see the great jazz singer) tonight, and I’ll be there, as slowly we integrate onto our community here. I’ll be asking for peace, and so it’s appropriate that it’s also the day the most famous peace roll call is added to, as this year ellen johnson sirleaf, leymah gbowee and tawakkul karman are awarded the nobel peace prize. I do try in my own way to bring joy to those I know and a better basis of happiness to those I don’t, but how can we but gasp at the laureates’ incredible feats, as they show themselves ready to sacrifice their very lives, let alone wellbeing and happiness, for the vast good of millions of others. They…

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