177. Olaf Scholz: Putin, Power, and Far-Right Populism
23 February 2026
Post
18 January 2010
177. Olaf Scholz: Putin, Power, and Far-Right Populism
Does the former German Chancellor think that Germany was wrong to rely on Russian gas in the run up to the war in Ukraine? What does Olaf Scholz think is behind the rise of the far-right Alternative f... Continue23 February 2026
Posted by Goalhanger
23 February 2026
Posted by Goalhanger
503. Andrew’s Arrest: What Next?
Why has the disgraced Andrew Mountbatten Windsor been arrested? How damaging is this unprecedented moment for the royal family? How effective was King Charles’ response? Join Alastair and the forme... Continue19 February 2026
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502. How Nigel Farage Gets Away With It (Question Time)
Why is Reform UK's leader not being properly challenged by the press, and how does he get away with it? What does this reveal about the international populist playbook? How can our democracies be bett... Continue19 February 2026
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176. How Close Are We To War With Iran? (Robert Malley)
How does the former US Special Representative for Iran think US-Iranian relations will improve? Is there a method to Trump’s madness when it comes to foreign policy? Why does Robert believe the “t... Continue16 February 2026
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501. Is Starmer Too Soft on Trump? Inside the Munich Security Conference
Why did Trump's Secretary of State Marco Rubio 'love bomb' Europe at the Munich Security Conference, and how did it compare to JD Vance's infamous 'enemy within' speech this time last year? Is Europe ... Continue16 February 2026
Posted by Goalhanger
13 February 2026
Posted by Goalhanger
500. Japan, China, and the Fight for Taiwan (Question Time)
Are Japan and China closer to conflict over Taiwan, after the landslide victory for Japan's 'Iron Lady', Sanae Takayichi? Does Trump’s crumbling American-Hispanic vote explain his extreme reaction t... Continue12 February 2026
Posted by Goalhanger
What a wonderful way to start the blogoweek. Hilarious. Absolutely hilarious. And so believable
Keep it up. And as you found at OT on Saturday, the media have no idea how much the public dislike and disrespect them. Their coverage of your appearance at the inquiry, and the inquiry more generally, was the latest eg of bias. I read in a German newspaper last week that Iraq’s economy is growing faster than at any time in history and that the deaths there are lower than since pre Saddam. I cannot claim to read every UK newspaper but I have certainly head nothing to that effect here.
Whoever put that together deserves the Order of Lenin! I saw the Nick Griffin one, but this is funnier. And the great thing is that because I have no idea what Dacre looks or sounds like, because of his paper, I imagine him to be like this
‘One of the most evil men in Britain’!!!! A bit of hyperbole perhaps but still quite amusing.
Personally I liked the abuse of Oborne, though the casting wasn’t too good as that actor didn’t look like he’d lunched well.
As a complete aside, where is George Osbourne these days? Is he being kept in a locked room, out of the way?
Tee hee! Poor Mr Dacre, how awful to go through life without a sense of humour. No wonder the paper he edits contains so much bitterness and envy.
But I have good news. Although the Mail is Britain’s second best selling newspaper it still only reaches about one voter in ten and I know one regular reader who doesn’t believe everything she reads in it.
So, unlike Mr Dacre apparently, we live in hope…
Give it a rest Alastair! It sounds like you’re the one with the obsession with Paul Dacre, rather than the other way round. You never shut up about him. He’s obviously got under your skin!
Just been watching your former colleague Mr Powell. Interesting to see you both attacking the former ambassador, Mr Meyer, whose evidence made me understand rather better why Prime Ministers might want to bring their own trusted advisors rather than rely on people like him. What a creep!
Hi Alastair, I’ve been thinking how Blair should answer this ‘growing’ thing that the enquiry is obsessing on. He should simply say: ‘as sanctions eroded and inspectors were not allowed back and cooperated with fully, the threat could only continue to grow. This is what I interpreted from the intelligence information and the message I was trying to get across to the public; that if we did not face up to this threat the programmes would only grow’.
I bet the staff at the Mail love the vid almost as much as Dacre loves AC.
Do you honestly feel the whole sorry saga of the invasion of Iraq was ‘decent and good’, that not just the deaths of many British servicemen but of several hundreds of thousand ordinary Iraqis was ‘decent and good’, that cribbing from a decade-old thesis found on the net to cobble together a half-hearted justification for the invasion was ‘decent and good’, that the hounding of the pensioner at the Labour Party conference was ‘decent and good’? Or Blair exempting Formula 1 from the tobacco ad ban for a £1 million backhander from Bernie Ecclestone? Do you honestly think that was decent and good? If so you really must be a sandwich short of a picnic rather as I have long suspected Blair was.