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picture alliance / empics | Gareth Fuller

Future of social democracy

The mistakes that sealed Keir Starmer’s fate

Britain is set to get its seventh prime minister in a decade. Starmer’s technocratic politics proved ill-suited to an age of populist impatience

By Rohan McWilliam

picture alliance / ZUMAPRESS.com | Wiktor Szymanowicz

Work and digitalisation

Less hype, more power?

In an age of AI anxiety, Europe’s obsession with rules may become a rare strategic advantage

By Lutz Frühbrodt

picture alliance/dpa/Lehtikuva | Heikki Saukkomaa

Interviews

‘We must adapt to a new reality without abandoning what makes us Social Democrats’

Miia Järvi reflects on the success of Finland’s Social Democratic Party and the lessons it holds for others across Europe

picture alliance / Reuters | Max Rossi

Democracy and society

Til politics do us part

A decade after civil unions, Italy still doesn’t allow same-sex marriage — a sign of a political system unable to keep pace with its own society

By Andrea Enrici

Democracy and society

Eco-friendly xenophobia

With its upcoming referendum, the Swiss far right is rebranding exclusion as sustainability. If it succeeds, expect copycats across Europe

By Julius E. O. Fintelmann

picture alliance / teutopress

Interviews

‘We must openly address uncomfortable realities’

Matthias Miersch, SPD parliamentary leader, on security challenges and addressing them amid inequality

Foreign and security policy

Star wars redux

As space is set to become a central arena of geopolitical rivalry, Europe once again risks relegating itself to the role of a moralising bystander

By K.-P. Ludwig

picture alliance/dpa/TASS | Valery Sharifulin

Democracy and society

Moscow’s own goal

Russia wants to keep Armenia within its sphere of influence. Yet this mounting pressure could have exactly the opposite effect

By Narek Sukiasyan

picture alliance/Anadolu/Selcuk Acar

Foreign and security policy

Downfall of a superstar

Germany’s humiliating defeat in the race for a UN Security Council seat reveals the price of a foreign policy increasingly seen as hypocritical abroad

By Marcus Schneider

picture alliance / REUTERS | Anatolii Stepanov

Foreign and security policy

A negotiating table built on illusions

As long as the Kremlin sticks to its maximum demands, Ukraine does not need mediators — but strong allies

By Denis Trubetskoy