Bayrou Peters Out, Villepin Starts Up
The Socialists have announced that they will file a censure motion against Prime Minister Bayrou. This was a demise foretold months ago when Bayrou first proposed the idea of a […]
Review of Brandon Bloch, Reinventing Protestant Germany: Religious Nationalists and the Contest for Post-Nazi Democracy
Reviewed by Philip Decker Brandon Bloch has written a superb new history of Germany’s twentieth century, told from the perspective of a large, heterogenous cast of Protestant theologians, intellectuals, judges, […]
Reprieve
Eventually, even the blind man can read the handwriting on the wall. Despite his stubbornness, Emmanuel Macron knows how to read, and recognizing that the end was nigh, he finally […]
If at first you don’t succeed …
Chers amis, my powers of punditry are exhausted. Why would Macron re-appoint Lecornu, who failed to form a government less than a week ago? Has Bruno Retailleau agreed this time […]
Regime Crisis?
Today, Édouard Philippe called on Emmanuel Macron to resign (after passage of a budget) and call an early presidential election, gladdening the heart of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who declared that LFI […]
Now what?
The Lecornu government is no more, only hours after being named. I will waste no words on what went wrong: Lecornu was doomed from the beginning, because neither he nor […]
Sarkozy Gets Five Years
Former president Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to 5 years in prison (not just an electronic ankle bracelet, which he’s been wearing for some time now) for his part in […]
Macron Marks Time
In military parlance, “to mark time” is to move one’s feet in a steady cadence without actually going anywhere. Emmanuel Macron, who entered politics with the command “En Marche!”, is […]
Lecornu
Macron, acting quickly for once, has nominated defense minister Sébastien Lecornu to be the next prime minister. This, of course, resolves nothing if Lecornu cannot win the confidence of the […]
New Piece in Foreign Policy
I have a new piece in Foreign Policy. Unfortunately, it’s paywalled, and the title misrepresents the content, which is about what will happen when Bayrou falls and Macron doesn’t resign. […]
Some Thoughts on Bayrou’s Gambit
L’Express put some questions to me about the current crisis, and I answered them. A shortened, edited French version was published online today but is behind a paywall. Here is […]