Opinion

Who’s the real Andy Burnham?

Keir Starmer’s chief challenger, Andy Burnham, has been portrayed as a political chameleon, but he will be forced to reveal his true self if he becomes the next Labour leader and Prime Minister. That may prove difficult for a politician known for adopting positions according to the mood of the day and whatever best serves his own career.

The Viking row exposes Norway’s cultural nerves

Norway’s Viking row began as a football celebration. When parliament joined in, it exposed a larger truth: culture, heritage and national symbols still matter — and there should be no shame in that.

Trump’s Iran deal is a strategic opportunity

If Trump’s framework succeeds in silencing the guns, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, reducing risks to Israel and the Gulf region, and creating a diplomatic window to address Iran’s nuclear program, that would be a positive outcome. The question is what happens next. The answer will determine whether this marks a genuine turning point or merely a pause before the next crisis.

AfD consolidates its position as Germany’s largest party, but it won’t matter

Alternative für Deutschland is consolidating its position as Germany’s largest party, but in real-political terms that means nothing so long as those who do not oppose the takeover and Islamisation of the country are, collectively, the larger group.

The Greta Thunberg myth is beginning to crack

Greta Thunberg stepped into a mythological spectacle as an innocent child with moral and intellectual authority who told power the truth. When she is linked to terrorist movements and antisemitism, the myth cracks. It exposes how people let themselves be fascinated by illusion. But when Thunberg is gone, the myth will no doubt find other figures.

Trump: Iran already has a new leadership

USA and Israel have killed the two top layers of Iranian leadership. Those who have taken over are far more compliant and smarter, said Trump at a press conference laced with Trumpisms: spontaneous impulses and outbursts. Trump appears to suggest that a regime change is underway in Tehran, analogous to the course change in Venezuela. The USA took out the leader, and the rest changed course. Something similar is underway in Tehran, Trump believes.

Roger Pielke Jr. paid a high price for telling the truth

The climate panel’s abandonment of its most catastrophic climate-change scenarios marked a moral victory for climate scientist Roger Pielke Jr. But the truth about the consequences of climate change was so unwelcome that the University of Colorado effectively squeezed him out. As the climate debate became increasingly politicised, colleagues turned their backs on him.

When death is offered as a solution

Active euthanasia is often presented as the most humane response to unbearable suffering. Yet a society’s moral maturity is also measured by its ability to protect human dignity when suffering is at its greatest, dependence at its deepest, and utilitarian considerations at their most tempting.

Legitimising hatred under the pretext of Trump and MAGA is now mainstream in Norway

LO and the far left are proud of having showered American tourists with hatred in Trondheim, while Adresseavisen and the Education Association legitimise the abuse. With Trump and MAGA as a pretext, anything is permitted in the new Norwegian “democracy” — including calling people “cockroaches”. Political discrimination in the public sphere has become mainstream in Norway.

Lesbian Scottish minister bows to Islam by donning hijab in comic stunt

In a video reminiscent of a 1990s comedy sketch, Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth—a blonde, lesbian woman wearing a hijab—speaks about solidarity with “faith groups” following protests in the wake of the attempted beheading in Belfast. We prostrate ourselves before an aggressive religion while simultaneously erasing our own culture and faith, in the belief that it will devour us last. But the working class in Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom is unlikely to be impressed by such theatrical displays.