Daniel Trilling, Guardian
The tabloid swiftly deleted its dubious exclusive linking Labour to a shadowy network' of postmodern hard-left extremists, says author Daniel Trilling
John Lloyd, Chatham House
The SNP may scent victory but secession is a long way off, writes John Lloyd
Matthew d'Ancona, Evening Standard
There is a much-loved episode of The West Wing, Game On, in which, preparing him for a candidates' debate, President Bartlet's team searches for 10 words that will capture his message. In the end, on the platform, Bartlet concludes that the quest is not only futile but actively destructive: Ten-word answers can kill you in political campaigns. They're the tip of the sword ... there aren't very many unnuanced moments in leading a country that's way too big for 10 words.
Lord Ashcroft, Conservative Home
The final round of my general election polling dashboard, based on 4,046 interviews between 5 and 9 December, shows clear Conservative leads on most measures but with Labour support continuing to harden at the expense of the Liberal Democrats as polling day approaches.
Jude Clemente, Forbes
Already the largest oil and gas producer, the U.S. is set to increase its share of 17% of global oil production and 23% of gas. Certain politicians must take notice of that: shale is our "Putin Buffer."
Ido Zelkovitz, Jer. Post
In a strategic shift, Abbas sought to rectify Arafat's mistakes, turning the Palestinian struggle from an armed campaign into a diplomatic one.
A. Herman, Mosaic
In some ways, the two countries have never been closer, but in others, and notably with regard to China, they've never seemed farther apart.
Daniel Gros, Project Syndicate
Ursula Von der Leyen, the new president of the European Commission, has promised to position the European Union as a geopolitical power that is capable of holding its own against the United States and a rising China. But the EU may come to regret any attempt to parlay its economic strength into geopolitical clout.
Daniel Trilling, Guardian
The tabloid swiftly deleted its dubious exclusive linking Labour to a shadowy network' of postmodern hard-left extremists, says author Daniel Trilling
G. Sampath, The Hindu
Here's the thing: no one in India is living in fear. The only people feeling fear are the ones who need to feel fear: the anti-nationals
Ravi Agrawal & Kathryn Salam, FP
Modi's government defends its stewardship even as it seeks to reverse a sharp economic slowdown.
Andreas Umland, Kyiv Post
Kyiv's dilemma, at today's Normandy Summit meeting, is that Vladimir Putin is not so much interested in the Donbas as he is in obtaining some degree of control or, at least, of instability in Ukraine, in general. What Russia's strategy in its Donbas policy in general and the current negotiations in Paris, in particular, comes
Suhasini Raj, New York Times
A bill establishing a religious test for immigrants has passed the lower house of Parliament, a major step for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist agenda.
Eric Farnsworth, World Politics Review
A season of discontent has descended across Latin America, where economies have stalled, politics have become more polarized and poisonous, and millions of newly middle-class citizens have begun to wonder whether they will be able to hold on to their hard-won gains. Sparked by a stolen election here, an increase in the price of gasoline or subway fares there, people from Ecuador to Chile to Bolivia and now Colombia have spilled into the streets angry with their leaders. Читать дальше...
Steve Bloomfield, Foreign Affairs
No one wants to talk about the real question looming over the ballot.
Jeremy Cliffe, NS
Watching from Germany, I am endlessly struck by the gap between the bombast of the UK's election campaign and the grim state of the country at large. Observing the country's politicians, an uninformed foreign observer would conclude that the UK is either a fabulously wealthy country and a world power on the scale of the US or China, capable of unilaterally shaping the terms of global affairs (the Tories), or a naturally fabulously wealthy country trodden underfoot and deprived... Читать дальше...
James Forsyth, The Sun
IT is YOUR CHOICE. On Thursday, you go to the polls and decide this country's future. We're told that every election is the most important in a generation. That's not true this time: it is the MOST
Judd Devermont, CSIS
The governments of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger are ill-equipped to confront the worsening security crisis in the region. Their approach to these challenges has been insufficient at best and counterproductive at worst. In contrast to its counterparts in Burkina Faso and Niger, Mali's political class is doing the bare minimum to respond to the conflict. Though the government faces some domestic pressure to address insecurity, it may believe there is an unacceptable political cost to doing more.
Frederick Kempe, Atlantic Council
China has emerged as the most formidable challenge that has ever faced NATO.
