Germany
Angela Merkel’s long chancellorship is nearing its close, but Merkelism will on
New Statesman international editor Jeremy Cliffe considers the contenders in line to succeed Germany’s formidable chancellor, and asks what will remain once she has gone?
France
How Macron’s strategic balancing act is wobbling
As France’s 2022 election looms, the New Statesman international correspondent Ido Vock profiles the president who styles himself as “Jupiter”. With support hemorrhaging on the left, can Macron make his electoral coalition hold?
Italy
Italy in the wake of coronavirus
Jeremy Cliffe travels from Berlin to Naples by train to work out what Italy’s future might hold in the shadow of the pandemic.
Turkey
Podcast: The end of cosmopolitan Turkey
The British-Turkish novelist, journalist and activist Elif Shafak joins the World Review podcast to discuss President Erdogan’s controversial changes to the Hagia Sophia, and the role of nationalist strongmen across the globe.
Europe
10 ways to ensure a more geopolitically active and relevant Europe
The EU’s primary concern during Covid-9 has been its own stability, but Jeremy Cliffe asks how it can now restore a focus on the wider world.
Belarus-UK
Why the actions of authoritarian leaders are an urgent political issue in the UK
Paul Mason argues that the West must do more about the rights and freedoms of democracy activists, such as those currently under arrest in Belarus.
Hungary
Who will stand up for rule of law in Hungary?
US Editor Emily Tamkin reviews the battle to declare “victory” in recent EU talks, and what that might mean for the future of Hungary’s civic freedoms.
Germany
The evolution of Anglo-German relations
Mark Damazer, former controller of BBC Radio 4, joins Jeremy Cliffe for a bonus episode of the World Review podcast. Together they discuss Damazer’s personal history with Germany and the evolution of Anglo-German relations since the Second World War.
Russia
Why the anti-Putin protests in Russia’s eastern city are something new
Ido Vock writes on how demonstrations in the far-flung city of Khabarovsk reveal the limits of Moscow’s hold over the regions.
Italy
How Silvio Berlusconi became Italy’s kingmaker
David Broder explores how the former prime minister now holds the keys to a new pro-European government in Rome.
Europe
Podcast: Macron’s balancing act
In a special editon of the World Review podcast, Jeremy Cliffe and Emily Tamkin are joined by Ido Vock, in Tbilisi, to discuss Macron’s balancing act, Merkel’s success, and the future of the Franco-German relationship.
Belarus
Why the clock is ticking on Belarus’s Lukashenko
The opposition’s wooing of Moscow may have sealed the fate of Europe’s “last dictator”, writes Ido Vock.