A recent piece by The Wall Street Journal points out that right-wing populist parties are leading the polls in all three of the largest European economies: Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement national in France, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in the United Kingdom, and Alice Weidel’s Alternative für Deutschland in Germany. What is behind this phenomenon?

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, fresh from nearly an hour-long private meeting with Vladimir Putin in Beijing, announced he will deliver a ‘very serious message’ to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday. Fico’s role echoes Viktor Orbán’s earlier peace missions, though the Slovak leader emerges at a moment when Putin insists no peace is possible without addressing NATO expansion.

‘Paradoxically, it appears that democracy can only sustain and protect itself from collapse—whether through tyranny or chaos—by relying on elements that are not themselves democratic. It often seems easier to justify democracy with a quasi-mystical hypothesis than with one grounded in the actual conditions of political reality.’

Talk of the Democratic Party’s extinction has surged since Trump’s 2024 win, fueled by party registration drops and the looming census set to take away electoral votes from blue states. But history shows that, since 1856, both Democrats and Republicans have survived long losing streaks, electoral setbacks, and predictions of demise—proving that in US politics, fortunes can shift fast.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s remark calling Vladimir Putin ‘an ogre at our gates’ marks a dangerous shift in Europe’s war rhetoric. Once confined to online echo chambers, dehumanizing language is now openly used by Western leaders—laying the ground for escalation, while exposing the blatant hypocrisy of those who once condemned such tactics when used by Donald Trump.

What is the relationship between the Romanian and Hungarian governments like, and what role does the RMDSZ play in it? Can Szeklerland be granted autonomy? And why does Romania support Ukraine? We spoke with Romanian foreign policy analyst and former presidential adviser Iulian Chifu in Tusványos.

At the SCO summit in Tianjin, leaders from Russia, China, India and beyond gathered to deepen trade ties, challenge Western influence, and promote a new Eurasian vision. With Europe largely absent, and figures like Modi, Putin and Xi taking centre stage, the summit signalled a significant shift in global power dynamics.