Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

LightNews

ScandinoIR

@scandinoir.bsky.social

77 followers 160 following 1K posts

Mallorcan but also a bit Basque, and with a pinch of Britishness, a touch of Swedish and some Bosnian for good measure.

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 4h

...while still voting Republican and likely willing to vote for Trump once again in 2028.

The worrying thing is that contempt for basic democratic norms is no longer a deal-breaker for many voters. Many agree that a certain politician is trying to establish a dictatorship, and gladly vote for it!

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 6h

That's definitely the lesson the EU seems to have drawn, seeing as how they're slow-walking the applications of MKD, ALB, BIH and MON.

I do think there was a value in integrating the post-Soviet states as soon as possible to support their democratic transitions. But downsides too, as you say

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 6h

Same here to be honest, I was just relaying what I've heard from people who follow the issue more closely than I do.

But it does feel like most member states are getting sick of Orbán, and the few that aren't might be persuadable

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 6h

Article 7 allows for the suspension of a member state's voting rights:
carnegieendowment.org/europe/strat...

Suspend Hungary’s Voting Rights to Save the EU’s Credibility

Hungary’s attempts to paralyze EU foreign policy through vetoes and blackmail continue. By failing to make Budapest pay, Brussels is normalizing such behavior and inviting further disruption.

carnegieendowment.org

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 6h

What I've heard is that the EU are just waiting until Hungary's elections in 2026. If Orban loses, as current polling suggests, the problem will be greatly diminished. If not, the EU will take out the big guns

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 17h

Isn't it precisely because moderate Republicans have seen Trumpism up close and realised that it's impossible to tame it or triangulate with it. Too many moderate Democrats still have wet dreams about the mythical policy mix that will win Trumpists over while retaining Democratic voters

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 17h

She's betting that the next stage of Republicanism is even less intellectual than the current one, not more. And judging by current evidence, I think that's a good bet.

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 1d

... But TBF, they could still qualify through the Nations League, apparently. The thing with expanding the World Cup to include half the world is that even teams that don't deserve it can end up qualifying

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 1d

I love just 200 metres or so from the football stadium here in Gothenburg, and can always gauge how a match goes from the sounds reaching my living room. Yesterday was 90 minutes of groans and tense silence, a sure sign of a manager in deep trouble....

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 2d

No, el CIS no suele acertar. Hay mucha evidencia de que son de los que menos aciertan, y además siempre fallan en favor del gobierno actual.

Ser de izquierdas no debería impedirnos criticar lo que está pasando con el CIS.

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 2d

Gracias por decirlo. Si está mal está mal, por mucho que el bando que lo hace sea supuestamente de izquierdas. Me da vergüenza ajena ver los sondeos del CIS

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 2d

On a serious note, I also think all those phone numbers we memorised as children tell us something about human memory. I still know the phone numbers of my best childhood friends even though it's been 20+ years since I had to use those nuggets of knowledge. Why do we retain that for so long?

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 2d

Can't say I blame them. Eating roasted chestnuts while taking a paseo is one of the greatest small joys of Spanish winters

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 2d

Just visited while staying in Ronda and Granada. And dreamed of moving there some day, when I finally bite the bullet and leave Sweden in order to return to the motherland!

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 2d

I thought Zahara de la Sierra was very pretty. Quite small but worth a detour if you're in the area

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 2d

Was that when Vox started climbing in the polls? I have no recollection really. But my fear is that many Vox voters are voting for them out of a general sense of "everything is shit, let's break everything" rather than about specific policies or events. Very hard to counter such a vibe vote

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 3d

Grim reading. I've been very critical of Pedro Sanchez but I truly struggle to imagine what his government could have done differently. Sure, the housing crisis is outrageous but nothing that can be solved by one government over 5-6 years.

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 3d

A very interesting article (as always) by Tom Calver. It does leave me wondering if there's any research on Poles who moved to the UK in the 2000s and have since moved back. What are their occupations, ages, family status? How much are they now contributing to the Polish economy?

Tom Calver @tomcalver.bsky.social · 3d

🇵🇱 My @thetimes column: Poland’s economic miracle

12 out of 17 Polish regions are now richer than West Wales. It has faster internet, cheaper electricity and more high speed rail than Britain

When it comes to regional development it’s the UK, not Poland, that needs to catch up

1/3

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 3d

...but the worrying fact is that no left-of-centre party seems to have figured out a strategy to win elections in the current environment. Being open to immigration or caving in to the racists seem to have relatively similar electoral results.

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 3d

Indeed. For me, the point is not "Sánchez is positive about immigration and that will make him win elections" but rather "Sánchez is likely to lose just like Starmer, but at least he is standing up to the racists which is a good thing regardless of results"...

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 3d

Los artículos están enlazados, seguro que ahí encuentras la respuesta a tu duda sincera

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 3d

While Spain is currently probably the world's leading wokeness factory

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 4d

Eagle brand roasted peanuts with honey and salt. It'd probably drive both my dentist and my GP crazy but I could eat a kilo of those in one sitting.

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 4d

Pues nada, te deseo un buen día y mucha suerte con tus excelentes modales

ScandinoIR @scandinoir.bsky.social · 4d

Qué insultos personales tan gratuitos, no? Tratas así a la gente en tu vida diaria?