Garvan Walshe
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garvanwalshe.org
Garvan Walshe
@garvanwalshe.org
Civic entrepreneur building broadsheet social media at kronkite.social. I also chair Unhack Democracy and write on foreign affairs, defence and democracy.

My substack: garvanwalshe.org
Pinned
A Trumpist attack on Greenland wouldn’t just be an attack on Denmark or Europe. It would be the start of a civil war in the transatlantic alliance between NATO and MAGA factions.

NATO has plenty of supporters in the US. Unfortunately MAGA despite its inherent imperialism has not a few in Europe.
Monnet created the Coal and Steel community to stop this kind of nonsense. Just hand the thing over to Kubilius to sort out for you :)
February 10, 2026 at 10:17 AM
Vote remain…because the EU will turn into Argentina anyway?
The "Argentinian approach" to kill EU competitiveness stone dead. Wonder how much worrying there is in Germany about an increasing France problem. Because this is supposedly a centrist government.
A French government-linked strategy body on Monday urged the EU to impose a 30% tariff on Chinese imports, warning Beijing poses a “systemic threat” to Europe's industrial base.

www.euractiv.com/new...
February 10, 2026 at 9:47 AM
Someone’s going to get sued - for a lot of money - and deservedly so
*my biggest and most exhausted sigh*

"As AI Enters the Operating Room, Reports Arise of Botched Surgeries and Misidentified Body Parts"
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
February 10, 2026 at 9:44 AM
Reposted by Garvan Walshe
Pretty horrific account about an Irish (and thus also EU) citizen being held by ICE since September last year, despite having a legal work and residence permit in the US and being married to an US citizen.
"He said he has been locked in the same large, cold and damp room for 4½ months with more than 70 men. He said detainees are constantly hungry because meals served at tables in the centre of the room offer only child-sized portions." www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
‘Absolute hell’: Irishman with valid US work permit held by Ice since September
Seamus Culleton has been in a detention facility in Texas for nearly five months despite having no criminal record
www.irishtimes.com
February 9, 2026 at 3:13 PM
February 9, 2026 at 3:10 PM
Enough neo endogenous growth theory from you
Bollocks they do
Just learned that the testicles of sparrows increase in size by over 100 times every spring. I hope everyone has a nice day.
February 9, 2026 at 11:58 AM
Interestingly Britain seems to have a media-politics cluster that’s not explicitly left wing or progressive, unlike most other countries
Pretty much slap bang in the middle of British progressive politics. I'll accept that.
February 9, 2026 at 10:17 AM
Moderate “Seguro” beats rash populist “Ventura” — feels like one of those eighteenth century plays where characters are called Rake, Spendthrift and Righteous.
Oh, bravo Portugal! 👏👏👏👏👏
🔴 BREAKING - Centre-left candidate António José Seguro defeats far-right rival in Portugal presidential race
February 8, 2026 at 10:35 PM
Time to dig this out of the archive about Ed Miliband’s mendacious opportunism over Syria.

This had a number of consequences including the refugee crisis, and therefore Brexit.

conservativehome.com/2013/09/03/g...
February 8, 2026 at 4:42 PM
And we go live to Dublin
February 8, 2026 at 2:17 PM
But everything has infinite scroll now, including this one

It would surely have to apply all platforms or none?
February 8, 2026 at 10:53 AM
Reposted by Garvan Walshe
🇭🇺🇪🇺 "Hungary's opposition Tisza party plans to introduce a wealth tax for the rich, adopt the euro currency and firmly anchor Hungary in the European Union and NATO, its 240-page election programme published on Saturday said." @reuters.com
Hungary's opposition Tisza promises wealth tax, euro adoption in election programme
Hungary's opposition Tisza party plans to introduce a wealth tax for the rich, adopt the euro currency and firmly anchor Hungary in the European Union and NATO, its 240-page election programme publish...
www.reuters.com
February 7, 2026 at 9:46 PM
This guy’s very good. And funny. Superb timing.
I don’t know that much about American politics, but whenever I see a clip of Ossoff I think “why is there not more presidential chatter about this guy?”
Ossoff: We were told that MAGA was for working-class Americans. But this is a government of, by, and for the ultra-rich. It’s the wealthiest Cabinet ever. This is the Epstein class. They are the elites they pretend to hate.
February 7, 2026 at 9:54 PM
$12 trillion is around 5 times Russian GDP even at purchasing power parity lol
⚡️Zelensky says Russia presented $12 trillion economic plan to US, called 'Dmitriev package.'

President Volodymyr Zelensky described it as a proposed framework for large-scale U.S.-Russia economic cooperation.
Zelensky warns of 'risk' US, Russia could strike bilateral deals on Ukraine without Kyiv
"We clearly state that Ukraine will not support even potential agreements about us without us," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
kyivindependent.com
February 7, 2026 at 2:59 PM
Reposted by Garvan Walshe
Let's call a spade a spade: this Dmitriev-Witkoff pact is a corrupt agreement driven by greed & Trump's desire to save Putin.
It would pose a vital threat to Ukraine & Europe's security—a project of enslavement & destruction jointly carried out by russia & the US.
kyivindependent.com/zelensky-war...
Zelensky warns of 'risk' US, Russia could strike bilateral deals on Ukraine without Kyiv
"We clearly state that Ukraine will not support even potential agreements about us without us," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
kyivindependent.com
February 7, 2026 at 1:47 PM
Always up for anti-corruption “Tsars”. Almost as gods as “civil liberties Tsars”
February 7, 2026 at 10:46 AM
Reposted by Garvan Walshe
This is first and foremost where the focus of the story should be. Of men, misogyny, and power.

I have always specifically hated this part of my city and the world, the "gentleman's clubs" that are sadly part of the same thing.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
Sex and snacks, but no seat at the table: the role of women in Epstein’s sordid men’s club
Files reveal a world of flattery and fratboy tones, where rich men are cultivated and women provide services
www.theguardian.com
February 7, 2026 at 9:35 AM
The Administration’s plan (Miller’s I suppose) is propaganda of the deed but by the State
February 6, 2026 at 3:17 PM
It seems something Congress could block funding of.

No funds should be used to destabilise members of alliances such as NATO of which the US is also a member.
Don't want to sound flippant about the nature and severity of the threat, but to quote that anonymous Ukrainian soldier, "we are lucky they are so fucking stupid". Imagine how much more dangerous this would be if they weren't threatening invasion, dissing NATO troops, hitting us with tariffs etc
Remember the controversy when Obama was accused of intervening in UK politics? This is the current US government openly seeking to undermine liberal democracy in Europe.
February 6, 2026 at 11:12 AM
Hear hear!

Excellent post pushing back against the timid mercantilism dominating European industrial policy.
Too many articles about why Europe needs protecting, too many leaders seeking marginal gains in delivery in place of real vision.

I snapped and wrote something quickly about why we need instead the politics of optimism, adaptation, and creativity. www.linkedin.com/pulse/europe...
European politics needs the dreamers of dreams
One story from two angles. From China the visionary, the man wanting to build a big company and after several false starts doing so in bringing low-cost electric vehicles to the world.
www.linkedin.com
February 6, 2026 at 10:03 AM
This is a very good observation about the known known skeletons the known unknown skeletons and the unknown unknown skeletons.

Mandelson’s somewhere between two and three here
I don’t agree, because it’s about what risk you’re willing to wear. It was fairly obvious at the time that here was a guy with a) known skeletons b) partially known skeletons c) the likelihood of more skeletons. If you choose to not look and/or ignore the strong likelihood of more, it’s your call
February 5, 2026 at 10:48 PM
It starts in February’s diving rain but ends in April sunshine.

The #6nations is back

Now for #IREvFRA

(Unaccountably on a Thursday)
February 5, 2026 at 7:57 PM
Reposted by Garvan Walshe
great column by Juliet Samuel about the delusions of grandeur afflicting the once-in-office, the doomed reach for relevance and status www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...

it is never about you, but your office: tattoo that onto every departing politico
February 5, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Only if there’s an unwise peace in Ukraine. Trump’s attempt to force one is a major anti-European move.
The earlier belief in Berlin and other capitals was that Russia wouldn’t be able to threaten NATO until 2029 or so. There is now a growing consensus that such a crisis could come much sooner—before Europe is in a position to fight back

www.wsj.com/world/europe...
A Wargame Shows Just How Vulnerable Europe Is to a Russian Attack
With America disengaging, Russia might be ready for a new war much sooner than previously estimated.
www.wsj.com
February 5, 2026 at 1:34 PM
Man has a point!
Imagine if four years into our war in Iraq we had only occupied 20 percent of it and lost 1.2 million men. Would anyone say the US is winning?

No? Then how in the hell can you say Russia is winning?!
February 5, 2026 at 1:14 PM