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Herman Beun

@hermanbeun.bsky.social

1.2K followers 740 following 2.5K posts

- EU politics formerly @ 🇪🇺 Parliament, 🇳🇱 parliament, 🇳🇱 Court of Auditors, Clingendael Institute, Sustainable Finance Lab - 17th c. Dutch/Flemish (mennonite, family) history - chaos sive natura - Den Haag 🇳🇱 / Genève 🇨🇭 - 🇳🇱🇬🇧🇫🇷🇩🇪🇸🇪🇳🇴 Écr.l'inf.

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Herman Beun @hermanbeun.bsky.social · 3h

In het huidige politieke klimaat maakt dit 50Plus wel tot een van de stabielste partijen

Herman Beun @hermanbeun.bsky.social · 3h

😬

Jorge Liboreiro @jorgeliboreiro.bsky.social · 3h

Ursula von der Leyen spoke with Olivér Várhelyi on Sunday.

She asked “the Commissioner whether he was aware of any recruitment attempt by Hungarian intelligence services targeting European Commission staff” and “the Commissioner he was not aware of these attempts,” her spokesperson says.

Herman Beun @hermanbeun.bsky.social · 6h

Chef's kiss

Herman Beun @hermanbeun.bsky.social · 9h

Agreed. There's a good book by @merijnoudenampsen.org and Bram Mellink on neoliberalism in the Dutch context: "Neoberalisme, een Nederlandse geschiedenis"

Herman Beun @hermanbeun.bsky.social · 9h

Rather remarkable that he made an audio-autobiography like this? I may have a look (listen) but on the other hand hardly manage to stay up to date with the podcasts I follow 😬

Herman Beun @hermanbeun.bsky.social · 9h

It's funny how thinkers like Enzensberger, when they talk about media see government (even secret service) controlled propaganda as the main danger. Of course a sign of the times without social media, but it made us blind for the dangers of market driven amplification of individual anger

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Reposted by Herman Beun

Tom Louwerse @tomlouwerse.nl · 13h

Uitspreken coalitievoorkeuren staat ver af van volwaardig stembusakkoord
www.montesquieu-instituut.nl/9394000/1/j9...

Uitspreken coalitievoorkeuren staat ver af van volwaardig stembusakkoord

In de aanloop naar de Tweede Kamerverkiezingen van 1972 presenteerden PvdA, PPR en D66 een gezamenlijk programma met als ondertitel ‘Regeerakkoord van de …

www.montesquieu-instituut.nl

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Herman Beun @hermanbeun.bsky.social · 1d

I think I found it: www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/eur...

(whole article accessible in archive.ph)

The Third Way and Liberty: An Authoritarian Streak in Europe's New Center

A curious authoritarian streak runs through the Third Way rhetoric of Tony Blair and other European leaders. The new center is ominously silent about freedom.

www.foreignaffairs.com

Herman Beun @hermanbeun.bsky.social · 1d

(will try to find that Dahrendorf piece about 3rd Way totalitarianism for you)

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Herman Beun @hermanbeun.bsky.social · 1d

I do wonder about those parliamentary firewalls etc. They are indeed bad: research shows voter trust in parliaments increases the more election systems are proportional. But all of those walls have been in place for ages. Perhaps they also lulled politicians to sleep over what was brewing in society

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Herman Beun @hermanbeun.bsky.social · 1d

Oh yes, Dahrendorf. Such a true European also in his life story. I once decided years ago the world needed me to write his biography as a PhD, only to find out there was a very thorough (of course) German one already, so that never happened

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Herman Beun @hermanbeun.bsky.social · 1d

I'm glad I'm not alone feeling 'neoliberalism' is too much of a catch-all term :) I do like interpretations blaming a basically hayekian understanding of public policy that was (is) very wide-spread among politicians from right to left expecially since the 90s - but that's mostly 3rd Way too anyway

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Herman Beun @hermanbeun.bsky.social · 1d

And unscrupulous propagandists and their enablers, plus very broadly in media and politics an inadequate awareness of the weaknesses of existing democratic practice and how to strengthen and protect it.

Herman Beun @hermanbeun.bsky.social · 1d

Oh yes, true, future historians will probably settle on the conclusion it was 3rd Way TINA followed by (the) 2008 (austerity response) that fucked things up, plus the social and psychological effects of COVID lock-downs, and (in Europe) the post-UKR energy and inflation crisis of course.

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Herman Beun @hermanbeun.bsky.social · 1d

Always the subtle diplomat, isn't he

Herman Beun @hermanbeun.bsky.social · 1d

Me too, do let me know if/when you are in Europe as I would really enjoy that! (afraid I'll not be visiting the US under Trump unfortunately)

Also, forgive me for slow/delayed replies as I'm also watching the first big TV debate of this Dutch election campaign so my brain is a bit split

Herman Beun @hermanbeun.bsky.social · 1d

Mélenchon Roi Infiniment, I think it means 🤔

Herman Beun @hermanbeun.bsky.social · 1d

*LFI of course, not MRI (no idea where that came from)

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Herman Beun @hermanbeun.bsky.social · 1d

Bontenbal zelfs :-p Nieuwe spelling denk ik

Herman Beun @hermanbeun.bsky.social · 1d

And I don't know what a (French) left-win foreign policy would look like. I would trust PS on this, but definitely not MRI for instance.

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Herman Beun @hermanbeun.bsky.social · 1d

Anyway, Macron (and not just him, and not just in FR, unfortunately) is still making the same mistakes of course. I heard one of the FR demonstrators last weeks say "On n'a que la rue pour nous exprimer", that is indeed the problem. (My hobby horse: Europe would improve with Swiss direct democracy)

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Reposted by Herman Beun

De Speld @speld.nl · 1d

Kijker waant zich even in heerlijke jaren 90 met debat tussen PvdA, VVD, CDA en D66 #RTLDebat

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Herman Beun @hermanbeun.bsky.social · 1d

I very much remember reading Ralph Dahrendorf's sharp criticism of Blair's Third Way ("totalitarian") in the late nineties, the strong feeling he was onto something yet not grasping fully what was going on. But it was prophetic

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Herman Beun @hermanbeun.bsky.social · 1d

Good comparison on TINA. I see TINA less as a Thatcher inheritance (who was worse but mostly limited to the UK) but as a later 1990s inheritance (Third Way policies all over Europe, the NL a leading voice too). 3rd Way's TINA definitely laid the foundations for the current growth of the far right

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Herman Beun @hermanbeun.bsky.social · 1d

Oh, I think your judgement is as good as mine here. Not sure if I agree M's efforts around the UKR invasion (you know that 2022 documentary I'm sure?) were laughable in context though. Not enough, of course, but this was Europe's biggest WTF moment in decades and I don't think more was possible then

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