Yeah, same here in Germany - plus, here the states get to stick their oar in as well.

Am enjoying BBC pundits' heads exploding over something that is entirely normal in Europe. Pretty sure the German budget (in draft, so not even decided) is just a press release...

So it's no great surprise that they're both failing for the same reasons.

But the left of the Tories and the right of the Labour have fundamentally the same analysis - the state can't afford to spend and managed in it's decline by technocrats, big business is a good in and of itself, taxing rich people is counter-productive, aping the far-right on immigration will work...

Although I suppose Labour's fundamental problem on immigration is that they're agreeing that it's a problem at all. If you agree with Farage's analysis, why wouldn't you agree with his policies?

Do we really think the next leader is going to tack to the left on anything but spending?

Also, it doesn't work? Like, all the studies and all the empirical experience of the last fifteen+ years show that doing this just emboldens the far right. They're well aware of it, hence "Tommy Robinson" crowing about it on twitter...

Isn’t “the political problem” essentially invented here, though? Like, all the studies show that this sort of thing doesn’t work for incumbent governments and drives people to the far right? So what’s “the political problem” that this sort of policy tackles?

This was on the way home. 😉

(Dynamo Berlin, and by extension other Dynamo clubs in the DDR, were one of Union’s great rivals in the DDR Oberliga, and Stasi chief Erich Mielke’s particular favourite. As such they were often bestowed official favour, including as much added time as it took for them to score the winning goal…)

*That scene from Band of Brothers were Webster shouts at the German POW’s on horses, but on an island*