Category Archives: left-wing politics
Left with questions
I’m at conference on the Future of the Left in Central Europe in Prague co-organised by CESTA, one of the Czech Republic’s few centre-left thinktanks, and the German SPD’s Ebert Foundation, having been to an academic workshop on a similar … Continue reading
The Lion sleeps tonight? Former Czech PM’s new party launches
I share a bias with many political scientists working on political parties: I tend to over-rate new parties with political organisation and some real grassroots presence and under-rate those which are top-down vehicles created for individual politicians. So I am … Continue reading
European integration: A view from 1943
The internet has pretty much done for the traditional second-hand bookshop. I used to know of a least a dozen within half an hour’s walk in Brighton. Now I can only think of a couple. And besides, these days I … Continue reading
>Czech Republic: Protest and survive?
> You Tube carries some unedited video from left-liberal internet daily Deník Referendum of yesterday’s large trade union organized protests by public sector workers in Prague against wage and budget cuts. At 40, 000 the numbers are the highest since … Continue reading
>Wordle-izing Slovakia’s centre-left
> And, as I know you’ve all been lying awake, wondering about the politics of Central European social democracy, here’s a quick Wordle-ization of the prgramme that Robert Fico’s Smer is serving up to the Slovak electorate for their also … Continue reading
>Shock horror – Czech Social Democrat leader once a Socialist, then a moderate
> I have been sent convincing proof that Czech Social Democrat leader Jiří Paroubek was in 1989 a functionary of the satellite Czechoslovak Socialist Party (ČSS) (above right) and gave an interview to the ČSS newspaper saying nice things about … Continue reading
>A tale of two Slovakias
> SSEES marks the 20th anniversary of November 1989 with two contrasting Slovak speakers – a nice touch, as the fall of communism in the Czechoslovakia is so often reduced to events in Prague. The Magic Lantern, Václav Havel, speech … Continue reading
>Czech Republic: Oranges on red alert
> The Czech election campaign is indeed already in full swing – at least if you are a Social Democrat. Not only are party workers – or, possibly paid employees, you never know these days – giving out orange roses … Continue reading
>CEE and the Euro-elections: Left behind?
>So the results of the Euro-elections are in. Having missed out the chance of TV stardom on the BBC Euro-election results programme – half of SSEES seem to have been rung up by various BBC researchers looking for a pundit … Continue reading
>Inside Lenin’s brain
> There’s a small striking black and white poster up in the lift with a familiar image of Lenin. I assume at first it’s for the Socialist Workers’ Party (‘…Lenin’s thoughts about the world crisis…’ yawn) and am a bit … Continue reading
