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By JAMIL ANDERLINI
Howdy folks,
Jamil here, back from a week of study with the Aspen Institute in Costa Rica (+30 degrees Celsius) and a week in Davos for the World Economic Forum (-15 degrees Celsius). As one of my dear friends put it: Being a CEO or top executive is not about being intelligent, brilliant or charming – it is mostly about stamina and resilience and Davos is the ultimate endurance test. Seven a.m. starts and 2 a.m. finishes with dozens of meetings in between. After a few times attending, I have worked out that this is only physically possible if you swear off alcohol for the entire week, which I thankfully did.
POLITICO was well represented on the Magic Mountain and our inimitable style of irreverent journalism was the talk of the town all week, especially this piece on succession in the enigmatic organization that is the WEF.
War in Ukraine, China and America’s Inflation Reduction Act were all hot topics at the forum. Less widely discussed was the ongoing corruption scandal that continues to rock the EU institutions. But on a panel to discuss European expansion, I managed to get the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama to comment on the schadenfreude felt by many when they learned of the grubby games going on in the global capital of sanctimony here in Brussels.
Finally, I’ll end with my personal highlight from the week in Davos: introducing legendary iconoclast film director Oliver Stone to “C” – the head of the U.K.’s MI6 intelligence service – at POLITICO’s intimate and exclusive cocktail reception on the promenade.
I will dine out on that one for quite a while!
Bon weekend,
Jamil Anderlini
Editor-in-chief
EDITOR’S CHOICE
The European Parliament’s ‘glass house’ syndrome
This article takes the European Parliament to task for its double standards. Analytical, tough and fair, with some great voices in the mix, the story sums up the Parliament’s inability to tackle or even acknowledge what one lawmaker described as “petty, everyday corruption.” The art for it is fantastic, too. Read the story.
Reporting corruption in a time of war: The Ukrainian journalists’ dilemma
POLITICO’s Ukraine Correspondent Veronika Melkozerova provided a personal take on the dilemma facing Ukrainian journalists who want to hold their politicians to account but are conscious that it opens their government to attack while it’s battling for the country’s survival. Her thoughtful piece highlighted the ethical and practical difficulties that come with holding power to account in a time of war and offered a welcome opportunity for reflection amid all the news about tanks. Read the story.
Ukraine got its tanks. Now it wants jet fighters too
This was a superb example of a far-sighted reporter spotting the next story coming long before it hit the news agenda. While others talked about tanks, POLITICO quietly gathered information from more than half a dozen sources before deploying this piece at exactly the right moment — the day after the shipment of German Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine had been confirmed. Read the story.
Le Maire’s presidential ambitions rankle Macron as succession battle heats up
It’s never too early to look at the race for the French presidency and this lifted the lid on serious tensions in the top team, as French President Emmanuel Macron squabbles with his economy minister, Bruno Le Maire. In true French style, one clash kicked off over boulangers. Read the story.
UK Labour Party raids Trump and Brexit playbooks as power beckons in 2024
In this classic scoop of interpretation, POLITICO spotted an interesting trend in how the U.K. Labour Party was campaigning, then built out a story based on conversations with insiders. In doing so, we told you something profound about the new approach to politics being pursued by the party that is likely to lead the next U.K. government. Read the story.
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This city shouldn’t be here
In this piece, POLITICO managed something that’s difficult to do with climate change: put it in an immediate, tangible context. It examined the dismal fates faced by some of Europe’s biggest cities, as climate change threatens to wipe out coastal communities like Utrecht and make others like Athens unbearably hot. An excellent feature to round off Chapter 3 of Living Cities.
Don’t use TikTok, Dutch officials are told
A great scoop slap bang in our sweet spot of politics, geopolitics and tech policy — POLITICO revealed that the Netherlands has warned government agencies to stay off the social media app TikTok, nailing details no one else had and illustrating how Europe has been gradually adopting the anti-China stance pushed by the United States. Read the story.
YOUR WEEKEND PLAYLIST
EU Confidential: Scholz’s tanks for your assistance — EU finance chief Mairead McGuinness: Crypto is like ‘a religion’
POLITICO’s Suzanne Lynch is joined by Chief Europe Correspondent Matthew Karnitschnig and Hans von der Burchard, our senior politics reporter covering the German chancellery. They break down German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s decision to send tanks to Ukraine (along with the U.S. and others) and debate the reaction to it domestically and among international partners. The German chancellor stuck to his position that he would not move until Washington also agreed to send the heavy military kit, but what was the cost of the delay? Then, the EU’s Financial Services Commissioner Mairead McGuinness joins Suzanne to talk through the EU’s approach to enforcing Russian sanctions and how the bloc is leading the charge when it comes to regulating cryptocurrencies. Listen to the episode.
Westminster Insider
Westminster Insider is on a break, but our episodes are not time-sensitive: Have a listen to our catalog here or via the links below.
DECLASSIFIED
Read this week’s Declassified column.
Caption competition
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“‘Right, what can I do to help?’
‘Well, now that you’ve got nothing else on, I’ve asked for you to be sent to the front line in Mariupol. Do we have a uniform in Mr. Johnson’s size?’”
Can you do better? Email [email protected] or on Twitter @pdallisonesque
Last week we gave you this photo:
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Thanks for all the entries. Here’s the best from our postbag — there’s no prize except for the gift of laughter, which I think we can all agree is far more valuable than cash or booze.
“Madame Tussaud’s has high hopes for newly opened Euro bubble wing,” by Stefan de Koning.
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