Sorry, socialists; Scandinavian success isn’t your trump card. While Scandinavia has emerged as one of the world’s leaders in terms of how to run an economy, many advocates of socialism claim that its success is down to large numbers of socialist economic principles. This fanciful perception could not be any more untrue; in fact, the Scandinavian…
Category: Politics
Ousting Corbyn won’t solve Labour’s core problems
Though the Labour party is in desperate need of a new leader, its real problem is that since Blair it hasn’t known what it is as a party. For Labour supporters or just anyone left of centre, the current state of the party is enough to make you weep. It has a leader wildly out of…
Theresa May offers nothing new
The whirlwind of events that transpired on Thursday morning will undoubtedly leave an indelible mark on British politics. Boris Johnson, a man who many considered to be heir apparent to the premiership, made the remarkable announcement that he would not run for Prime Minister in the wake of Michael Gove’s announcement that he would, branding…
Editorial: The EU Referendum
Here at Pertinent Problems, we strive to promote free and open debate, and inquiry at the very highest of levels on the global issues that matter. In an EU referendum campaign that has been too close to call, we think it would be helpful to those seeking to gain an understanding of the debate to present…
Is the ‘Bern’ waning?
Hillary Clinton’s most recent victories in the Democratic primaries have left most analysts resigning Bernie Sanders to an inevitable defeat to the former New York senator for the Democratic nomination. While he plans to run his campaign all the way til the Democratic convention in July, his decision to lay off hundreds of his campaign…
Let’s be frank: we’re staying in the EU
Barack Obama’s recent comments that it could take 10 years for the UK to sign a trade deal with the USA should they leave the EU, has resigned me to something I’ve been trying to deny for a while. Regardless of the merit of the arguments on either side, it is ultimately the fear factor…
Why the mayoral election matters more than you think
With a budget of £16 billion pounds, jurisdiction over 8 million people, and much media scrutiny, being the mayor of London comes with great responsibility. The mayor is undoubtedly both an important job in terms of power wielded as well as a feather in the cap to whichever party holds the position. Perhaps that is…
It’s time America’s two party system goes
If you were to say that Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump were to be competitive candidates for their respective parties nominations just a year ago, you would probably have been branded crazy. And quite rightly so. For much of American history political parties have not been anywhere as polarised as they currently are. This deterioration…
The Pernicious Tendencies of the Referendum
Hi everyone – I’m Sahil from theforeignmonde.wordpress.com and I’m guest posting today – if you’re interested in the EU and foreign affairs etc. be sure to visit my blog. Hugo Rifkind’s article in the Times a while ago summed up my sentiment on the EU issue in a way – all conversations are bound…
A Pakistani’s views on Donald Trump
In the past few months, one man has very suddenly risen to political power inside the United States of America. Donald Trump. The billionaire, known for a comical hairstyle, a desire to make ‘America great again’, is a man panned by the entire world except for the United States where he, unfortunately for us Muslims, is…
How should we respond to the Brussels attacks?
The horrific attacks at a Brussels Metro station and airport, just five months after the atrocities in Paris in November has once again thrown the problems of radicalisation among young Muslims and questions over European border controls, (in particular the Schengen agreement) into the limelight. Despite revisions to the agreement expected to be announced as…
The dilemma for the Democrats
As things stand, it seems that the Democrats have a strong chance of winning a third successive election in 2016. If polling is what we’re going by, only John Kasich seems to pose a threat to their chances and his distant third in the Republican primary suggests that scenario will probably not arise. Regardless of my…
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