Before the results of French elections were known much ink was used to speculate how the election of socialist Francois Hollande would lead to the shift in Franco- German axis on the issue of growth and austerity. Essentially Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy have invested a lot of political capital and time in the pro-austerityContinue Reading

It seems the infant Pirate Party in Germany is emerging as a political influence to be reckoned with. Last week it managed to count its 25,000th registered members – that’s half the number of members as the Green Party, the youngest among the established parties. For the behaviourally-trained eye, however, the party’s rise is notContinue Reading

A few days ago a junkie broke into my friend’s car while I was talking to her in front of the school gates. We were actually standing just 150 metres away from her car, but it was ten minutes after the police descended on the busy street that we realised they were actually converging aroundContinue Reading