Latest posts
Obama must wish he were Cameron. You reach out and get things done | Timothy Garton Ash
A growing centre ground is not reflected in the strident partisanship of Congress and the media. The US is the loserWhen "David" and "Barack" reported to the press on their cordial meeting at the White House earlier this week, they did not reveal whe...
Britain has spent 50 years hunting in vain for its role. Change the question | Timothy Garton Ash
As global power shifts and public spending is slashed, we do need to debate our foreign policy – but on the right termsFoxhunting may have been curbed, but some Brits are back at another of their traditional pastimes: role-hunting. It's nearly 50 y...
Our universities face a funding crisis. To survive, they must learn from the US | Timothy Garton Ash
To cope with the cuts we need a new model of funding, but one which ensures that poorer students are not excludedNext week I make my annual migration from Oxford to Stanford. These are two of the world's greatest universities, but Oxford faces a chal...
Why we need the Liberals in British politics – and by their proper name | Timothy Garton Ash
The Lib Dems are being smothered in Cameron's skillful embrace. They must explain exactly who and what they areThe Liberal Democrats should change their name to the Liberals. Here's why. First of all, Liberal Democrats is a pretty meaningless name. T...
Listen to these financial Wizards of Oz and prepare for another disaster | Timothy Garton Ash
Our mighty bond markets, feared but also fearful, are in danger of triggering the very crisis they wish to avertI thought it was time I got to know the almighty. I mean, of course, the bond markets: for, at their call, the governments of this world t...
De Gaulle and Churchill have a message for Sarkozy and Cameron | Timothy Garton Ash
Two great leaders, and mythmakers, set France and Britain on divergent trajectories. This 18 June, it's time to reconnectIn London tomorrow, Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron will join French and British veterans to celebrate the 70th anniversary of...
Iran's tortured Green movement is down but not out. We can still help | Timothy Garton Ash
One harrowing year since the stolen election, the people of Iran need the world's attention to go beyond the nuclear issueDo not forget Iran. Remember Neda. If there are green-clad protests in Tehran this weekend, to mark the first anniversary of the...
In a Viking paradise, Eurosceptic and egalitarian dreams alike seem true | Timothy Garton Ash
Who wouldn't want to be in a successful, well-run country like Norway? But beware false analogies and fantasy projections'Equal pay now! Equal pay now!", the chant echoed up to my hotel window in Oslo, as strikers and their supporters march...
Europe is sleepwalking to decline. We need a Churchill to wake it up | Timothy Garton Ash
Our leaders are peddling delusions. The eurozone has not been saved, the EU has no foreign policy, and others are making historyCan anyone save me from Europessimism? I feel more depressed about the state of the European project than I have for decad...
Britain and Europe are living separate crises. Underneath, it's the same one | Timothy Garton Ash
Like Greece, Spain, even Germany, Britain has to take on the challenge of remaking its social model in a politics of austerityWhat a week. While Britain lives one of the greatest political dramas in its postwar history, the continent is convulse...
From awkward coalition to a new politics | Timothy Garton Ash
If all goes well with this strange partnership, Britain's step into the unknown may lead to vital political and constitutional changeAt breakfast this morning in my Brussels hotel, I heard two Americans gushing with admiration at the speed and style...
Timothy Garton Ash: This can be the election to change all elections. Vote Lib Dem, to make it so
Ignore siren calls for tactical voting. Keep head and heart together, and we will compel the change we needThis time, vote Liberal Democrat. Vote Liberal wherever you can. Vote Liberal as if your life depended on it. Vote Liberal if you want a transf...
Election 2010: Economic reality hits home at last | Timothy Garton Ash
The Institute for Fiscal Studies showed that politicians were being coy about cuts. But voters want the truthThis election already has one clear winner: the Institute for Fiscal Studies. There was a day last week when every second sentence on the Tod...
British politicians will need to act more like the Germans – only faster | Timothy Garton Ash
If there is no clear winner two parties must rapidly agree voting reform and spending cuts. The bond market sharks are circlingIn Berlin last weekend, people kept asking me about the British election and I kept asking them the German for "hung parlia...
Leaders' debate reaction: Cif panel | Timothy Garton Ash, Seumas Milne, Henry Porter and Polly Toynbee
Following the second TV leaders' debate, Polly Toynbee and other columnists assess the performance of Nick Clegg, David Cameron and Gordon BrownPolly Toynbee: Nick Clegg, as last time, was well aheadCould he do it again? It was for Nick Clegg to lose...
9½ vital questions for our would-be leaders on Britain's role in the world | Timothy Garton Ash
Style may be more important than substance in round two of Britain's political X Factor, but we still need some answersThe eyes have it. And the nose. And the hand gestures, the body language, the way you look into the television camera, the percepti...
Media mud thrown at Clegg won't stick | Timothy Garton Ash
It's odd the Mail and Telegraph think readers will be put off by Clegg's class. They may not even mind his being pro-EuropeI'm fascinated by the way the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph have covered the Clegg story. Lots of photos of him in school...
TV debate woke us up to devolution | Timothy Garton Ash
As England starts to realise the amount of power devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Britain will changeBeyond Nice Nick's personal triumph, there were two things about yesterday's TV debate that may end up changing British politics for...
The choice this election is three brands of implausible | Timothy Garton Ash
All parties herald a new politics. None will deliver it alone. The makeup of the next parliament matters more than everMirror, mirror on the wall, who's the most implausible of them all? It's a close run thing. None of the parties are levelling...
A glimmer in Poland's darkness | Timothy Garton Ash
This second Katyn offers a message of hope for a country that has won its place as a free fatherlandFor the bereaved, this is a time for hearts opened in sympathy, not minds hastening with historical reflections. For Poland, however, and for Europe,...
