Multipolarity

To Viktor The Spoils, Girondins Meet The Jacobins, The Loveless Landslide

Jul 11, 2024

Viktor Orban's secret flights to Moscow during the Russo-Ukrainian War and EU Council Presidency raise eyebrows. Macron's French parliamentary elections tactic backfires, and Labour's landslide victory in Britain brings change but with financial challenges. A mix of political maneuverings and unexpected outcomes in various European nations.

55:07

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Episode guests

Viktor Orban

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Orban's diplomatic shuttle diplomacy in the Russo-Ukrainian War sparked international debates on peace initiatives.

Macron's strategic political maneuvers exemplify the intricacies of French parliamentary elections and unexpected outcomes.

Labour's landslide victory in the UK election under Starmer's leadership hints at potential economic and social policy shifts.

Deep dives

Viktor Orban's Secret Diplomacy: Peacemaking in Moscow and Beijing

Victor Orban's recent enigmatic foreign visits to Ukraine, Moscow, and Beijing have raised eyebrows. Orban initiated discussions about potential peace deals, surprising both Ukrainian and Russian counterparts. His clandestine meetings aimed at peace process initiation have stirred international dialogue and speculation about the effectiveness of such diplomatic maneuvers.

Intro

4min

Hungary's Diplomatic Maneuver at NATO Summit

14min

French National Assembly Election Analysis: Girondins Meet The Jacobins

5min

France's Fiscal Deficit and Rise of Far Left

10min

UK General Election Fallout and Reform Party Impact

8min

High Expectations and Challenges for Labour Government in Britain

14min

Viktor Orban has been taking secret flights. Dodging the CIA’s aviation monitoring to jet into Moscow.

The Hungarian honcho is now fashioning himself as a shuttle diplomat in the Russo-Ukranian War, just as his country takes the rotating Presidency of the EU Council.

What was the goal of this clandestine trip? And did he still get the air miles?

Meanwhile, in the French parliamentary elections, Emmanuel Macron’s calculation was effectively like the old puzzle about a man who has to get a fox, a chicken and a bag of grain from one side of a river to another. Today, he’s like a man stood on the far bank of a river watching a fox murder a chicken as it swallows all the grain. Whoops.

Finally, in Britain the maths was easy. An epochal nuking for the Tories has brought Labour to power on a one-word slogan of Change. But with the coffers bare, is the change Starmer’s looking for spare?

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