What a shitshow 🤦🏽

.European Commission clumsily misjudges timing of its offer to UK on youth mobility

.The Labour Party overreacts, fearing election debate on free movement, making a story out of nothing

Conservatives Rishi Sunak reject EU's offer

So as we were then
🇬🇧🇪🇺

Timing of European Commission move on youth mobility very odd. Bxl knows Labour can't afford to have an election debate about something that looks like free movement. So why do it now? Suggests defensiveness: Bxl unclear about how to handle Lab & greater openness to it in EU capitals

France has catalogued an intensified and systematic Russian campaign to sow division, discredit the country and test its armed forces.

How Russia targeted France and radicalised Emmanuel Macron, in The Economist

economist.com/europe/2024/04…

1 week & 25 client meetings in HongKong & Singapore later... Lots of interest in EU-China relations, Ukraine & impact of Trump presidency on both. EU elections, populism & UK elections & implications. Tories seen as 🤡, Brexit a stupid waste of time. So much for “Global Britain”

Make sure to follow my colleague Gregory Brew to really understand what's happening between Israel and Iran - and Iran's likely response

Israel has hit #Iran directly tonight, launching what appears to be an attack that includes drones, missiles, and possibly air strikes.

Also coordinated with strikes on Iranian allies in Syria and Iraq.

This is a direct denial from a regime official:

No missiles were fired into #Iran from outside its territory

There were drones but they were shot down.

A telling, early take on this from within Iran. Risk of immediate Iranian escalation from this event looks low.

Advice for scholars: next time you lecture on Kant and revolutions at “Downing” (Darwin College) Cambridge, make sure your hair is neatly tied and that you’re not blonde. Or else your research impact will be on the The Spectator libido section.