A depressingly familiar picture.

Last Thursday I attended an event with the Danish greens, where it was explained to them, using small words, that the left needs to have an industrial policy if we are to have a prayer of countering right-wing populism.

Based on the Q&A session afterwards, I would be pleasantly surprised if a third of those present understood anything of what was said. Based on the discussion in the audience following the Q&A session, I would be pleasantly surprised if half of those who understood what the talk said did not know it when they arrived.

Lots and lots of nice people and good will there. But no economic analysis worth the paper it's written on.

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.

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See map for geographic presentation of Election Results 2012. Labour party (PvdA) is well represented in all large cities: Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, Dordrecht, Utrecht and even in Maastricht. In the rural area, the two northern provinces Friesland and Groningen are very strong Labour (in the past Communist).

"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

'Sapere aude'

Wilfred:

Or to exaggerate a little, the greens are the student city dwellers, labour the old poor people on the country side, although only in certain parts of the country admittedly, and the socialists the new working poor.

Often, I find a description of the groups involved has more predicative power on what a party will do then an analysis of the stated ideology.

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