That would have been a fair question about their equivalents in the 1970s.
But it is not just about these parties, but about this👇 landscape that triggered Simon’s original observation
If(!?) small parties are great, you can also have too much of a good thing

This has taken some time, but the cover alone makes it worth the wait:

'The Promise of EU Democracy' is due to come out at OUP this spring

It collects the very best on EU democracy - promises and disillusions - from the H2000 RECONNECT-project
global.oup.com/academic/pro...

Then went to the Bode Museum to see Paul Klee's 'Angelus Novus', originally owned by Walter Benjamin and inspiring his Theses on the concept of history.

A small but very touching exhibition

Two weeks left for my research stay in Berlin.
Time for some academic souvenirs

Could not have hoped for anything better Frankfurter Schule 'merch' (oh irony!)

And even better that Axel Honneth was willing to add his signature

@suhrkamp.de

1/2

This Tuesday (11 March), we have an exciting double bill at the AI and Digital Governance Lab at VU Amsterdam (Main Building, Agora 3(3C03))

10:00-11:00 @gorwa.ca on The Politics of Platform Regulation
11:15-12:15 Rik Peeters (CIDE) on Information Capacity as a Precondition for Digital Government

Interessant tabelletje. Ik weet niet hoe het CBS haar data heeft verzameld, maar het is aardig de Eurobarometer enquete (direct gehouden in de dagen na het referendum) ernaast te leggen

Lageropgeleiden gaven inderdaad niet de doorslag
Maar hier zie je een pregnant verschil tussen PvdA en GL

Wonderful discussion of @tomtheuns.bsky.social book 'Protecting Democracy in Europe'
Still not convinced by his views on Art.7 (against) and expulsion (in favour)
But panel very much convinced on the importance of having both options (and more) on the table

No cuts in Dutch Higher Education
High turn-out

For me, the most striking things in the responses by the European Commission nominees are the things that are not or hardly there.
Most notably, how little envisaged High Representative for Foreign Policy has to say on Palestine 👇

Von der Leyen's proposed College of Commissioners:
Some notable surprises, esp. in the assignment of executive vice-presidents:
- 4 female + the negotiated males from F and IT;
- 2 S&D, 2 RENEW, 1 EPP (+VDL), 1 ECR;
- none of the previous Commissioners (Dombrovskis, Sefkovic) who were expected

Dit 👇 is volgens mij de meest kenmerkende passage uit het regeerprogramma, en de beoogde basis van de meest concrete en opvallende maatregel: het uitroepen van een asielcrisis.
Een sterk staaltje zondebok-politiek