Romania

Tuesday

Robert C. O’Brien

Europe is its own worst enemy

Vice President J.D. Vance’s speech condemning Europe’s abandonment of basic western values was a seminal moment in US-European relations. It provoked immediate praise from American conservatives and disparagement from European leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Critics and admirers both recognized the significance of Vance’s message. The February 14 speech, which Mr. Vance gave on his first trip abroad as vice president, yielded millions of views on X and spawned dozens of op-eds in response. At the Munich Security Conference – typically a venue to discuss defense spending and the like – Mr Vance told the entire European leadership class that they themselves are the biggest threat to European security.

Tuesday

Gavin Mortimer

Romania’s democracy has descended into farce

Violence broke out in Bucharest on Sunday evening after Romania’s Central Electoral Bureau disqualified Cǎlin Georgescu from running in May’s re-run presidential election. In a statement, the bureau justified its decision to exclude Georgescu on the grounds that his candidacy “doesn’t meet the conditions of legality” because he “violated the very obligation to defend democracy.” Supporters of Georgescu, whom the BBC has described as a “far-right, pro-Russia candidate,” gathered outside the Central Electoral Bureau to express their outrage and soon clashed with police. Until six months ago, Georgescu’s name was virtually unknown outside Romania.

Thursday

Cockburn

Andrew and Tristan Tate touch down in Florida

Andrew and Tristan Tate, social-media influencers in the infamous "manosphere," returned to Florida today after two years of judicial confinement. The Tate brothers were arrested in December 2022 on charges of rape, trafficking of minors and money laundering. Although they have never been formally convicted, the brothers have been in legal limbo in Romania while the investigation is underway. They have only just received permission to visit their home country, the United States, but they are still under judicial controls, meaning they must return to Romania when summoned. Andrew and Tristan were both former professional kickboxers who began gaining notoriety by voicing controversial opinions online.

tate

Saturday

Roger Kimball

Kamala Harris laughs at a war

It’s nice to be prescient. On Thursday, in a column titled “Kamala Invades Poland,” I introduced the world to “cackle diplomacy.” “Silly partisan hyperbole!” I nearly heard as the social media-ites had their say. But then the vice president of the United States did me proud. Just a few hours after my column posted, there she was, holding a press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda. Some say the people who run our government sent Kamala Harris to Eastern Europe in order to give her a chance to shine in the sphere of international relations. Watch her performance and tell me what you think. “I am here, standing here. On the northern flank...on the eastern flank...talking about what we what we have in terms of the eastern flank and our NATO allies.