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Back to writing with a few thoughts on what Change Starts Now tells us about launching a party, and what many small parties get wrong:
open.substack.com/pub/permanenti…
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Laurent Balt
13.5K posts
Laurent Balt
@lfvbalt
MSc - Development Studies @lse_ID | MSocSci - Politics @uct_news | Policy analyst | Public policy, politics & economics in South Africa & Western Europe
Cape Town, South Africa Katılım Ocak 2011
710 Takip Edilen454 Takipçiler
Laurent Balt retweetledi
Laurent Balt retweetledi
Laurent Balt retweetledi
Laurent Balt retweetledi
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President Macron says "We must acknowledge that these imbalances are both the result of weak EU productivity and China’s policy of export-driven growth."
The first part of that statement is technically not true.
ft.com/content/c8fdf1… via @ft
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Laurent Balt retweetledi
Pedestrian and cyclist safety cannot only rely on humans doing the right thing, it also requires physical design to prevent it.
Speed bumps, protected cycle lanes, bollards, centre medians are just some options to protect pedestrians and cyclists.
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Laurent Balt retweetledi
Frantically announcing and unannouncing every possible tax and levy, while looking through a pair of binoculars through Richard Hughes’ window at the OBR to see if he’s smiling or frowning at the Excel model on his laptop
Pippa Crerar@PippaCrerar
🚨 I've now had it confirmed that Rachel Reeves has ditched plan to raise income tax rates in budget - as per @FT. Suggestion is that the politics of the move would've been too hard. Labour MPs had been deeply anxious about impact of breaking such a major manifesto promise - and they've already shown power with welfare vote. Months of discontent at Keir Starmer & his political operation burst into the open over the plan - with MPs openly discussing whether PM was up to job. Earlier this week, No 10 mounted an extraordinary operation to shore up leadership by briefing the Guardian & others of dangers of destabilising the govt - and insisting Starmer would fight any challenge. But their efforts backfired dramatically when close allies of PM shared concerns that Wes Streeting was planning to mount imminent coup - which the health sec denied. All of this has led to a very messy week at Westminster - and put govt on backfoot - leading to decision to change budget plans. It now leaves Rachel Reeves exploring other options to fill her £20-£30bn fiscal hole. These could include cutting thresholds at which people pay different rates of tax. All in all, not a great place for the government - already under fire - to be so close to a budget.
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Laurent Balt retweetledi
The best lack all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity?
GIF
Jack Meyer 🏛️@Jackbmeyer
This is a point that much of the recent “where can the center-left win” discussion seems to miss. Instead of working backwards from what policies you need to abandon, maybe try running a few candidates that actually believe in something first
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Laurent Balt retweetledi
@_night_brain__ investor.treasury.gov.za/RoadshowPresen…
HMT pipped us by 3 months but the UK are not alone
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in 2014 and again in 2021, the UK issued an Islamic Sukuk bond, the only non-Islamic country ever to do so
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Laurent Balt retweetledi
@RoriMoseli Meddling in the policy affairs of a smaller neighbour? You really are a child of the Mbeki ANC
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Is there nothing that the SA government can do about this? It strikes me as a huge national security risk for us bc Lesotho is going this?
Sophie Mokoena@Sophie_Mokoena
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Laurent Balt retweetledi
@RoriMoseli Looking forward to your presser in a blue polo shirt 🙏🏼
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@RoriMoseli I'm inclined to agree with you on the substance, but I think there's another element - DA ministers seem to care about *looking good* at their jobs. Their comms teams are generally good, which I think has become a key weakness of the ANC in govt
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Permission to give a hot take that’ll get my people annoyed with me?
Most of the DA GNU ministers have done a great job - and yes they’ve made mistakes. Particularly Siviwe, Dean, and Leon. They have also shown the energy a younger minister brings to government.
Newzroom Afrika@Newzroom405
[WATCH] Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube underscores the importance of children's dignity across the country as she hands over improved ablution facilities at a primary school in Vhembe district in Limpopo. #Newzroom405
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@lfvbalt I think there’s a lot of US textiles like Levi’s that outsource operations to Lesotho
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@comradesipho intern in charge of the modelling for this must’ve had so much fun
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This gives me the same feeling as I get every time I try understand Gnosticism or Kabbalah.
Intricate, dazzling bullshit.
Sean Spicer@seanspicer
President Trump announces new tariff rates
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@comradesipho I don’t think this is “brutal”. SA had the same convo when Zuma was convicted - I’ve never been a believer in courts not enforcing the law for political expediency
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@lfvbalt I guess I'm looking at the continued trend of brutality in the face of heterodox politics pretty much since the 2010s financial crisis. I agree case-by-case what else were they supposed to do? (Build a credible politics that has more tools to work with than a hammer...)
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First Romania, now France. What will be the long-term consequences of the EU's failure to confront the rise of the far-right into a credible political force with anything other than brute force?
x.com/AP/status/1906…
The Associated Press@AP
BREAKING: French judge rules far-right leader Marine Le Pen is barred from seeking public office with immediate effect apnews.com/article/marine…
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