Merkel is leaving, Macron is flailing, but the EU has a new heavyweight in Mario Draghi
By Alberto Nardelli / Bloomberg
One thing European leaders always knew about Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi was he would never lose his cool.
When European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker gathered senior policymakers on the 13th floor of the Berlaymont building in Brussels to thrash out details of the third Greek bailout in 2015, some were expecting trouble from then-Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis.
However, as Juncker worked line-by-line through proposed tax changes with a small group including then-Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras, Varoufakis was engrossed in debate with Draghi at the other end of the room, according to two people who were present. At 3am, the anti-capitalist firebrand and the head of the European Central Bank (ECB) were debating GDP deflators and macroeconomic policy dilemmas from the 1930s like a pair of academics.
The UK’s offer for Hong Kong activists is great, if they can afford it
Months after Britain announced that it would welcome Hong Kongers fleeing government oppression,
responsibilities in Westminster remain largely unclear
By Kitty Donaldson and Alberto Nardelli / Bloomberg
In August 2019, Sophia’s hip was broken in clashes with Hong Kong police during a protest against China’s encroaching control over the territory.
In December that year, she was beaten again, and by last year, she became convinced that the authorities were going to arrest her.
The 18-year-old took the difficult decision to leave her studies and family, and head for London.