Wellington is starting to empty, the morning commute is getting shorter, and the capital is finally feeling like summer – all signs that Christmas is not far away. And so it is the time of the year to thank you, our readers, for your interest in the Initiative’s work. Read more

After the tumultuous years of the Euro crisis (2010–15), Europe seemed to have returned to more normal conditions. Gone were the riots in Athens, the stock market rollercoasters and the immediate threat of monetary union collapse. Read more

Few countries centralise government power as much as New Zealand. In most areas of public life, Wellington calls the shots, makes the rules, and holds the purse strings. Read more

Life is unfair, especially as you get older. That is what Dutchman Emile Ratelband must have thought when the court of Arnhem rejected his request to lower his age by 20 years. Read more

When the leaders of the G20 met in Buenos Aires on Friday, one of them arrived unfashionably late. German Chancellor Angela Merkel missed the first day of the conference and only just made it to the opening dinner. Read more

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade must have a psychedelic drug in its watercoolers. How else does one explain MFAT’s new consultation on the pipedream of a future free-trade agreement between New Zealand and the UK? Read more

If house prices go up, it is a scandal. If house prices go down, it is a disaster. Read more

What Brexit is in the early 21st century, the Schleswig-Holstein Question was in the mid-19th century. That international calamity of dazzling complexity also gave one of the most memorable quotes in diplomatic history. Read more

The Government has copped much criticism lately for its Kiwibuild policy, including from our chair Roger Partridge writing in Insights two weeks ago. So it is only fair to praise Housing Minister Phil Twyford when he deserves it. Read more

Few outcomes of the US midterm elections could have been predicted with certainty. Except that President Trump would call the result a “tremendous success” no matter what. Read more

Last month, I wrote why Angela Merkel’s days as Germany’s head of government were numbered. This month, it is time to speculate who might succeed her as leader of her CDU party – and ultimately as chancellor. Read more

Today is 2 November, and for conservative Christians among us that means All Souls. For the rest, it is just day two after Halloween. Read more

“Freedom or Socialism!” Behind this battle cry, many conservatives gathered during the Cold War. The slogan did not just unite them against their Soviet, socialist and communist enemies. Read more