The European utopia is turning into a system for delivering punishment. As Europe’s regime gets tougher, there is a growing sense that interchangeable elites are taking advantage of each crisis to tighten their austerity policies and impose their federal fantasy . This twin objective has the support of boardrooms and newsrooms. But even if you boost their ranks with German rentiers, a few Luxembourgers specialising in tax evasion and most of France’s Socialist leaders, popular backing for the (...)

Saudi Arabia feels that its position in the Gulf and the world is being threatened by changing regional aims and alliances, in particular in Iran and Egypt. Its rulers, being old, are not coping well with radical change.

Since Mubarak’s overthrow in 2011, further protests and military intervention have removed an elected government and brought chaos. Egypt urgently needs a pact between its divided political players and reform of its institutions.