Anne McElvoy

"[Describing a visit to Germany to prepare a radio documentary] The country's military past and future demands collide, often awkwardly but in a way that reminds us that one "change in times" is often soon succeeded by another emergency. The museum ship in the port is named after Werner Mölders (the first pilot in aviation history to shoot down 100 enemy aircraft while supporting Franco in the Spanish civil war and against France in the Second World War). It’s a bit unclear in the presentation whether he is seen as a dashing military ace or a legacy embarrassment."

"[On Giorgia Meloni, at the time prime minister of Italy] After decades of fractious coalitions and technocratic solutions, supporters relish her dominant leadership approach and mission to “defend” the country from outside influences. Meloni has now announced the "mother of all reform packages", a power grab that would allow prime ministers to be directly elected on minority vote shares. She will first have to escape the opprobrium of opposition in parliament and win a possible referendum. Given her success in manoeuvring herself and her party from the fringes of Italy's changeable landscape to outrun other far-right contenders such as Matteo Salvini and heirs to the Berlusconi legacy, it would be unwise to underestimate her chances."

"Surely, if the Windsors were a business, analysts would say that it has a key vulnerability built on the absolute primacy of the chief executive, too small a board and too little flexibility in its model."