Blog posts tagged "krishnan guru-murthy"

May 18, 2012 3:03 pm 4 Comments

Just back from a most remarkable exchange with the European Commission Vice President Olli Rehn. Responsible for Economic Affairs and the Euro his head seems to be in a vice right now - he simply refuses to answer several questions on the grounds he does not want the outcome I am asking him about.

May 6, 2012 7:22 pm 12 Comments

One of the reasons Labour gave for Boris Johnson's victory in London was the advantage of incumbency - the idea that voters tend naturally to give politicians a second term in office. It was also one of the reasons Labour's hope of making David Cameron a "one term" Prime Minister has always seemed a very uphill struggle. But after the defeat of Sarkozy in France Conservatives might well be wondering if incumbency is all it is cracked up to be.

April 25, 2012 8:52 am 4 Comments

There was quite a response to our Unreported World film last friday with the Baghdad Bomb Squad.

April 4, 2012 10:27 am 11 Comments

"Just get in the water Krishnan, quick!" yelled my co-presenter Juliet. "It looks like a Great White" I quivered, dipping my fins gingerly into the cold water. We jumped in and tried to swim towards the vast beast with its huge fin and open jaws. Juliet started to float off into the middle distance.

March 31, 2012 5:55 pm 18 Comments

Government's can make unpopular decisions and be rewarded for them but appearing to be incompetent is disastrous. In turn politicians who are rich and priviledged can thrive with the public but appearing to have lost touch with how ordinary people live can be fatal. That's why the fuel crisis is so dangerous for the government - especially if it turns out that the whole thing was planned as a political attack on the Unite union and Ed Miliband.

March 27, 2012 8:01 am 9 Comments

Before the "Cash for Access/Dinner/Influence" scandal leads us once again down the road of state funding for political parties we might just ask is it really the only option? Various reviews and reports, most recently including Sir Christopher Kelly, have suggested the state picks up the cost of cleaning up politics. In return there would be a lowish £10,000 limit on donations and trade union members would have to opt in to their fees going to the Labour Party. This or something similar will form the basis of new talks on party funding. This might seem to you as if a burglar was telling the magistrate "If only you'd make up the shortfall in income involved in me being honest I would not have to go thieving". But is there an option?

March 21, 2012 4:02 pm 26 Comments

It was a calculated political gamble. And there's a good chance it will work - it all depends on whether Britain's middle class voters howl in outrage at unfairness or smile in anticipation that they'll be winners tomorrow. George Osborne will have known perfectly well that he would face fierce political attack from Labour today and he's done it anyway, because this was his only chance.

February 28, 2012 7:56 pm 9 Comments

Funny how different things can look when you change your perspective. Just back from some intriguing conversations with the Shia-led Iraqi government for my Unreported World documentary in April.

February 24, 2012 6:44 pm 4 Comments

Am a few days into my Baghdad trip and it has been riveting, frustrating, confounding of my expectations and alarming in almost equal measures.

February 21, 2012 7:10 pm 3 Comments

I don't know what it was like before, but if this is the new normal in Baghdad it must take some getting used to.