The FBI Director Is MIA Kash Patel has alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.

No previous American president, in any era, of any party, would have tolerated a drunken, erratic, absent FBI chief
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

And here are the data as a bar chart pooled across the 10 years. So, Italy, looks to be doing better than Germany and France. But one year (2022-23) contributed one third (5) of all slots for Italy.

Has Italian football declined? I asked Claude to make a figure of the number of semi-finalists in the 3 European competitions over past 10 years:
Eng: dominant (4 in most years)
Ita: 22-23 peak an outlier
Spa: never below 1, but rarely above 2-3
Ger: volatile (0 to 3)
Fra: steady 1-2 (usually PSG)

And here are the data as a bar chart pooled across the 10 years. So, Italy, looks to be doing better than Germany and France. But one year (2022-23) contributed one third (5) of all slots for Italy.

Has Italian football declined? I asked Claude to make a figure of the number of semi-finalists in the 3 European competitions over past 10 years:
Eng: dominant (4 in most years)
Ita: 22-23 peak an outlier
Spa: never below 1, but rarely above 2-3
Ger: volatile (0 to 3)
Fra: steady 1-2 (usually PSG)

Countries’ teams in semis of European football championships:

Eng 4
Fra 2
Ger 2
Spa 2
Por 1
Ukr 1
Ita 0

Italian football in crisis. Needs root and branch reform.

True! Sorry

King and Queen will not meet Epstein survivors during US state visit The legal implications of Charles and Camilla coming into contact with any survivors of paedophile financier Epstein make a meeting impossible while there are ongoing UK police investigations

“King and Queen will not meet Epstein survivors during US state visit.” Just the perpetrators…

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

Spain approves plan to give around 500,000 undocumented migrants legal status Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said migrants helped "build the rich, open and diverse Spain that we are and to which we aspire".

The contrast between Sanchez's PSOE government in Spain and some other social democratic (led) governments in Europe (e.g. Labour in the UK, SD in Denmark) is really striking on migration issues www.bbc.com/news/article...

"Democracy is a system in which parties lose elections"

Again, I'll note how incredibly extreme the GOP is, not only in absolute terms, but relative to other far right parties in rich democracies, which quickly concede elections <all the time> w/o a fraction of the post-election nonsense we endure.

On the train back home from Warsaw right now, and two Ukrainian women across the carriage from me are absolutely delighted about the Hungarian election result. One is in tears and the other is laughing. This is what it means to get rid of the cynical, kleptocratic prick.

Was it only four days ago The Telegraph comment pages were gazing into their tea leaves ?

I don’t think I have ever been so happy to be wrong!!!!

Fraud accusations fly as Hungarians vote in contentious election Orbán supporters are already gearing up for a confrontation once the results come in, with experts warning the outcome could be challenged in court no matter who wins.

If Orbán loses election but challenges results in the kangaroo courts he has packed with party loyalists, the EU will have a dilemma on its hands. The EU has long accepted unfair elections in Hungary but what would it do if an autocrat blatantly stole an election? www.politico.eu/article/frau...

Election interference. In plain sight.

Excellent thread for those who want to understand the (deliberately) complex and pro-Fidesz electoral system in Hungary.

With this poll, Orbán is laying the ground to refuse to recognise anything but a win by him as legitimate, eg. www.hungarianconservative.com/articles/cur.... Such an outcome would drive a further wedge between Europe and the US government.

Sixteen Years, and the Return of Political Truth A personal note on propaganda, professional memory, and why the movement around TISZA feels more truthful, more credible, and more alive.

If you want to follow what’s happening in Hungary in the countdown to the election next weekend, I really recommend Tamás Joo’s Substack, eg. here’s the latest: substack.com/@tamasjoo/no...

The UK is a veritable electoral system laboratory: SMSP/FPTP, MMP, CLPR, STV, MNTV/Block Vote

2026 Senedd election - Wikipedia

The Welsh Senedd has a new electoral system; replacing MMP with low-magnitude closed list PR (with DM=6), ie. bang in the middle of the Carey-Hix “sweet spot” 😉
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Se...

While I seem to be doing my unpopular takes, can I just say that I think MPs should be paid a *lot* more (but not be allowed second jobs or hold investments) and get a *much* bigger expenses allowance (to fund their offices).

Yes, this is a result of Brexit, but it is not an inevitable consequence. Citizens from several non-EU countries do not have the new extra EU checks (just not the UK!); and EU citizens can enter the UK via rapid passport check machines. So, it is mainly due to a lack of political will to fix it.

Finally through, 80 minutes after landing. Absurd system.

Back in Florence after a flying trip to London. Stuck in a horrendous Extra-Schengen passport check queue. The new system now in full force here (unlike a few weeks ago). Expect British press to get angry as we head into the busy travel season. Come on Starmer and Cooper, sort this out!

Congrats Sara. It’s a great paper.

Delighted our paper (with an amazing group of co-authors) is forthcoming in the APSR

Takeaway for Labour and other centre-left parties: fixing public services is key to reducing support for the populist right

👇

.... or rugby, volleyball, tennis, skiing, swimming, athletics! It seems to be only in Men's football that Italy are comparatively rubbish.

Italian media today: "too many foreigners in Serie A!"

But why are England and Spain so good and why do most top Italians play abroad?

Italian clubs have destroyed their youth development and do not recruit talented local minorities -> the talent pool is too small.

Look at Italian volleyball!

The Effects of California's $20 Fast Food Minimum Wage on Prices Jeffrey Clemens, Olivia Edwards, Jonathan Meer & Joshua D. Nguyen WORKING PAPER 34990 DOI 10.3386/w34990 ISSUE DATE March 2026 We analyze the effect of California's $20 fast food minimum wage (Assembly Bill 1228), enacted in September 2023 and implemented in April 2024, on consumer prices using the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Indices for food away from home across 21 metropolitan statistical areas. Food away from home prices in California's four in-sample MSAs increased by 3.3 to 3.6 percent relative to 17 control MSAs through December 2024. Our estimates are stable across a number of specifications. Placebo tests on price indices for goods and services that were not affected by the policy, including food at home, show no differential increases in California's MSAs. The price increases we estimate likely arise in part from spillovers to the full-service sector, as well as changes in the production functions and product quality choices of limited service restaurants.

CA’s $20 fast food minimum wage raised fast food prices by only 3%. The reason minimum wage increases keep not reducing employment and barely increasing prices is monopsony power.

www.nber.org/papers/w34990

Wow! “Rokos School of Government”. Interesting. Says Cambridge is going to appoint political scientists, economists, and statisticians to this new school. Look out for jobs folks …