Europe

Snails in a cell
A lockdown opera pays tribute to a political prisoner in Turkey

Osman Kavala has spent nearly three years locked up on spurious charges

Charlemagne
Let expats vote in the countries where they live

Taxation without representation is unfair

A tale of two taoiseachs
Ireland’s two oldest rival parties get together

But the one closest to the Irish Republican Army is waiting in the wings

Parade’s end
A phoney referendum shows Putin’s legitimacy is fading

A proposal to extend his rule passes, buried in a huge package of feel-good measures

Borderline personalities
Covid-19 is scrambling Scandinavian stereotypes

Danes used to think of Swedes as meticulous and reliable. No longer

Jean who?
France gets an unknown new prime minister

Few people have heard of Jean Castex

A new politics
“Greencons” are a new political alliance for an uncertain age

Conservatives and climate activists, once political opposites, are joining forces

No longer a figurehead
Why Italy’s technocratic prime minister is so popular

Giuseppe Conte gets credit for handling covid-19 calmly

Charlemagne
Germany is doomed to lead Europe

The EU’s biggest member is in charge, whether Germans like it or not