Political philosophy

This is the latest in a series of articles on the legacy of the fall of the Iron Curtain 30 years ago. See more.

All political parties agree that in normal countries there is no need for police to guard closed universities. Interestingly, there's no consensus on how normal institutions are meant to operate.

But first, a reminder of Reporting Democracy's special package of stories to mark the anniversary.

And don't miss our #BerlinWall Twitter thread. From Saturday, we will be filling it with video interviews with people born in 1989 in countries formerly behind the Iron Curtain. How do they view democracy, freedom and the legacy of '89?

[THREAD]

It is with justified relief that we welcome the hour of reckoning for an extremist element that has tested Greece's institutional reflexes. Still, we must not draw the wrong political conclusions. The beliefs that stoked the attack squads will not disappear overnight because of a court verdict.

Pathway to changing the constitution?:

Borko Stefanovic, vice-president of the opposition non-parliamentary Freedom and Justice Party. Photo: EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET

The official explanation of the changes says the current law, adopted in 1994, is restrictive, outdated and inconsistent with Serbia's 2006 constitution.

This is the latest in a series of articles on the legacy of the fall of the Iron Curtain 30 years ago. See more.

Rather than unfolding like George Orwell's classic fable, he said the anti-totalitarian revolution ingrained the rule of law, free elections, free media, the partition of power and constitutional liberties in Central and Eastern Europe.

In 2018, about 28.7% of the EU population with a disability (aged 16 or over) was at risk of poverty or social exclusion, compared with 19.2% of those with no limitation, Eurostat data show.

There are significant differences across Member States, yet in all of them people with a disability are more exposed to the risk of poverty and social exclusion than those with none.

Theodor Paleologu, the People's Movement Party (PMP) candidate in the presidential election, on Wednesday unveiled the "short version" of his presidential programme, in which he promises among others, constitutional reform, 2.5pct of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for defence spending, and discarding the school inspectorates.

In cosying up to the likes of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, Hungary's Viktor Orban is pressing his case for illiberal democracy.

On one side were those who argued that a court ruling to dissolve the party — even if such a ruling fully accorded with the law — could not eradicate a movement that clearly had popular support.

According to this line of thinking, dissolving the party would not prevent another, similar party from emerging.