AS I SEE IT Alberto on the psychiatrist’s couch 06-03-2021 08:28 Is Alberto his own man or just a dutiful servant who is willing to go to any extreme to ingratiate himself with an employer who has plenty of good reasons to despise him? by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Kirchnerites find the race card tempting 27-02-2021 08:36 For the Kirchnerites, “identity politics” has many attractions. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT A most unlikely reformer 20-02-2021 07:31 Carlos Menem may have been the king of kitsch, but he was also something else. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Here we go again 13-02-2021 08:47 Meaningful reform will remain on the backburner until the votes have been counted. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Weighed down by an entitlement culture 06-02-2021 09:50 Will Argentina be able to prosper in the brave new world that is coming our way? Not unless she manages to change lanes in the near future. As things stand, this is most unlikely to happen. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Take me to your leader 30-01-2021 09:26 Argentines tend to be more prone than others to put their faith in individuals rather than in ideologies or “doctrines,” as Radicals like to call them. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Life without Trump will not be easy 23-01-2021 09:50 Trump was elected because he understood that many millions of North Americans were being left to rot by the credentialed technocratic “elites” who openly despise anyone who disagrees with them. These “deplorables” are not about to go away. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Censorship is on the march 16-01-2021 09:05 Once upon a time, progressives, or “liberals” as North Americans call them, agreed that censorship was bad. They would have been appalled by the notion that the richest men on Earth were entitled to prevent the sitting US president, however obnoxious many thought him, from communicating with his followers. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Too many very angry people 09-01-2021 09:21 Millions of people who are neither that well-off nor desperately poor think the current economic arrangements are not working for them. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Sorry, capitalism is not about to die 02-01-2021 09:07 Capitalism of one kind or another has been with us for millennia. It was there in ancient Greece and China. All attempts to stamp it out have had disastrous consequences. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT The great coronavirus war 26-12-2020 09:38 What made the coronavirus pandemic so special was not the mortality rate but the almost universal decision to tell people to stop “non-essential” work and hunker down until a vaccine relief force finally put an end to the siege. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT From Vladimir with love 19-12-2020 08:52 Health experts employed by international organisations complain that the rich countries have gone nationalistic and are hogging all the most promising vaccines which are being developed. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Cristina, Alberto and the never-ending crisis 12-12-2020 09:51 Faced with a choice between much of the country and Cristina, Alberto let the moment pass and concentrated on trying to convince her he was as loyal a vassal as any mortal could conceivably be. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Buenos Aires under fire 05-12-2020 10:28 Cristina and her friends hope that by defunding the City government they will force the mayor to cut spending to the bone, which they assume should be enough to turn people against him. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT A hero of our time 28-11-2020 08:00 Maradona the footballer became an international “legend,” but this made him a magnet for many unsavoury individuals who wanted to profit from his immense reputation and the great deal of money he generated. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT We don't need no education 21-11-2020 09:38 Instead of campaigning to get their members back to work, Argentina’s teachers’ unions are determined to prolong the longest school holiday ever until everyone has been properly vaccinated. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT The coronavirus remains far from beaten 14-11-2020 08:56 Will life ever return to “normal”? After a fashion, it probably will, but the after-effects of the great pandemic which took the world by surprise and has yet to be mastered will be felt for many years to come. by James Neilson
As I see it A far from convincing victory 06-11-2020 00:13 Biden had just about everything going for him. He could blame Trump for mishandling a pandemic and enjoyed the enthusiastic support of much of the media. Despite it all, he will only manage to stagger over the finishing line. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Macron takes on the Muslim world 31-10-2020 10:08 To the indignation, sincere or not, of a wide assortment of Muslim leaders, France’s President Emmanuel Macron is defending with unexpected fervour the right to draw unflattering pictures of Mohammed. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT The times have certainly changed 24-10-2020 09:40 The egalitarian ethos that is rapidly consolidating itself in many parts of the world has shaped the response to the challenge posed by Covid-19. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT On the lookout for dangerous thoughts 17-10-2020 09:23 Though militant Kirchnerites and their leftist allies may be every bit as strident as members of the woke brigades who enjoy ruining the careers of those who do not share all their views, here in Argentina their foes, veterans of decades of on intellectual conflict, are proving to be less easy to cow. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT In thrall to an abject failure 10-10-2020 10:21 Like many others, the Kirchnerites put their own ideological hang-ups first and human rights a long way second. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT The Trump-Biden bar-room brawl 03-10-2020 08:48 If, as seems to be the case, the “debate” between Trump and Biden faithfully reflected the mood of many in the United States today, the world’s most powerful country is undergoing a mental breakdown. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT The incredible shrinking peso 26-09-2020 08:58 The desperate attempts that are being made to keep the dollar out of arm’s reach are bound to prove counterproductive; it is the government’s way of inadvertently warning people that, yet again, the economy is going under. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Making the most of failure 19-09-2020 10:01 Argentina has long been in the hands of individuals who reach power by attributing the country’s woes to the stupidity of their political rivals, but who once in office do not have the slightest idea of how to improve matters. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT The cracks keep widening 12-09-2020 10:30 People the world over are getting more irascible by the day, and the unease so many feel is making governments everywhere nervous. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Down with development 05-09-2020 09:39 Alberto and the people surrounding him are determined to solve the country’s socioeconomic problems by levelling down, taking as much as they can from the more productive parts of society and giving it to the millions who rely on handouts. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Dreaming of a military alternative 29-08-2020 10:04 Military rule may no longer be an alternative, but chaos most certainly is. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT The opposition takes to the streets 22-08-2020 09:58 These days demonstrators are well-behaved men and women who wear facemasks not for fear of getting recognised by the cops, but because they have no desire to get infected by the coronavirus. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Light from the city of dreaming spires 15-08-2020 10:08 It is no longer enough for governments to concentrate solely on trying to block the spread of the virus. They are also expected to keep the economy moving and to worry about the long-term effects the prolonged lockdowns are certain to have on people’s lives. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Culture matters more than computers 08-08-2020 09:51 The technology that provides people with the equivalent of dozens of huge libraries is certainly marvellous, but only those who have already been fairly well educated are able to benefit from having the accumulated wisdom of humankind there at their fingertips. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Making a monkey of the law 01-08-2020 10:10 In Argentina, where many think all politicians are crooks, millions are more than happy to vote for individuals they know have always been on the take and who, if elected, will continue to put their personal business interests before anything to do with the welfare of their compatriots. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Alberto, Cristina and a sinking economy 25-07-2020 09:45 Macri’s experience suggests that Alberto’s chances of convincing the moneymen that it would be in their interest to lend Argentina a hand right now are close to zero. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Strolling towards the exit 18-07-2020 09:55 Extinction is staring many communities in the face, yet few find the thought that all they presumably value could be about to die at all disturbing. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Corruption refuses to go away 11-07-2020 09:23 The Kirchnerites could soon have considerably less power than they have today. Without it, Cristina will find it impossible to break free from her chequered past. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT China will soon come a-calling 04-07-2020 09:25 The coronavirus plague has harmed China’s international reputation, but it has also weakened many developing countries to such an extent that they will find it all but impossible to turn down offers of financial help. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Runners go home! 27-06-2020 08:13 Many leftists and populists want to prolong the status quo indefinitely because they are convinced that the state should play a far greater role in their country’s life. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT The year of the scientists 20-06-2020 11:20 Throughout the world, complaints about the tyranny of “Science” are becoming more frequent. We are not laboratory rats, people say, and demand that other factors be taken into account. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT The great Anglo-Saxon meltdown 13-06-2020 10:30 It is hardly surprising that the prolonged lockdowns are changing people’s behaviour. Perhaps this is why the US, and to a slightly lesser extent, the UK, are now experiencing bouts of collective madness. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Another long hot summer on the way 06-06-2020 08:45 Whether or not Trump’s attempt to make political capital out of the mayhem works will not be known for some time. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Under cover of darkness 30-05-2020 10:43 Alberto has shown no signs of wanting to be his own man, whoever he may be. Far from rebelling against Cristina’s tutelage, he seems afraid to do anything that might displease her. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Getting down to business 23-05-2020 10:19 Something must be badly wrong with a system which offers voters a choice between Trump and Joe Biden. Surely a country inhabited by over 330 million people can do better than that? by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT An impossible conundrum 16-05-2020 09:50 For a great many years, Argentina’s political elite has worked on the assumption that the rest of the world owes it and the rapidly growing number of people who depend on its generosity a decent living. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Epidemiologists versus economists 09-05-2020 11:01 There are few places in which the habit of assuming that economic policy should be left to would-be ethicists is more firmly entrenched than it is in Argentina. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT O brave new world 02-05-2020 11:45 If social distancing goes on for as long as the more hawkish epidemiologists recommend, it will be just as discriminatory as the virus. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT The virus is winning on all fronts 25-04-2020 12:02 What might be just about tolerable for a couple of months most definitely would not be if, as seems more than probable, the “emergency” that allegedly justifies such stringent measures drags on for many years to come. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT The world prostrate before its new overlord 18-04-2020 10:23 Without a working economy, no society – no matter how kind-hearted its members and benevolent its leaders – will be able to care for those who fall sick, whether from the coronavirus or many other ailments. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Waiting for the end 11-04-2020 11:02 Covid-19 is here to stay and we will have to get used to living with it, just as we have with whatever causes the common flu, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, pneumonia, diabetes and many other deadly ailments. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT Making the most of the coronavirus 04-04-2020 09:36 It is generally agreed that, until the emergency is over, it will be better to give President Alberto Fernández and his team the benefit of the doubt, unless they start making decisions that could have ruinous consequences. by James Neilson
AS I SEE IT When togetherness is anti-social 28-03-2020 11:37 Life and the economy are intertwined. Without money, people starve. In an unpleasantly short time, desperation can breed violent anarchy. by James Neilson