→ Is this exiled general back in Putin’s favour?
When former Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin returned to Russia last July after his aborted rebellion against Vladimir Putin, there was speculation that he might be back in favour in Moscow. A few weeks later, he was dead — possibly on orders handed down from the Russian President. Now another Kremlin outcast, Sergei Surovikin, may be returning to the fold, if online reports are to be believed.
https://twitter.com/V141NG/status/1788275118919008532
Surovikin, dismissed last year from his role as commander-in-chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces, is rumoured to be coming back from Algeria to take up the position of Chief of the General Staff this month. Regional experts have questioned whether a video in circulation of Surovikin onboard a plane entering Russia is recent or from before his dismissal last year, though multiple sources support the claim that he really is returning. Best to avoid any open windows, Sergei…
→ More 2019 Lib Dems now support Labour
Talk about a realignment. Of the Britons who plumped for the Liberal Democrats in 2019, 45% now intend to vote for Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour in the upcoming general election. That’s marginally more than the 44% of the 2019 Lib Dem contingent planning to vote for Ed Davey’s party this time around, according to a new YouGov poll.
But that’s only part of the great political switch-up registered by the poll. While the Labour Party has hoovered up a big chunk of the 2019 Conservative vote, the party has also lost almost 10% of its voters from five years ago to the Green Party. Unsurprisingly, just over a quarter of the 2019 Tory vote has gone to Reform, following on from Lee Anderson. The 3% who flipped from Lib Dem to Reform must be an interesting bunch…
→ Ann Coulter: I wouldn’t vote for Vivek because he’s Indian
Vivek Ramaswamy has a reputation for defending contentious, even unsavoury, speech. Having stood up for free expression on the campaign trail, he’s having to do the same on his own podcast, after a particularly outspoken from his most recent guest, Right-wing commentator Ann Coulter.
“I agree with many, many things you said… when you were running for president,” she told the former Republican presidential candidate. “But I still would not have voted for you, because you’re an Indian.”
.@AnnCoulter told me flat-out to my face that she couldn’t vote for me “because you’re an Indian,” even though she agreed with me more than most other candidates. I disagree with her but respect she had the guts to speak her mind. It was a riveting hour. The TRUTH podcast is back https://t.co/neVjKSs6e9
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) May 8, 2024
Ramaswamy went on to praise Coulter after the interview for having “the guts to speak her mind” and, never one to shy from controversy, titled the episode “Ann Coulter on the N word: nationalism”.
Aligning oneself with the, shall we say, racially insensitive wing of one’s political party as an ethnic minority is a questionable strategy for a politician. But it’s not a bad way to boost a podcasting career.
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SubscribeThe 3% who flipped from Lib Dem to Reform must be an interesting bunch
Glad to know I’m not the only one. But it’s a very tactical choice informed by the history of my constituency, and hopefully a one-off vote.
I saw the Ramaswamy/Coulter interview and thought her Indian remark was tongue in cheek. I find it very hard to believe she wouldn’t vote for him because he’s of Indian ancestry.
I wonder what Surovikin has been doing during his exile. Probably not swimsuit modelling.
“Aligning oneself with the, shall we say, racially insensitive wing of one’s political party as an ethnic minority is a questionable strategy for a politician.”
But Vivek did not align himself (at least from the quotes in the article) with AC or her views.
His response to her views have gained my respect and only increased my support for him, even if he is an Indian.
I feel a bit sorry for the people sharing the plane home with Surovikin.