Irwin Stelzer 
Do not resuscitate
No one can fault the doctors: they are using every tool available to them to save their very ill patient. But they will probably fail in their efforts to save… Read more
Picking losers
So we are to have a new industrial policy, this one courtesy of the coalition government and, more specifically, George Osborne and Philip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and… Read more
What Washington thought of Cameron: smooth, genial, evasive — and tough
He came, he saw and, to the surprise of many in Washington, David Cameron conquered. Those who have been exposed to his personal charm were less surprised. For them, the… Read more
Requiem for a heavyweight
It’s a dirty business. When you’re on top, everyone wants something from you; when you’re not, well, as Billie Holiday says, ‘God bless the child that’s got his own.’ It… Read more
Who would lend to a bankrupt Britain?
Alistair Darling’s budget forecasts assume that Britain can keep borrowing all it wants for the foreseeable future.We may not be so lucky, says Irwin Stelzer Federico Sturzenegger and Jeromin Zettelmeyer… Read more
Tips for the new US ambassador
Obama’s man in London needs to stop bashing Bush, immerse himself in domestic political discourse, and get out and meet some true Brits, says Irwin Stelzer ‘He is not even… Read more
This shotgun marriage of minds between Labour and the Tories won’t last
It just might be that out of the shouting at Prime Minister’s Questions, the sallies and charges, a set of sensible fiscal and financial policies is emerging. The leader of… Read more
No more consensus: this time there is a choice
The next election will present voters with two distinct futures, says Irwin Stelzer: Labour’s rising taxes and love of the EU, or the Tories’ spending cuts and plans for the… Read more
This is how you should use your reprieve, Gordon
Irwin Stelzer says the PM should seize the opportunity presented by this stay of execution: plot a path to fiscal sanity, cut red tape and restore Britain’s stature on the… Read more
Obama’s plan to turn America European
Irwin Stelzer says that Obama’s budget shows that he wants to turn the United States into a European-style social democracy Congress has now gone through the Obama budget with what… Read more
Sarkozy’s dream of taming America is doomed
The American model of lightly regulated capitalism may be in disrepute, says Irwin Stelzer. But the French President’s ambition is deluded French presidents/emperors are given to delusion. Napoleon thought he… Read more
The Tory quest for a fiscal Holy Grail is doomed
Brown’s golden rules have been exposed as a sham, says Irwin Stelzer, but the Tory response has been feeble. Their target should be the PM’s feathering of Old Labour nests… Read more
Brown must stop sounding like a sore winner
‘I was born for this moment,’ Gordon Brown is said to have told a small group at a recent dinner party. The Prime Minister is too keen a student of… Read more
Obama and McCain offer a choice, not an echo
In the Republican corner it is to be John Sidney McCain III, white, age 71. In the Democratic corner we have Barack Hussein Obama, black, age 46. No American election… Read more
Balls wants a 100 per cent tax on inherited brains
Irwin Stelzer admires the Schools Secretary, and so regrets that his admissions policy prevents schools from taking account of a pupil’s prospects of success. Bad news all round Seemingly alone… Read more
Go nuclear, but keep your hand on your wallet
John Hutton, the energetic Secretary of State for Business and a few other things, has reason to be pleased with the expressions of ‘significant interest’ in constructing new nuclear power… Read more
The economic consequences of Mr Brown
Gordon Brown might be overstating his case when he ignores his Thatcherite inheritance and a benign global economic environment, and takes sole credit for Britain’s rather good economic performance during… Read more
Latest blogs
- The Liberal Democrats, the natural party of government? James Forsyth
- Lord Mandelson gives Miliband two big tasks Isabel Hardman
- Scotland’s 2013 Eurovision triumph Fraser Nelson
- Andrew Feldman denies calling Tory activists ‘swivel-eyed loons’ Fraser Nelson
- The swivel-eyed loons in the Conservative party are revolting. And they are right to revolt. Alex Massie
- Top Tory calls party activists ‘mad swivel-eyed loons’ James Forsyth
- Spectator Play: what’s worth watching, listening to or going to this weekend Camilla Swift
