If I’m understanding well the medium term forecasts for energy prices, these will be trending towards a moderate increase. But the provision of energy comes from a wide range of products, from coal, to oil, wind, solar and nuclear. The price levels for each sector will not all be rising or falling in the same way.

The rate at which economic growth is rolling in Europe and other zones will help to confirm tendencies towards an increase in energy prices. This would not necessarily be an evil. During the last two years, within the EU, the complaint was that energy prices are not increasing as much as they should. The inflation rate needed to come closer to the annual 2 per cent set by the European Central bank in line with the provisions of the Stability and Growth Pact.

This goal was still not reached despite the billions of euros that the ECB kept pumping every month into the European economy via its quantitative easing programme. So what comes next?   

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Climate change

Europeans are right to feel concern at the American government’s decision to exit the international Paris agreement on climate change. Following the failure of the Kyoto environmental negotiations, the Parisian accord cannot but be considered as the last security shield which we have available in order to face as we must, the damage triggered by world climate change. At least that’s how the problem is perceived by those who believe that climate deterioration is indeed happening.

The Donald Trump administration does not share the perception. It does not feel that the US needs to show any leadership on the matter. 

The EU is doing well to try and keep the Paris agreement afloat without American participation. It’s not going to be easy.

But meanwhile it has become easy to convince oneself  – as I am doing, though not on the basis of any scientific proof – that already the climate is really changing. I cannot remember... but my memory could be faulty on this one... that practically throughout all of Europe, summer was ever as hot as this year’s.

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Primaries

The idea that a party candidate for the top political position in the country should be chosen on the basis of a primary election inside the party, including all its adherents, is an American mechanism for which in its favour, one can find many arguments. It is a democratic process which maximises mass particiaption and tries to get around the underhand agreements and cliques that frequently drive political action.

The model has spread to Europe where it is taking root. But is it delivering?

Surely not for the French right, whose primary empowered a candidate burdened with a huge hidden flaw. And the right could not subsequently then dump him.

In the British Labour Party, a system close to that of the primaries opened the door for Jeremy Corbyn to become party leader. I happen to believe that it was a very good choice, but others disagree.

Then we have the primary being run in Malta by the PN. One could query whether its long drawn out timetabling is being beneficial to that party.