Not so long ago, a rather strange argument gained traction. The way by which "liberal" governments in Europe and elsewhere have conducted efforts to promote more moderate policies and in so doing, to reinforce civil values had opposite results to what they hoped for. Extremist forces emerged actually in better shape. This conclusion, so it is claimed, applies to moderates of both right and left, as well as to the extremists at both ends.

In trying to lead from the centre, left and right wing moderates abandoned wide open spaces for the extremists to occupy. Then, many people felt uncomfortable with how moderates ran their governments or how they explained what they intended to do. With time, more and more people ended up disbelieving that "moderates" knew what they were doing or understood what ordinary people were experiencing in their everyday lives. And so the extremist parties attracted greater support.

At present - afraid that they'll be losing all their political space to extremists - some moderates of the "centre" are undertaking discussions and conducting controversial debates about where their moderate stance has led them.

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PALESTINE

In the brou-ha-ha about the so-called agreement to end the war that President Trump signed with Iran, what has again been totally forgotten is the issue of Palestine (if that is the right expression - a better descriptor would be the tragedy of Palestine...)

Whatever may be said by the US or Israel (no matter who their leaders might happen to be) will amount to empty words. For as long as a just solution is not found to compensate for how the people of Palestine have been and still are being dealt with, a fundamental basis for peace in the so-called Near East  will not exist.

Both sides (Palestinian and Israeli) will continue to commit atrocities against each other, which sometimes but not always get labelled as genocide, even as the sparks of war burst all across the Palestinian countryside.

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DISSATISFACTION

Since the 1950s, we have targeted tourism as a sector from which we could earn a good living. The people who believed in this were quite right.

At first, naturally, there was apprehension. Why would foreigners come to visit during their holidays when we were more accustomed to living alongside sailors and soldiers of foreign armed forces? But tourists did begin to trickle in.

From the attractions of sea and sun initially, to history and ancient monuments at a later stage... Then after so many hotels and restaurants opened, all making money, misgivings multiplied - how could we hope to attract tourists outside the summer and Christmas holidays? By now, that hurdle too has been overcome. Tourists are coming continually at all times of the year.   

But meanwhile, dissatisfaction has been on the rise. Too many crowds. Too many buildings. Too much noise. Too many foreigners. Too many fake things being done. All this to service the needs of people who come to visit for a few days, while the rest of the population have to live here year in, year out! Similar complaints are being made right across Europe.