Free Republic

Eight months before the crucial midterm elections, the administration of President Donald Trump is battling high living costs. The strike against Iran threatens to undo the first successes achieved in the struggle against inflation via falling energy prices. Ludwig Erhard understood the formula for sustained political success. The equation was as simple as it was powerful: stable money circulating in free markets coordinates the millions of individual decisions made by households, businesses, and credit institutions -- day after day -- in the most efficient manner. Stable money requires a lean state. Public debt, meanwhile, is widely regarded as the primary...

At present, there is no sign of de-escalation in the Iran conflict. The Strait of Hormuz has become a geopolitical chokepoint that could plunge the global economy into a severe crisis. While European governments work on emergency plans to mitigate soaring energy prices, the maritime insurance market is experiencing a seismic shock. War is raging in Iran. Amid the fog of propaganda, it is increasingly difficult to separate fact from fiction, to distinguish AI-generated material from actual bomb strikes, and to see behind the carefully woven veil of media spin and national interests. Yet, we attempt here to make sense...

While Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government is catapulting Germany into a debt spiral, long-struggling Argentina has begun paying down its liabilities. President Javier Milei is holding up a mirror to Berlin’s debt-addicted political class -- and the reflection is one of unmistakable failure. It took Argentina’s President Milei barely six months, right in the middle of the severe economic crisis he inherited from his socialist predecessors, to clean up a completely ruined public budget. That was in June of last year. This week, the Finance Ministry in Buenos Aires reported something that, in Germany today, would probably be dismissed as fiscal...

France’s government has collapsed -- again. With the resignation of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, the fragility of European politics is once more on full display. Trapped between party deadlock, eco-socialist dogma, and a reform-weary public, France offers the blueprint for what could soon become the next Eurozone crisis. After Lecornu’s abrupt resignation Monday morning -- just hours after being sworn in -- President Emmanuel Macron must once again find a new head of government. By now, Macron is well-practiced at this ritual: this marks his third attempt in a single year to form a stable cabinet. Only a month earlier,...