Reinfeldt goes to Washington, where the GOP ends up as Godfather IV

As all Swedes know -- guess that no one else noticed -- Swedish Prime Minister Reinfeldt has visited his fellow IDU-party brother George W. Bush. Here is my take on it (editorial in Aktuellt i Politiken).

My basic argument in the editorial is that these guys are essentially brothers in arms; they belong to the same international of right-wing political parties. Therefore, it might not have been surprising that Reinfeldt did not comment on Iraq, Guantanámo, the Iraqi refugees coming to Sweden. However, that shows a basic shift in Swedish foreign policy, and if Reinfeldt tries to hide behind the environment when implementing this shift, he needs to do a lot better. Besides, Swedish media was in general awfully nice when reporting about this event (blinded by the light and power?). And I cannot help thinking that it could have been Al Gore and Mona Sahlin sitting there...

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And over in Washington DC, the GOP is in a lot of trouble on various fronts. You have hopefully heard of the “Gonzo hearings” (Post coverage here). When you know what it is about, watch this hilarious YouTube-video, have a great laugh, and then look forward to episode V of this Godfather saga (about Paul Wolfowitz).

[Thanks for the link Mike]

US vacation 5: Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive

Just one more thing about vacationing in the US: If you ever end up living in Washington DC, or if you are just there for a longer holiday, try to drive down the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. It is not far, it is absolutely gorgeous, and you can combine the drive in the mountains with loads of other activities.

For example, you can do like Jim, Emma and I did: Drive out south from Washington DC on Route 66 and stop by some of the legendary Civil War Memorials in Manassas. Stop for lunch at the classic Frost’s silver diner in Warrenton and continue on 211 into the park. Drive around, make sure to listen to good music (we listened a lot to John Prine and discussed EU politics), stop for a hike here and there, and when you have finished the Skyline Drive, hit the small roads towards Charlottesville and make sure to stop at a vineyard.

Spend the night in Charlottesville, home of Thomas Jefferson’s University of Virginia (UVA), and close to his home Monticello. In Charlottesville, there are loads of hotels, but also nice smaller places like the 200 South Street Inn (where we were served a refreshing glass of white wine when checking in – as if you needed one more excuse).

Just a great idea for a weekend trip I wanted to share, and here are some photos as well:

US vacation 4: New books from Kramers

There is a fantastic bookstore right by Dupont Circle in Washington DC called Kramers, and as usual I had to spend a buck too many there. This time I bought Everyman by Philip Roth, one of my favorite American authors. I have already read it (yes, it is quite a short novel) and I liked it from the first line (“Around the grave in the rundown cemetery were a few of his former advertising colleagues from New York…”). A winding story about life, death, temptation, illness, and thoughts about why the choices in life ended up the way it did.

I also bought SAIS-professor Zbigniew Brzezinski’s new book Second Chance, which deals with American foreign policy during the most recent three presidents (Bush, Clinton, Bush). As usual, Brzezinski’s analysis is sharp, critical, and he tells us all how things should have been run in a very Brzezinski-esque way. The book is informative, enjoyable, but also sad. US foreign policy and American superpower could have been developed and used so differently since that Wall came down.

Barack Obama’s The audacity of hope also ended up in my suitcase, although I have not yet read his first book Dreams from my father. I will try to read them both and review them in Aktuellt i Politiken. As a start, don’t miss this article about Obama from The New Yorker, I found it very informative. Why cannot articles in Swedish magazines be allowed to carry on like that?

US-vacation 1: The Wedding

As I said before, I am currently on holiday for 10 days in the Washington DC. And as my barber in Stockholm said: “Are you going there again?” My barber is right, but the truth is that I have so many friends here and nowadays there is at least one marriage a year I just have to go to. This time, Brian and Mendi (picture) finally got married, and the marriage was an amazing Thursday to Sunday affair; drinks with old friends from grad school/SAIS on Thursday, rehearsal dinner including Bütros Bütros on Friday, ceremony and party and bar and Ben’s Chili Bowl on Saturday, brunch Sunday.

It was an amazing weekend, and for the first time my girlfriend Emma met all my DC-friends. Right now Brian and Mendi are on honeymoon in France, and I would just like to say (once again) big thanks, good luck, and hope to see you again soon.