Jon Worth Profile picture
30 Jan, 5 tweets, 1 min read
The European Commission has messed up its approach and comms on AstraZeneca. It could (should?) have done better.

But - I’m sorry - this is what you get with von der Leyen. She looks like she wants to take action, and goes ahead without fully considering the consequences.
This is what you get in any politics: there are good politicians, bad ones, ones with skills for some situations that then don’t work in other situations.

vdL’s approach worked better for Brexit than it did for AstraZeneca.
We should not assume the behaviour of European Commissioners is any different to that of national politicians. Politics is not a meritocracy.
We don’t attack the powers a Prime Minister or a national government has if the politicians wielding the power are, right now, of poor quality. Same should apply to the Commission.
If vdL or her team isn’t doing the right thing, criticise the behaviour of the people. Urge better. Suggest alternative ways forward. Don’t attack the institution or its powers.

/ends

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More from @jonworth

28 Jan
This is a 🧵 about my new UK passport

And it's a positive story

Really

And German followers of mine would do well to pay attention to it

1/14
Don't worry. I have not lost my mind

I'd prefer a UK passport gave me rights to live freely in the whole of the EU (it doesn't) and what colour it is doesn't bother me in the slightest. I can put it in a @PulseofEurope case anyway 😜

2/14
The story is about how the passport renewal was handled

And how fantastically good it was

Really I am not joking

This is how government-citizen relations should be

3/14
Read 14 tweets
26 Jan
Handelsblatt has a further story about AstraZeneca up where they *stick to the line* from yesterday evening that caused all the fuss. There is some more detail in this one: handelsblatt.com/politik/deutsc…
Please, as before, treat this with care.

And also please don't just go "they used the number from some other part of the report" - it is possible the numbers are still wrong, but this piece now explains where the numbers are from.
And when EMA approves (or partially approves, or does not approve) the AZ vaccine on Friday we are going to know more.
Read 4 tweets
25 Jan
😳⚠️

German newspaper Handelsblatt has a story that - according to German government sources (note: it does NOT quote scientists directly!) - that the AZ vaccine has only 8% effectiveness for over 65s
Please be aware that there have been tensions between Health Minister Spahn and the junior coalition partners, the SPD, about the vaccine strategy - and this could be a hatchet job... but Handelsblatt is normally reliable on something like this and is reputable.
The full story is here:
handelsblatt.com/politik/deutsc…
Read 5 tweets
25 Jan
Questions on 🇪🇺 and its Member States COVID 💉 strategy that need clear answers:

1️⃣ Why is the approval timetable from EMA more sluggish that elsewhere?

2️⃣ What’s the 🛑 with vaccine rollout? Lack of 💉 quick enough? No 🧊 chain? Or lack of vaccine centres & staff?
On approvals: there might be good reason. A faster approval doesn’t mean a better approval. But given the urgency the comms need to be clear and transparent.
On rollout: working out where the blocks are helps find ways to overcome them. If earlier decisions mean problems now, honestly communicating what happened and why helps.
Read 7 tweets
22 Jan
The depth of the dysfunction of the 🇬🇧 politics laid bare by today's FT piece leaves me struggling for words, grasping for how to explain what is happening... but here's a blog post about what's on my mind

jonworth.eu/uk-politics-al…
This draws on Colin Crouch / Post-Democracy, some of @PeterKGeoghegan democracy being bought, @rafaelbehr on totalitarianism or not, and @davies_will on how the British population seems incapable of engaging with politics
It's as if the country does not know the country it is living in, as if human reality and government decision are divorced from each other. Where what is true is so hard to discern it's lost among hubris
Read 4 tweets
22 Jan
Motivated by the revolutionary zeal of Frost documented in the FT's long read today, and by @APHClarkson likening the UK government's communications to something akin to the dying years of the Soviet Union... this had to be done! #Brexit #Sovereignty
Here's the FT piece by @pmdfoster and others
ft.com/content/cc6b0d…
Translations of the slogans:

Onward, to sovereignty!
Вперед, к Cуверенитету!

Take Back Control
Восстановите контроль!
Read 4 tweets

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