iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Christine Lagarde will probably announce tomorrow that she’s stepping down early as ECB president to meddle in the French election. My colleague Tim Jones has written good policy profiles on the three leading contenders to replace her, the latest on Joachim Nagel 242econ.substack.com/p/the-influe...

242econ.substack.com

The influencer

Joachim Nagel – a policy profile

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242.news @242news.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

🔊"It's been basically scorched-earth tactics". New Twenty-Four Two podcast out on 100 Days of Péter Magyar with @pbergsen.bsky.social and Tim G. Jones. Download and subscribe at: bit.ly/242podcast apple.co/40NZR7L bit.ly/spotify242pod

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

“I’m not a crook”, Nigel Farage (2026)

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242.news @242news.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

As @ecb.europa.eu prepares to lift its policy rate, read the second 242econ.news long-form profile of the leading candidates to succeed @president.ecb.europa.eu. This time, it's Pablo Hernández de Cos. 242econ.substack.com/p/el-indepen...

242econ.substack.com

El independiente

Pablo Hernández de Cos – a policy profile

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

For our final pod on Hungary I finally got to let loose on the gullible western "intellectuals" pushing the embarrassingly biased government-aligned polls, and I didn't even mention the pathetic sharing of the most obvious fake news about Magyar.

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Gabriela Greilinger @gabrielagreilinger.com · 10/04/2026

My colleague Ábel Bede from the Hungarian Observer and I had a great conversation with @242news.bsky.social, covering a lot of ground, from the final days of the campaign to MCC and the connections between the Hungarian and American far right. 🎙️🇭🇺 Also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc.

twentyfourtwo.substack.com

"He's more of a surfer"

The final days with Ábel Bede and Gabriela Greilinger

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Under European rules this call to pause the fiscal rules means that within two weeks someone has to propose a new European fund to finance “investment” in whatever is related to the current crisis.

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242.news @242news.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

🔊Final 242.news Hungary election podcast out! Ábel Bede and @gabrielagreilinger.com join Tim G. Jones and @pbergsen.bsky.social for a state of play before Sunday's crucial election. Go to ... bit.ly/242podcast apple.co/40NZR7L bit.ly/spotify242pod bit.ly/242Hungary

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Our final foreign interference in the Hungarian election is up. We speak to @gabrielagreilinger.com and Ábel Bede of the excellent Hungarian Observer substack on topics ranging from why Fidesz is losing support to its influence abroad, including MAGA world twentyfourtwo.substack.com/p/hes-more-o...

twentyfourtwo.substack.com

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

One week to go until the election in Hungary so about time we spoke to a biographer of Orban’s challenger, Peter Magyar. There’s more there than just a disgruntled former Fidesz insider, but he’s also clearly not the pro-EU liberal some seem to be hoping for.

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Gabriela Greilinger @gabrielagreilinger.com · 01/04/2026

@242news.bsky.social has done a great podcast series on the Hungarian election over the last few weeks, with stellar guests such as @kimlanelaw.bsky.social, @zecsaky.bsky.social, András Pethö, Stefano Bottoni, and others. Give it a listen if you're interested. ⬇️

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Max Bergmann @maxbergmann.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Highly recommend

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

All the cool kids are now talking about Hungary ahead of the election in two weeks but we’ve been doing that for ages (3 months)! This week we had László Andor on the podcast to talk about Orbán and the EU and a bit on the economic conditions that allowed his rise and now potentially his fall.

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242.news @242news.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

🔊Podcast: "Hungary would probably be hit harder than many others" - @pbergsen.bsky.social and Tim G. Jones discuss Trump's energy-price gift to Viktor Orbán, Hungary's dire economy, the latest polls, and a vicious anti-Ukraine campaign. twentyfourtwo.substack.com/p/hungary-wo...

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242.news @242news.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

🔊Podcast: “Hungary is trailing behind Russia by 10 years” - Márton Schlanger of pollster Republikon joins @pbergsen.bsky.social and Tim G. Jones to discuss what the polls are telling us five weeks before Hungary's election day: bit.ly/3OXWIzt

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242.news @242news.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

🔊Podcast: Tim G. Jones, @pbergsen.bsky.social, Bill Farren-Price and @simontaylor71.bsky.social discuss 🇺🇦🇷🇴 energy dispute, Péter Magyar’s increasing poll advantage, fears of election delay, Viktor Orbán’s miscalculations around “Peak Trump”, and the EU’s wilful inertia. bit.ly/46ywz0f

bit.ly

"Just set up a Zoom call without Viktor on it and get this done"

Orbán makes Ukraine hostage to his desperate re-election bid

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

Now that everyone is paying attention to Hungary thanks to Orbán’s threats to EU Ukraine policy, an obviously cynical campaign ploy, it’s another good moment to remind everyone we’ve been talking about the election and scenarios such as these for the last two months. This is our latest episode:

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

Finally some juicy stuff to talk about this week: a sex tape scandal and speculating how the election could be stolen, and some drama for the nerds in our discussion on the Hungarian central bank

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Zselyke Csaky @zecsaky.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Likewise, I really enjoyed the conversation. Thanks so much for having me on, @pbergsen.bsky.social and Tim!

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Enjoyed discussing the European implications of the Hungarian election with @zecsaky.bsky.social and her explaining to me why in several cases I don't quite get it twentyfourtwo.substack.com/p/trump-hasn...

twentyfourtwo.substack.com

“Trump hasn't been the boon to Orbán that many expected”

Zselyke Csaky on the foreign-policy impact of Hungary's election

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242.news @242news.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

🔊New Podcast out! “Trump hasn't been the boon to Orbán that many expected” @zecsaky.bsky.social from @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social on the European impact of Hungary's election on the Twenty-Four Two podcast with @pbergsen.bsky.social and Tim G. Jones. twentyfourtwo.substack.com/p/trump-hasn...

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242.news @242news.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

🔊Podcast: “People are waiting for change, so there is a huge expectation” Hungarian 'red baron' Gábor Bojár explains why liberals should use Péter Magyar's to topple Viktor Orbán on the Twenty-Four Two Podcast. with @pbergsen.bsky.social and Tim G. Jones. twentyfourtwo.substack.com/p/people-are...

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Given Trump’s heavy handed attempts to control the Fed, we thought it would be a good time to do a podcast on how the Hungarian government went about taking control of its central bank a decade ago with a former deputy governor who was at the MNB at the time open.substack.com/pub/twentyfo...

open.substack.com

"The central bank take over of MAGA dreams"

A Hungarian playbook for taming the Federal Reserve

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Biggest lie of the day must be him claiming to "actually like Emmanuel Macron"

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242.news @242news.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

🔊242.news podcast: “Péter Magyar is a much more dangerous opponent for the government than any other former challenger”. 2026 Hungary election special co-hosted by @pbergsen.bsky.social with pollster Dániel Róna on how Viktor Orbán can still win: open.substack.com/pub/twentyfo...

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

In our second podcast ahead of the Hungarian election we spoke about Orbán's political and ideological journey with his biographer Stefano Bottoni twentyfourtwo.substack.com/p/the-point-...

twentyfourtwo.substack.com

"The point is how Orbán can react to a possible defeat"

Stefano Bottoni on Viktor Orbán's political odyssey

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242.news @242news.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

🔊242.news podcast: "The point is how Orbán can react to a possible defeat". 2026 Hungary election special co-hosted by @pbergsen.bsky.social with Stefano Bottoni on Viktor Orbán's political odyssey. Listen and subscribe (free) to www.242.news at: twentyfourtwo.substack.com/p/the-point-...

twentyfourtwo.substack.com

"The point is how Orbán can react to a possible defeat"

Stefano Bottoni on Viktor Orbán's political odyssey

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242.news @242news.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

🔊Podcast: “Hungary is to the American right what Sweden used to be to the American left”. The new weekly 'Twenty-Four Two' 2026 Hungary election special series opens with @kimlanelaw.bsky.social. Listen and subscribe (free) to www.242.news at: twentyfourtwo.substack.com/p/podcast-hu...

twentyfourtwo.substack.com

🔊Podcast: “Hungary is to the American right what Sweden used to be to the American left”

New podcast series on Europe's pivotal 2026 election

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

In the first episode of a podcast series ahead of the Hungarian election in April, my colleague Tim Jones has @kimlanelaw.bsky.social on to discuss how Orbán spread his ideas to the rest of Europe and the US. I’m rather biased but thought this was very insightful. open.substack.com/pub/twentyfo...

open.substack.com

🔊Podcast: “Hungary is to the American right what Sweden used to be to the American left”

New podcast series on Europe's pivotal 2026 election

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Kim Lane Scheppele @kimlanelaw.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

Tim Jones has a new podcast series spotlighting Hungary as part of the spread of autocratic threats to democracy around the world. New episodes will drop every Sunday from now thru the HU election. I'm delighted to be the first guest to kick off the series! substack.com/home/post/p-...

substack.com

🔊Podcast: “Hungary is to the American right what Sweden used to be to the American left”

New podcast series on Europe's pivotal 2026 election

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

I found the campaign in the Netherlands very frustrating and was even more annoyed by all the hot takes suggesting the result marked a defeat for the populists, so I tried to write my anger away open.substack.com/pub/twentyfo...

open.substack.com

False choice

"Victory" for the Dutch centre is welcome but Pyrrhic

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

Complete coincidence that the European Commission decided to demonstrate the benefits of the tariff ceiling they negotiated with the US with a comparison with a country with a 10% tariff. It could refer to either Brazil or the United Kingdom, wonder which one they were thinking of.

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

The German people have spoken: they want their Schwarze Null and crumbling infrastructure back

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 30/07/2025

A classic bit of EuroCope to suggest the Europeans caving to Trump was due to strategic errors. In reality, they're unwilling to suffer the economic pain required to do so. The French should know this after they folded instantly when Trump threatened to tariff wine earlier this year.

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

He did say recently that the EU is nastier than China, so a higher tariff than China is just simple consistency

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

In our podcast this week @timgwynnjones.bsky.social and I discuss several good reasons for why the ECB might hold at 2% for a while after its June cut, and also I point out that it’s “a nice round number” podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/m...

podcasts.apple.com

Central banks:

Podcast Episode · Medley Advisors · 09/05/2025 · 24m

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

Visiting Switzerland is a strange experience. Everything is very nice, the trains run on time, and there’s always a mountain in the background. But most alienating of all is seeing banks advertise with 5 year mortgages rates of 1.17%

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Dom White @domw.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

We've already established that the formula is ... well ... nonsense. But in the Swiss case, the figures are inflated by investors moving gold into the US at the end of last year due to - that's right! - the threat of tariffs. Exclude those flows and Swiss exports would be subject to 20%.

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Cas Mudde @casmudde.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Very important intervention by @catherinedevries.bsky.social — now that elite consensus on strengthening European militaries has emerged, it is crucial to create genuine mass support, which means being open about the costs it will take.

politico.eu

Security in Europe will mean sacrifices for citizens

Europeans must decide whether they’re willing to bear the costs of shaping their future, or risk having it shaped for them.

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

So far European rearmament has meant more financial engineering than military engineering. Interesting to see the UK considering joint European defence spending but just moving ever more off-budget is not going to avoid the difficult budgeting choices caused by rearmament. on.ft.com/3Yf2bDL

on.ft.com

UK floats plan for joint European fund to ‘stockpile’ weapons

‘Supranational’ vehicle would purchase for participating states at more favourable borrowing rates

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

Silly to exclude the UK from this unless you’re 100% certain there will be an EU-UK security agreement very soon on.ft.com/3DEIpux

on.ft.com

EU to exclude US, UK and Turkey from €150bn rearmament fund

Victory for France-backed ‘Buy European’ approach to defence spending

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

If we're doing austerity in the UK the first thing that needs to go is these stupid monthly GDP release. The debate here was already overly focused on headline growth rates and has now been completely poisoned by these largely meaningless but overinterpreted estimates

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Nicolai von Ondarza @nvondarza.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

First economists are speaking of a 'real game changer'. To me, exempting defence from the debt brake is even better than a new special fund, as it allows for long-term planning, as the old special fund forced the government to spend quickly always under the shadow 'but what when the fund runs out'

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

Incredible how fast things have moved in Germany. From no debt brake reform two weeks ago to exempting defence spending above 1% from it and announcing a €500bn infrastructure fund that nobody had even considered last week

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

I thought the video Macron posted about his charm offensive was actually pretty cool, Trump clearly doesn’t agree

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Pepijn Bergsen @pbergsen.bsky.social · 23/02/2025

Interesting that inflation didn’t play much of a role, only 5% of Germans mentioned it as the most important theme in their decision

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