Episode 210

The darkest hour comes just before the dawn. Just when it looked a distinct possibility that the Korean Peninsula would turn to ash from north to south, peace appears to be breaking out on the slopes of the Winter Olympics. The mesmerizing possibility of North and South Korea marching jointly under a single flag in the Olympic Opening Ceremony, however, has some going off-piste and refusing to take yes for an answer. To help us make sense of it all, we invited Rod Wye into the Sputnik studio; a considerable expert on the region and Associate Fellow of the Asia Programme, Chatham House.

And, over half a century ago, British Tory Prime Minister Harold MacMillan famously laid down his friends for his political life in what became known as “the Night of the Long Knives". He reshuffled his decrepit, sclerotic cabinet in the hope of rescuing his collapsing political position. It failed, and not too long afterwards he and then the Conservatives had to fall on their swords. Theresa May's position is even more precarious. Without a parliamentary majority and with precious few big beasts left, she had very few options available for her cabinet reshuffle this week. Even worse, the cabinet ministers she did attempt to move flatly refused to shift. Strong and stable it was not… So, to discuss the political landscape in the aftermath of “the Night of the Penknives”, we asked celebrated political analyst Matt Turner of the perspicacious Evolve Politics to join us.

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