Claude Forthomme

Italy, London

ESG Director and Columnist at Impakter

ESG Director & columnist Impakter News; economist (Columbia U.), former #UN director; #fiction writer, painter, Italy fan❤️ Not really on X anymore

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Articles

Trump's 100-Day Power Grab: What Next

2 months ago | impakter.com | Claude Forthomme

As Trump completes his first 100 days in the White House, having signed 142 executive orders to expand his executive power, two major events marked his power grab: One, Mark Carney, the Liberal Party’s candidate, won the election in Canada and will continue as Prime Minister, because he is seen as the one Canadian politician best able to stand up to Trump; and two, Trump is tanking in the polls as the chaos of his second term turns voters off.
Trump's 100-Day Power Grab: What Next?

2 months ago | impakter.com | Claude Forthomme

As Trump completes his first 100 days in the White House, having signed 142 executive orders to expand his executive power, two major events marked his power grab: One, Mark Carney, the Liberal Party’s candidate, won the election in Canada and will continue as Prime Minister, because he is seen as the one Canadian politician best able to stand up to Trump; and two, Trump is tanking in the polls as the chaos of his second term turns voters off.
TRUMP'S Trade War: What Is the Right Response?

2 months ago | impakter.com | Claude Forthomme

Napoleon won his wars by hitting the enemy where it was least expected, and that’s what needs to be done with Trump. The proper response to the “reciprocal tariffs” he unleashed on the world on April 2 is not in tit-for-tat tariffs-on-goods. That’s stuff for kids, the kind of tariff policies that were believed in centuries ago, in the good old days of 17th-century mercantilists.
Omnibus Package: Approved by EU Council, the EU Parliament is Next

Mar 27, 2025 | impakter.com | Claude Forthomme

On March 26, 2025, the EU Council agreed on the “stop-the-clock” mechanism proposed by the EU Commission in the Omnibus package that was released by the EU Commission in February. The political motivation is clear, as Adam Szłapka, Minister for the European Union of Poland, said: “Simplification is one of the priorities of the Polish presidency.
From ReArm Europe to Readiness 2030: What’s Behind the Words

Mar 24, 2025 | impakter.com | Claude Forthomme

Once again, European politicians disappoint, showing that they are not able to call a spade a spade and prefer to resort to the “safety” of bland language to make everyone happy. Last Friday, we learned that the EU Commission had agreed to change the name of its European defence plan.
Trump’s Attack on American Universities: What It Means

Mar 18, 2025 | impakter.com | Claude Forthomme |Richard Seifman

Trump describes his attack on American universities as a war on antisemitism in academia. But the real question is: To what extent does this attack place higher education in America at risk? Could America lose its role as a world leader in academia?
Trump's War on ESG: How the Finance Industry Is Holding Up

Mar 14, 2025 | impakter.com | Claude Forthomme

At first glance, it looked like the CFA Institute, the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts, had caved into the Trump administration’s war on ESG. The Institute is a premium global professional investment association founded in 1962 by Lewis F. Powell, a famous conservative Republican who later became Supreme Court Justice.
Trump’s Elimination of USAID: What it Means - Impakter

Mar 11, 2025 | impakter.com | Claude Forthomme

The elimination of USAID was a foretold disaster, and the news came out yesterday. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that following Elon Musk’s DOGE expedited review, of the over 6000 programs that constituted USAID’s work, only about 1,000 remained, or about 18% of the agency’s total budget. He further clarified that he would take those remaining programs into the State Department, although what they consist of, at this point in time, nobody knows.
Ukraine Peace Deal: Why EU Needs to Negotiate Directly with Russia

Mar 4, 2025 | impakter.com | Claude Forthomme

When Trump arrived at the White House, a breakdown in diplomatic relations with Europe was in the cards. We all hoped it wouldn’t happen, but it has. And Europeans must now face a new geopolitical reality: The post-World War II based on a close US-Europe alliance is no more. It means that the EU can no longer rely on the US and needs to open direct negotiations with Russia to achieve a peace deal in Ukraine.
Unthinkable: America Sides With Russia on Ukraine Resolution

Feb 25, 2025 | impakter.com | Claude Forthomme

This is the end of an era: We are now seeing the United States ditch its historic allies and side with its longtime enemies, Russia, Belarus and North Korea, voting against the Ukraine Resolution at the United Nations that was to mark the third year of the war on February 24. And all because the language in the Resolution blamed Russia for the war. And to think that until a month ago, the US had fully supported Ukraine’s war effort. It was, of course, Trump’s doing.