Bucharest pressed: Ukraine’s election effect
The Intelligence from The Economist
The Economist
4.6 • 3.6K Ratings
🗓️ 16 May 2025
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Negotiations in Turkey to bring peace to Ukraine could be a flop. But the repercussions of shifting alliances with Russia will play out in this weekend’s presidential election in Romania where the leading candidates have polarised opinion. Why British towns are shabby and disorderly (10:48). And the brilliance of women’s basketball in America (18:30).
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Economist. |
| 0:10.5 | Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist. |
| 0:13.8 | I'm Jason Palmer. |
| 0:15.0 | And I'm Rosie Bloor. |
| 0:16.5 | Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the event shaping your world. |
| 0:24.6 | Thank you. Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the event shaping your world. In Britain, a political project called Leveling Up was supposed to bring a shine to places where the glories were former. |
| 0:32.6 | Money was spent, yes, but political discontent is nevertheless still easy to find. |
| 0:38.7 | We pinpoint what it is that the communities still lack. |
| 0:43.8 | And it has taken a shockingly long time for some people to realize that women can be excellent at sport, |
| 0:50.3 | and are well worth watching. But in America, audiences for women's basketball are finally catching up with men's. |
| 1:01.5 | First up, though. |
| 1:09.9 | Today in Istanbul, the long-awaited peace talks on Ukraine begin. |
| 1:15.0 | Only problem is Vladimir Putin hasn't turned up. |
| 1:18.6 | Though Donald Trump hinted that he himself might go, instead he's heading back to Washington. |
| 1:24.7 | But if those talks in Turkey are a non-event, one place where something will be |
| 1:28.8 | happening this weekend is Romania. Elections are being held there only months after the last |
| 1:34.6 | lot were annulled because of alleged Russian interference. Peace may be elusive, but the ripple |
| 1:41.2 | effect of the war in Ukraine continues. Romania is an interesting country from the perspective of the Ukraine war. |
| 1:48.0 | It's been an enthusiastic ally, its member of NATO, |
| 1:52.0 | and it has helped Ukraine so far with both arms and with making sure that its economy continues to run. |
| 1:58.0 | Matt Steinglass is our Europe correspondent. |
| 2:02.2 | There are talks taking place in Istanbul about whether to move ahead with a ceasefire. |
... |
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