welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. may's european parliament elections could be a defining struggle for the continent's feature, a struggle between the forces of liberalism and populism, perhaps best personified by french president emmanuel macron up against hungary's viktor orban. my guest todayis hungary's viktor orban. my guest today is italy's former centre—left prime minister, paolo gentiloni. politically, he is with emmanuel macron that his country is led by populist sympathetic to viktor orban. so which message is resonating with your‘s voters? —— europe's. paolo gentiloni, welcome to

now on bbc news, stephen sackur is in the bbc radio theatre with a special edition of hardtalk.elcome to a special addition of hardtalk from the bbc radio theatre in london. —— edition. mental health

i'm stephen sackur.n it comes to brexit, the usual political cliches about end games and moments of truth are useless. british prime minister theresa may has managed to turn brexit into the crisis that never ends. and now, she wants the eu to agree to a 3—month extension to the departure deadline, that was fixed for march 29. so, will the eu 27 agree? well, my guest is the czech foreign minister, tomas petricek. what will the eu need in return for giving britain more time to sort out the mess it's in? tomas petricek, welcome to hardtalk. thank you for having me. to describe what is happening in british politics today concerning brexit as chaos would be being very polite. you've actually just come from a meeting with british's foreign secretary, jeremy hunt. so, what do you, as a foreign minister of one of the eu 27 nations, make of what's going on in london? the big problem for us is the uncertainty. we don't know what's going to be the outcome, and for us, it's important that we have an orderly brexit,

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. hard to remember a time when britain wasn't consumed by brexit agony. and still it's impossible to say how and when the pain will stop. mps are currently trying to find a brexit consensus, in defiance of the wishes of the prime minister. her own deal remains short of a parliamentary majority, though she clings to the hope it will eventually prevail before time runs out. my guest is former conservative minister and longest serving mp, ken clarke. how close to breaking point is britain's political system 7 ken clarke, welcome to hardtalk. glad to be here. you have the rather wonderful title of father of the house, the longest serving mp. you've seen a lot in your time but have you ever seen westminster as febrile, as hysterical, and as utterly unproductive as it is today? no. i will give you my shortest answer in the programme. i get asked that all the time. the callahan minority government was more straightforward. this is a shambles, it is a complete shambles and the house has gone ma

i'm stephen sackur.e than seven decades, the world bank has been a pillar of an international consensus forged in washington. rich world money has been funnelled into poorer nations prepared to play by the rules set by the western overlords of multilateralism. but maybe that consensus is breaking down. the world bank is about to get a new trump—nominated president who has been sharply critical of its past activities. my guest is the current interim head of the world bank, kristalina georgieva. is she braced for turbulence ahead? kristalina georgieva, welcome to hardtalk. thank you for having me, stephen. would you agree that this is a time of very great uncertainty for the world bank? it is a time of uncertainty for the world. we see the world economy slowing down. there are concerns around debt burdens, there are clouds because of trade. as for the world bank, we have never been in such strong financial position in our entire history. we just got the largest capital increase, 50% boost, and that is beca

i'm stephen sackur.he north atlantic treaty organisation is 70 years old this year, but despite its achievements and longevity, celebrations are muted. that's because nato‘s cohesion and long—term viability are being questioned as never before. more than anything else, that's because the united states is now led by a nato—sceptic president. my guest today isjens stoltenberg, nato‘s secretary general. is he simply papering over nato‘s widening cracks? jens stoltenberg, welcome to hardtalk. thank you so much for having me. i should begin by wishing nato a happy 70th birthday, but it is not a time for celebration, is it? nato, it seems to me, is facing a real crisis. would you agree? it is a time for celebration because we have achieved a lot, but it's not a time for complacency, because we still have a lot to do. i think we see a paradox, and many people in europe and north america question the strength of the transatlantic bond, the strength of nato, but at the same time, the reality is that we are doing

now on bbc news it's a special edition of hardtalk, with stephen sackur.ial edition of hardtalk from the bbc radio theatre in london with me stephen sackur. this mental health is not easy to talk about, least of all for young men, so often brought up to regard any emotional vulnerability as weakness. well, my guest today knows that and has lived with the consequences. stephen manderson is much better known as rapper professor green. all his hit records, the awards and the rewards, couldn't ultimately mask his own inner pain. but he chose to speak out. he is determined to break the taboos around mental health. so, can we all learn from professor green? cheering and applause. thank you. stephen manderson, professor green, welcome to hardtalk. thanks for having me. i've got to start by asking, how are you? because people who follow you closely know that you were about to go on a national tour. yes. you then had an accident and you fractured bones in your neck. so how are you doing? yeah, i'm all right, that's my answer and i'm sticking to it. but you're not i

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur.just days to go until the british parliament votes again on theresa may's brexit deal, the political debate in the uk grows ever more polarised. but the legacy of brexit won'tjust be deep fractures within the political parties, this protracted national argument has also raised questions about how the machinery of government works, and the role of the supposedly apolitical civil service. my guest is lord peter ricketts, former top diplomat and uk national security advisor. now an ardent advocate of a second referendum. have britain's mandarins been exposed as an unelected, unaccountable break on brexit? lord ricketts, peter ricketts, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. how hard did you have to think before you took the decision to enter the political fray on this vexed issue of britain and brexit? because you spend your life being, if i may say so, a faceless, apolitical, mandarin diplomat civil servant, so you are doing something entirely new. first of all, i would still consider myself ap

now on bbc news — hardtalk‘s stephen sackur is on the road in hungary ahead of crucial eu elections in 2015, mass migration plunged hungary into chaos. the result — a political backlash still reverberating around hungary and europe today. viktor orban is next to mr macron, mrs merkel, i think, the most influential politician in europe. he is perfecting a kind of new style of politics, single—party rule. hungary is still very far away from russia, azerbaijan or turkey in this respect, but it's inching towards that place. if you want a symbol that captures the power and the simplicity of viktor orban's nationalist message, then this is it — 170km of fortified borderfence. hungary's way of saying "no way" to immigration. the ever—growing gap between the political leftist, liberal political elite in western europe and the electorate in the member states has to be closed. if it's growing further, then it's going to ruin the european union. hungary — a small country at the heart of europe, intensely proud of its history, culture and language. the magyar story can be traced back more than 1,0

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. may's european parliamentary elections could be a defining moment in the struggle for the eu's future, a continent wide clash between the forces of liberalism and populism, perhaps best personified by french president emmanuel macron, up against hungary's viktor 0rban. well, my guest today is italy's former centre—left prime minister, paolo gentiloni. politically, he's with emmanuel macron, but his country is led by populists sympathetic to mr 0rban. so, which message is resonating with europe's voters? paolo gentiloni, welcome to hardtalk. let me ask you a very simple question. do you feel like a stranger in your own land today, just one year after that election which you lost so resoundingly? no, you could neverfeel a stranger in your own country. 0bviously, i'm not talking for the italian government, i have my own opinions, and they are the opinions of the opposition. but it's not like a normal switch between parties, this was a massive change, almost a revolution in the political

now on bbc news, stephen sackur is in the bbc radio theatre with a special edition of hardtalk.

i'm stephen sackur. a massive cloud has just evaporated from donald trump's political horizon.cial counsel robert mueller found no evidence that the president colluded with the russians during the 2016 presidential election. even though mueller left open the question of obstruction ofjustice, the president is claiming exoneration. well, my guest today has a unique perspective on all of this. george papadopoulos was the first trump campaign member to be convicted as a result of that mueller probe. leave aside the posturing, are we any closer to the truth? george papadopoulos in new york city, welcome to hardtalk. thank you, stephen. you have had a few hours now to digest the news of the headlines that come out of the special counsel's report, as reported by the us attorney—general. you have a unique perspective on this, so give me your initial response. my initial response is that i feel quite vindicated, actually. i'd like to echo the president's sentiment where he stated that he felt "exonerated" to some extent. it is — i guess it really... you're right, i do have a unique per

now on bbc news, stephen sackur is in

now on bbc news, stephen sackur speaks to former uk national security adviser lord ricketts on hardtalk

as part of our season "crossing divides," the bbc‘s stephen sackur looks at the implications of viktory." hungary's prime minister, viktor orban, the most powerful populist politician in europe. opposition to immigration is his defining issue. backin immigration is his defining issue. back in 2015, hungary became an unwilling waystation for hundreds of thousands of migrants desperate to get into the eu. today that would be impossible. donald trump talks about fortified borders. victor organ builds them. hungary now allows only a handful of asylum seekers to cross the serbian border. they are detained in discount. human rights groups say the orban government is flouting international norms. but in southern hungary, they claim they are preserving their nation's identity. you are making it plain that, for you, this is about culture. it isn't just about security. yes, you're right, because i think we need to defend our culture. you know, i respect, for example, the islam in saudi arabia. but hungary is a christian country. the government's propaganda invariably features george soros, the a

welcome to hardtalk, i'm stephen sackur. venezuelans, every day is a struggle for survival. this is an oil—rich country where the shops are empty, the power is out, and healthca re is collapsing. and politics offers little hope of salvation. the maduro government is clinging to the trappings of power, while the country's other self—proclaimed president, juan guaido, leads mass protests against him. my my guest is one of guaido‘s key allies in the venezuelan parliament, juan andres mejia. is there a way out of venezuela's protracted agony? juan andres mejia in caracas, welcome to hardtalk. thank you, it isa welcome to hardtalk. thank you, it is a pleasure to be here. we have a big time delay on this line, but my first question is a pretty simple one. your party colleague and associate juan guaido one. your party colleague and associatejuan guaido proclaimed himself to be president of venezuela onjanuary himself to be president of venezuela on january 23. ever since himself to be president of venezuela onjanuary 23. ever since

i'm stephen sackur.'s been an alarming rise in knife crime in the uk prompted a bout of soul searching about the causes and responses. many of the questions focus on the police. are they doing an effective job? how well do they handle the challenges of policing in disadvantaged and minority communities? my guest is michael fuller, the only black briton to have run one of the country's regionalforces. is uk policing fit for purpose? michael fuller, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. i want to begin with a personal question, a character question. it seems to me in all of your life, from childhood through to adulthood and your many decades of service in the police force, you are a man who is used to swimming against the tide. would you agree with that? i would agree with that. that's partly being in the minority — so at the time i started in the police, there were only six black officers. this was back in 1977, when ijoined. and it was something i always wanted to do, and my book describes my passion forjoinin

i'm stephen sackur. hungary is a relatively small country in the heart of europe.t is led by a nationalist, populist prime minister, viktor orban, who believes his opposition to immigration, his defence of so—called christian values can transform notjust hungary but the whole of the european union. my guests in is hungary's foreign minister, peter szijjarto. but can ‘0rbanism' win europe's battle of ideas? peter szijjarto, welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much for the invitation again. what is fascinating about being in budapest right now is that, in the past couple of days, hundreds of huge posters have gone up around this city, depicting george soros, the american financier, next to jean—claude juncker, the president of the eu commission. and the message is that the european union — presumably in association with soros — is threatening the security of hungary. why does your country feel the need to indulge in this black propaganda? well, first of all, this is an election campaign so you should not be surprised of posters appearing in public areas... but this h

now on bbc news, hardtalk‘s stephen sackur speaks to lord ricketts,

now on bbc news its hardtalk with stephen sackur. welcome to hardtalk.f contemporary fiction have a complex relationship with their own societies. they are both insider and observer. my guest today is a prize—winning israeli novelist who brings a trained psychologist‘s i to compelling stories set in her home country. hers is a world of moral ambiguity where truth, memory, right and wrong are not necessarily what they seem. it is her work telling us something important about the israeli psyche? welcome to hardtalk. hello. you're a trained clinical psychologist, you are also a novelist, which matters most? i feel very passionate about both of them. i think they are both driven, originated from the same place. it is a place where instead of judging place. it is a place where instead ofjudging you try to understand when you would find something that you would rush intojudgement, you have to ask yourself could i under any circumstances be doing this thing that when i look from the outside perspective seems so wrong. that is interesting. it is searching for th