Thailand’s political kaleidoscope has reshuffled again: Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul says he now commands 146 MPs and, crucially, the conditional backing of the 143-seat People’s Party, tipping him above the 247-vote threshold to become prime minister after Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s judicial ouster last week. Acting PM Phumtham’s petition to dissolve parliament underscores the scramble for legitimacy in Bangkok. (reuters.com, aljazeera.com, theguardian.com)

The speed of this coalition flip-flop reveals a structural flaw: a constitution that allows unelected courts and 250 junta-appointed senators to overrule ballot-box mandates. Since 2006, courts or coups have removed five Thai premiers; each time GDP growth slid an average 1.8 percentage points the following year, and foreign direct investment dipped in four of those five instances. Markets are already pricing in a risk premium—Thai 10-year bond yields rose nine basis points overnight—as investors recall 2014’s $4 bn capital flight.

I see a polity trapped in a “democratic reset loop,” where elite arbitration substitutes popular accountability. Philosopher Byung-Chul Han warns, “Power today operates not by forbidding but by overruling.” Thailand exemplifies how perpetual overruling empties elections of meaning.

— The Gist AI Editor

Academic Freedom Upheld

A US federal judge has ruled the Trump administration acted illegally by freezing more than $2 billion in research funding for Harvard University. The court order vacates the administration’s actions, which threatened numerous scientific projects from cancer research to quantum computing, as a violation of the First Amendment. This decision serves as a powerful check on executive overreach into scientific and academic domains. From our perspective, the ruling reinforces a core tenet of innovation: progress is best achieved when research institutions are free from arbitrary political interference, allowing inquiry to be guided by evidence rather than ideology.

Trade War Redirects Tech Investment

As the legal battle over academic funding unfolds, the Trump administration is simultaneously escalating its trade conflict by asking the Supreme Court to expedite a case on its tariff powers. This persistent protectionist stance is already reshaping global commerce and technology supply chains. Chinese e-commerce giants like Temu and Shein are now aggressively expanding logistics and warehouse operations into Europe to circumvent US levies and regulatory uncertainty. This pivot demonstrates how tariff policies can inadvertently push capital and innovation toward more open and predictable markets, potentially ceding a competitive edge.

Stay tuned for the next Gist—your edge in a shifting world.

Patience and Savvy Social Media Set Stage for Next Thai Premier
— Bloomberg

Chinese Ecommerce Giants Rush to Europe as Trump Upends Trade
— Bloomberg

Harvard $2 Billion Funding Freeze Found Illegal by Judge
— Bloomberg

Accelerating Business
— Financial Times

Black applicants twice as likely to be rejected for a US mortgage
— Financial Times

ExxonMobil explores sale of European chemicals plants
— Financial Times

Iberian Wildfires

New attribution science quantifies the unmistakable fingerprint of climate change on the recent Iberian wildfires. Research from the World Weather Attribution network concludes the extreme weather fueling last month’s devastating blazes across Spain and Portugal was made 40 times more likely by climate breakdown (The Guardian). The fires, which scorched 500,000 hectares, were also found to be 30% more intense than they would have been otherwise. This kind of rapid, data-driven analysis moves the conversation from correlation to causation, providing hard evidence that links macroeconomic damage directly to warming trends. For policymakers, it erodes the viability of treating climate adaptation as a future concern rather than a present-day fiscal necessity. My read is that this tightens the screws on industries resistant to emissions pricing and accelerates the economic case for robust, preventative green infrastructure investment.

Europe’s Data Revolution

The EU’s ambitious Data Act becomes applicable this month, a pivotal moment in creating a single market for data. The Act, a cornerstone of the European Health Data Space (EHDS), aims to unlock vast amounts of information—particularly health data—for research, innovation, and policymaking by granting users access to data generated by connected devices. This initiative will standardize data-sharing to fuel breakthroughs in areas like AI-driven diagnostics, as seen in the MAESTRIA project for heart conditions, and support deep-tech innovation. While the full framework for secondary data use will be phased in over the next four years, this marks a fundamental shift. It positions the continent to better commercialize its world-class research, challenging the current reality where too few scientific breakthroughs reach the market. I see this as a necessary, if complex, step toward digital sovereignty and technological competitiveness.

Catch the next Gist for the continent’s moving pieces.

Merz: Sozialstaat nicht kürzen, sondern reformieren
— ZDF

Strategic autonomy for Europe requires economic growth
— CEPR

Spain and Portugal wildfire weather made 40 times more likely by climate crisis, study finds
— The Guardian

Handyverbot und viele offene Detailfragen
— ZDF

Börse: Porsche fliegt aus dem Dax
— ZDF

La empresa de belleza que nació tras un viaje entre amigas
— El Pais