A few days after an electoral exercise that brought together hundreds of millions across Europe, I find myself spluttering expletives into my coffee every time someone mentions relief. You might find me petulant. Childish. Harbouring apocalyptic fantasies. Yet what joy is there in Flanders still being a touch more bourgeois nationalist yellow than it is straightforward fascist brown? How low our ambitions when we rejoice in the “centre holding” in the European Parliament elections - by which we mean what used to constitute almost the entire political spectrum now amounting to a “blink and you’ll miss it” majority?

Like a frog in a heating pot of water, we reassure ourselves we still have a handle on things. A party balloon a few decades after the party, our political system is emptied of meaning, of promise, of hope - but hasn’t yet imploded. Another lucky escape. We can keep boiling.

What we accept as normal in 2024 would have seemed dystopian in 2019 and unimaginable in 2014. As thankful as we are for these small mercies, it’s within the reach of our collective courage and imagination to fill our public space with better things in the next five years. To do more than await our froggy fate.

In the Deep Thought series, Andreea offers opportunities to interrogate our ideas of what is normal and desirable in society. Together we walk towards the mindset shifts that are needed to protect our planet, make the world safe and ensure lives and dignity and meaning for all. Deep Thought is a space for courage and authenticity, with no stone left unturned. We build trust, encourage each other and take action together.

What happens to trust in a transactional world? What does a selfish society do for our happiness? What does meaningful work mean in an era of precarity, automation and uncertainty? What is society for? Join us for our monthly conversations.