The new statesman
Switching allegiances is now almost a daily routine for UK politicians, but surely none has changed direction as drastically as Lembit Öpik. Once a member of parliament for the Liberal Democrats, he surprised us in 2018 by pivoting to the heavens, becoming Chairman of Parliament for Asgardia, the self-proclaimed space nation founded by Russian entrepreneur Igor Ashurbeyli.
Sadly, he presides over a government in exile, as Asgardia currently has no territory to speak of. It does have a tiny satellite in orbit – containing a small hard drive that promises one day to be filled with Asgardian…
