← The Globalist
The Globalist
France formally recognises Palestinian statehood and the effects of Trump's tariffs on Switzerland
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UBS Announcer
We're proud to support the craft of journalism. UBS brings you the latest news from around the world with the Globalist on Monocle Radio. Be part of an international network that brings together leading insights, research and technology across 24 time zones and 12 key financial hubs. With you at the centre of it all, UBS advice is our craft.
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Georgina Godwin
You're listening to the Globalist, first broadcast on 23rd September 2025 on Monocle Radio. The Globalist in association with U.
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Tom Edwards
Live from Zurich, this is the Globalist. I'm Tom Edwards. Coming up on Today's program, the 80th.
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Guarana Gurgic
UN General assembly session opens against the backdrop of deep institutional strain, with two headline battles on the agenda, Palestine and Climate.
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Tom Edwards
Monocle's security correspondent will be here at D90 to look ahead to Donald Trump's appearance later today as the Unger continues in New York with London Fashion Week wrapping and all eyes and natty shoes heading to Milan next, we'll take the temperature on the scene with Sophie Grove. And of course, we'll have a browse of the global front pages. Our Georgina Godwin is doing the honours today. Georgina, what have you got for us?
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Georgina Godwin
We'll look at Vladimir Putin's surprise proposal on nuclear arms, Donald Trump's latest claim about Tylenol and autism, and the political fallout around Kamala Harris's new campaign memoir.
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Tom Edwards
More from Georgina in just a moment. Plus, is Switzerland secretly one of the cheapest places in the world to eat out? All that and more ahead on the Globalist, live from Zurich. Hey. Very warm welcome to you from Duvorstrasse 90. Tom Edwards here bringing you the Globalist live from Zurich. But that's not all. My buddy Georgina Godwin is safely ensconced in London town as per usual. Good morning to you, Georgina. How's London treating you this this morning? Good morning. Weather fine?
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Georgina Godwin
Actually, it's not too bad. But I have to say, Tom, I'm so jealous of you because you're in our Zurich studio, which is attached to the cafe. So you all just got a stream of fabulous coffee being delivered to you constantly, I think.
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Tom Edwards
I can't comment on that, Georgina, but just let me. That's my cup there. I've already drained one of those. I needed it this morning. Now, tell me, Georgina, you're going to be joining me throughout the show. We'll be chatting off and on. You'll be looking at the newspapers later. But amongst other things, woman of so many talents, you've been watching a few of the other stories that we're tracking today here on Monaco Radio, I have indeed.
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Georgina Godwin
So President Vladimir Putin has pledged to keep nuclear limits if the US Agrees. So that looks like arms control talks might actually happen. Pakistan, worst floods and decades have happened, terrible situation there that's threatening food security, economic stability and so on. And a story that I'm really, really interested in. Jimmy Kimmel has been reinstated by Disney after that outcry over his suspension. And of course, this defies Donald Trump's crackdown on the media.
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Tom Edwards
Super interesting, Georgina, and if you will, I think we'll chat about that a little bit later in the program. That's our Georgina Godwin keeping an eye for us from London. Stay tuned to Monocle Radio or throughout the day, as you will. But we do head first up on the show to New York City, the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly. I'm delighted to say we're once again joined by Guarana Gurgic Monocle Security correspondent. Good morning, Guarana.
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Guarana Gurgic
Good morning.
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Tom Edwards
What a pleasure. For me, we chatted on the daily we're chatting on the Globe list. But listen, you know, Donald Trump is appearing later. I feel like I almost can't ask you to speculate as to what he will be talking about. Let's just zoom out a little bit as we did yesterday, and talk a bit about Unger. You mentioned just there in the very top of the show, you know, internal problems, questions about the, you know, ongoing sort of efficacy of the UNGA as the, of the UN as an institution, but also these attendant crises. What prospects are there of, you know, seeing the discourse or progress made on those big thorny existential questions? I imagine you'll be fairly sanguine about it. Guarana.
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Guarana Gurgic
Well, I mean, I don't think that even though UN turns 80 this very year, so in October, late October since its founding, this year doesn't feel quite like a jubilee year. It feels more like a stress test or yet another stress test of the state of global governance, of multilateralism. And you're absolutely right to point out that there are several sort of aspects of to what's on the agenda and why this is making the 80th anniversary all but sort of joyful and happy sort of gathering. So first of all, there are things that have been sort of simmering in the background for quite some time and they have to do with just the institutional governance. So quite sort of the issues of bureaucratic management and the fact that now the Sec. Gen Antonio Guterres is getting into his final year, his final year of a tenure where he is trying to push some reforms. And they include austerity measures, which are deeply unpopular. But they also reflect the sort of attitude among some of the leading states, donor states of the United nations, who are, some would say withdrawing and others would say actively destroying the system. And I think United States, of course, comes first on this list, given its status as basically the underwriter of this system. Right. We have to remember how the whole thing got started and how instrumental the United States was in propping up the United nations following the end of World War II, along with allies that emerged victorious out of that.
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Tom Edwards
And of course, if you have one of those key foundational roles, it's played by a nation that is dabbling with increasing isolationism, unilateralism, call it what you want, which makes meaningful conflict resolution presumably all the more difficult. And I just wanted to ask you about that. We've talked a lot about these big crises, of course, you have Gaza, you have the climate emergency. There's hot conflicts that naturally dominate the narrative. There's lots of conflict areas that are barely discussed certainly in the media, to our fault. And we shouldn't neglect those because if we look at global security, we need to discuss and fix these problems. And that's whether we're talking about other hot conflicts or if we're talking about water security or information security, which we talked about yesterday. There's lots of things that almost make even the inside pages far less the front ones.
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Guarana Gurgic
Yeah, absolutely. And that goes also part of the sort of, you know, the nature of the beast. And you alluded to issues that have to do with security. And this was the main sort of reason why United nations was set up to basically prevent another scale of warfare that we saw in World War I and World War II, specifically, of course, having been born out of the idea that League of Nations failed following the end of World War I. And we had to have that set up. And so that brings us to security issues. And again, the fact that we have this Security Council, 15 member states. Right. Five that are permanent and those five are the veto wielding powers which don't seem to agree on much, which don't seem to be able these days to definitely not solve the sort of biggest ticket items, and those are, of course, Gaza and Ukraine that are way up on the agenda, but also the conflicts, as you rightly alluded to, that we don't even hear about now in the kind of context of what's making the kind of headlines, and I would certainly put Sudan there, Haiti, you know, we basically heard these days that the level of famine we are seeing in some of the conflict ridden areas of the world is reaching the point where the director of the World food program, Cindy McCain, said she needs to prioritize to basically take away food from the hungry to give it to the starving. We are at those levels and seemingly again, organization that was set up to deal with conflict and crisis management and then resolution and hopefully then peacekeeping, peace building is unable to address of those. And then, of course, we get to things that we definitely need to be discussing and one of them is featured very highly on the agenda, climate action, but also one that we didn't hear much about, regulation of artificial intelligence. There is nothing there. And I will be curious to hear the various speeches that will be given from the lectern there at the General assembly hall about how different leaders are proposing that we go about this issue that touches us all as collective humanity, just the same as climate.
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Tom Edwards
I just think back to Trump's recent state visit to the UK And I just remember anytime anybody said anything about regulation or deregulation, he just repeated the word deregulation over and over again, increasingly loudly, until. Until the agenda moved on. So I don't hold. I'm not holding my breath for that one. Let's talk a little bit. You're somebody who speaks with such perspicacity and clarity. Always. Gharana. How one expresses one's views is very important. On this recognition of Palestinian statehood, to my mind, it's been implicit. If you discuss a two state solution, which nearly everybody has done, it implies statehood of the respective two states. Right. But much has been made, rightly. Maybe it's because of the timing of the pronouncements on recognition, certainly from Macron later, which we're going to talk about a bit later in the program. This goes way beyond a semantic issue though. Right. There is real substance to it. What have you made about the narrative just around that? It's understandably dominated a lot of the coverage, I guess what people say, how they say it, it really does matter, doesn't it?
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Guarana Gurgic
Absolutely. I think that if we still believe that the international system of nation states is predicated on this idea of sovereignty, the idea of sovereignty is both something that comes from within. So, you know, the kind of classical definition that a state is considered sovereign if it has monopoly over the use of force on its territories. Right. And it can do that to protect its citizens, to kind of further its interests. But also sovereignty is something that's in the eye of the beholders. And, you know, to be considered sovereign you and to actually get to graduate to that level where you would have a seat at the table in institutions such as the United, United nations system, you need to have that recognition from other states. That's kind of sine qua non. If we wish, you know, something that we definitely can't go without. I think that we can't overstate the importance of the, what I would say a coordinated action now on part of many of the West Club to push further with the recognition of Palestinian state. So uk, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Portugal and France, the kind of latest wave. But we also can't ignore the conspicuous absence of of course, United States, Germany, Japan for instance, because the issue now is yes, we have nearly 80% of the UN states that have actually recognized Palestinian state, but the 20% is the critical one. So the fact that United States and Germany, which are the key providers of military sal and military aid to Israel, so US around 70%, Germany about nearly 30%. So like the very, very small percentage is leaving it for the rest of the world. The fact that we have key countries that could wield pressure that have the leverage with military instruments, they are unwilling to pursue that path and more so that there is no coordination over any kind of, you know, pressure that might come through economic leverage. Again, I mentioned military. So some political pressure has been made. You know, even the US administration has recognized that what's going on in Gaza is unacceptable for the reasons that I've mentioned already. You know, the level of famine, the kind of reports that are coming out about war crimes and similar. But basically, if we are serious about this issue, pursuing two state solution, as you alluded to in your question, then everyone needs to get on board or we do need to, or almost everyone because the key ones are still on the fence.
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Tom Edwards
Ghorana, brilliant to have your insights as always on the program. That's our Gorana Gurgic, Monocle security correspondent. Thanks for being with us on the Globalist.
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UBS Announcer
Pleasure.
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Tom Edwards
It is 13 minutes past 8 here in Zurich, 713 in London to where we head next. We're continuing with a browse of the day's newspaper standing by at our London HQ Midori house. We heard from her a moment ago. It's Monocle's Georgina Godwin. Good morning again. Georgina, Good morning.
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Georgina Godwin
I feel sort of slightly cheated. You just had another Gigi on.
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Tom Edwards
Do you know what I remarked about this earlier? I was gonna suggest some sort of Gigi face off. I don't know. We'll do that when Garana's next in London. She's making kind of challenger, challenger actions. Gigi, who will, who will achieve primacy? Listen, so much to cover in the newspapers today. Obviously loads of coverage out of New York City and the sort of ongoing unger. But where, where are you going to start for us, Georgina?
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Georgina Godwin
Well, I mean as you say, that's, that is dominating the front pages everywhere. But also people are very, very interested in this offer from Putin which is really quite surprising. He has said that he's happy to think about an extension to the new START proposal. Now that's remaining US Russia Strategic Nuclear Arms Control Accord and it limits each side to deploying strategic nuclear warheads and also to a certain amount of delivery vehicles. It's meant to expire in February next year. He's saying that it could go on for another year as long as the US also refrains from taking any destabilizing actions. And that means including deploying missile interceptors in space. So it could be a double edged sword here. You know, nobody's quite sure. Caroline Levitt, the Trump spokesperson has said that it sounds pretty good. So we've got an expert opinion on that now.
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Tom Edwards
Yeah, exactly. Well, let's see if Donald Trump mentions that one imagines it may crop up during his address in New York a little bit later. Gigi, you trailed us at the top of the show and I did want to ask you about Jimmy Kimmel. That's been really interesting, the whole discussion about freedom of speech, this interesting sort of rallying around that happened not just from the kind of late night TV satirists, but I don't know, it seemed like some left leaning US watchers actually found a little bit of backbone. And we've got some news on it. Tell us how the papers are covering the ongoing Jimmy Kimmel story.
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Georgina Godwin
So as we know, ABC suspended him, suspended the program Jimmy Kimmel Live indefinitely after Kimmel allegedly mischaracterized the politics of the man accused of the shooting of Kirk. So Disney said that his comments were ill timed and thus insensitive. And they were worried that Kimmel's planned follow up monologue would make the situation worse. And then of course this. The suspension followed the FCC chairman Brendan Carr's public statement calling Kimmel's remarks a concerted effort to lie. And then he warned that the agency had remedies that we can look at. So this was a huge threat really from the fcc. It became a flashpoint for free speech in America. Carr said that Disney's decision was merely a business decision based on ratings. Clearly that wasn't the case they were being threatened. But now ABC has announced the show will return and we don't know exactly why this is, but we do know that some of the affiliates that were screening it have said that they won't air the program. So clearly there is disagreement between different arms of the media here. But as you say, it seems that Disney has grown a bit of backbone. And I wonder, I mean if you saw the other late night hosts, that it was just, they were just absolutely eviscerated this, this decision by, by Disney.
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Tom Edwards
Well, yeah, one wonders, Gigi. I mean certainly the viewing figures when the show returns are going to skyrocket, aren't they? I mean I'm not suggesting that that enters calculations, but it is interesting. I wonder, even if certain affiliates don't screen it, it's not exactly too tricky in this digital day and age to get access to these things. I mean it'd be interesting to watch the. What, I don't know if they still call them the overnights today, probably not in this non linear days. But that'll be interesting to see once the show actually reappears.
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Georgina Godwin
Absolutely. I do think it's going to pull in the viewers and I think that, you know, the world needs this, you know, satire is, you can't censor satire. It's the basis of a free society.
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Tom Edwards
Let's drink to that. Georgina, let's talk a little bit about Trump. I know he's hard to avoid, isn't he? This is a pretty extraordinary story. It's I guess about the influence of RFK on his domestic political agenda. This is frankly extraordinary story about Tylenol, the commonly used drug and he seems to be following RFK's. Can we say what questionable advice and views on autism. We know he's a committed anti vaxxer but this time Tylenol and autism link is a new one on me. But Trump appears to have leaned into it, Gigi, which is a bit alarming, quite extraordinary.
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Georgina Godwin
He says that pregnant women should limit their use of Tylenol or paracetamol to reduce the risk of autism in children. He also discussed recommendations for administering other vaccinated shots in a delayed manner, particularly the first dose of hepatitis letters B for newborns, which we know it's imperative those kids get them as soon as possible. They both say that the US is both he and RFK Jr say the US is suffering from an epidemic of autism. Now what most experts say is that actually people are just screened for it more. They weren't previously screened. It's coming up A lot now because people are being tested. So, I mean, it's quite extraordinary. His assertions linking this hotly contested by international scientists. They're contradicted by studies. Scientists say that this is fear mongering. The Autism Science foundation called this assertion not scientifically based, based on very limited, conflicting and inconsistent science. So who knew, Tom? But Trump might be lying to us.
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Tom Edwards
I find that just so difficult to comprehend. Georgina, I don't know what you're alluding to. Let's just briefly, I've got time for one more quick story. Kamala Harris, of course, her new, new volume. This is interesting because, well, I don't know, Georgina, you know, do we get a further. I think we've got our own suspicions as to how and why Trump won again. But does this book shed any fresh light?
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Georgina Godwin
You know, what it shows is that she can be a bit of a bitch. I'm sorry to say that's what the reviewers do.
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Tom Edwards
Now, now, it's early in the morning. This is a family program.
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Georgina Godwin
Zoe Strimpel is reviewing this book and she says that she comes across like the mean girl. The book portrays Harris as Carmela, the mean girl, and suggests J. Biden seemed openly hostile towards her and her husband. Harris said that Biden's inner circle wanted her knocked down a little and that obviously led to that difficult role of border sire. I mean, taking on that role, looking after the borders possibly was one of the things that kind of scuppered her. But the book is really getting very bad Reviews. It's called 107 Days and the reviewer says that Harris displayed total confidence and victory, having planned for everything except the actual result. She says the memoir reads like that of a victor, containing frequent lines like when I'm president, but that actually not, you know, obviously she didn't win. But she does say that it's gossipy and that it's extremely well written. So I for one, am looking forward to reading it.
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Tom Edwards
Sounds like one of your scripts, Georgina. That's our Georgina Godwin in London. Georgina's hanging around. We'll be chatting to her again later in the program. Still to come today. Oh, look who else it is. Monocle's Laura Kramer will join us later. She's here now doing what you are. What have you got for me, Laura?
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Laura Kramer
What if I told you that dinner in Switzerland takes a smaller bite out of your paycheck than almost anywhere else? Tom?
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Tom Edwards
Well, I might suspect you've had a couple of glasses of your favourite dry white. Laura. All will be revealed later here on the Globalist.
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Tom Edwards
Time to shine a spotlight on Switzerland now. Joining me, well to shine that light on, let's be honest, a somewhat gloomy morning here in Zurich is Dr. Rahul Sehgal, CEO of the Swiss American Chamber of Commerce. Rahul, a very warm welcome to you. Good morning.
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Dr. Rahul Sehgal
Thank you. Good morning.
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Tom Edwards
I'm happy today. It's a little gloomy, I gather. It was a stellar weekend. I arrived just after the weather had cleared out.
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Dr. Rahul Sehgal
Apparently same here, same year. I arrived on Monday morning.
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Tom Edwards
Oh, there we go. I thought it was, I thought it was personal. Now listen, we're going to talk a little bit about tariffs. Of course a hot. You're going to hear from Trump later. I imagine trade's going to crop up but it's interesting to see how different nations are trying to leverage some might to address the issue. Really interesting story about Pilatus of course hiring experienced lobbyists to kind of go into bat for them in D.C. we shouldn't be surprised that that happens. How good do you think a job needs to be done done to get heard amongst all the white noise that echoes around the Oval Office role. It's a hard thing to do at the best of times. How do you insert yourself into that conversation constructively to try and move things forward?
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Dr. Rahul Sehgal
Yeah, I think Washington D.C. is some sort of a marketplace. So you have the one, the person who shouts the loudest will also get the maximum amount of attention. And then you have the system of the revolving doors. That means that you have people that work for the government, are now working for law or lobby firms, then they go back to the government. So I think companies need to use that. And if you look at Pilatus in particular, they make aircrafts and aircraft have been actually without or going into the US duty free or without any taxes for a very, very, very long time. And Pilatus has about 10% market share in commercial aircrafts in the US and now suddenly they are hit with 39% which basically cuts the US market out of their portfolio. So it is a very tough situation for them. Which also means that they have to try to do whatever they can to get out of that situation.
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Tom Edwards
And tell me about, because I'm going to generalize slightly, there's a slightly more transactional way of doing things in the US and maybe Trump leans into that because he's a self confessed sort of businessman and dealmaker. That's not necessarily the kind of approach to doing business we associate with the Swiss also to generalize. So how do you bring those two contrasting business styles together? I guess in a way this is kind of what you do, right? Is think about that and consider it. What's the secret to meshing those two things together?
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Dr. Rahul Sehgal
Yeah, I think, I mean it's absolutely correct what you say. I think from a Swiss perspective you are kind of, you're rule based and you think that if I have the best arguments I'm going to win and I'm going to convince the other person person. But that doesn't mean that that's going to work in other countries in general. And I think in the US at this point in time also not. And if you have companies that actually offer that service and are door openers because they are well connected, then I think it's also your responsibility towards your shareholder to make use of those options.
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Tom Edwards
Well, let's talk a little bit about another story because it's kind of in this space burn offering to buy, you know, or source in more American suppliers, whether that's arms energy, to sort of persuade and I'm doing air quotes which doesn't really work on the radio, persuade D.C. to lower import, import levies. This is it, right? This is more what you're talking about, Rahul. It's, it's the give and take. Although maybe it's will need to be more give to try and get the right response from dc.
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Dr. Rahul Sehgal
Yeah, I think that's also an interesting situation because I mean Switzerland is, is very low on defense spending as, as, as, as percentage of the, of the gdp. So the, the NATO countries are at, have a goal of 2 and they want to go up to 5%. Switzerland is at 0.7% if you count our militia system, maybe it's 1.2, 1.3%. So there's a lot that needs to go into defense spending in the next five years. There's a plan of 30 billion as we discussed before. Swiss politics is more like, okay, we can decide ourselves it's going to be 30 billion over the next four years. Let's see. But it's obvious that a part of it is going to go to the US US So why not go with that laundry list to the US and say hey, by the way, we had intended to buy this and this and this.
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Tom Edwards
Well one area it's itching on arms. As you said, it's quite an interesting market, not necessarily of the same scale. Big Pharma we know massive. It's a huge story always for Swiss. We know lots of the key players and Trump has, I don't know how explicit he's been, but there's the threat. There was a piece in Target Zanzeiga writing about this. With specific pharmaceutical tariffs. This is counterproductive in any number of ways, as we know. Is it empty rhetoric? Again, how do you marshal your resources to make sense of the nonsensical and actually make good decisions, especially when there's a great deal more at stake in a sector like say Big Pharma.
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Dr. Rahul Sehgal
Right. So I mean, pharma is quite a complex issue. As you touched upon on one hand, most countries don't have any tariffs on pharmaceuticals because they say it's kind of a human right is not the right word, but people should have access to medicine. However, you do have certain, I would say pitfalls. Number one, the US has by far the highest pharma prices. We know that. So they kind of also pay to a certain extent for other countries, which is something that Donald Trump doesn't like. Number two, Covid showed that the US Being the largest market, still is very vulnerable. So what they figured out was that for example, the active pharmaceutical ingredients, the so called APIs even of US pharma companies get actually manufactured in third countries, like especially China. So there are different aspects. One is the pharma pricing. Number two is the strategic independence or what is called national security. And the third thing is just a regular tariffs, meaning they're able to get money into the country. So let's see how that plays out. But pharma price caps are something different than the tariff and that's something else than national security. It all plays onto the same sector. But there are different questions that are trying to be solved.
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Tom Edwards
Rahul, this strikes me as really interesting and it actually makes me think of a different question. We often talk here on Monocle Radio about the skill of say, diplomacy and how that is being set back or impeded by the Trump narrative and isolationism and so forth. Looking through a business prism, if you have an administration and it's Trump 2.0, of course we should say that is set on this course. It's anti trade, it's anti globalism, it's anti discussion. Often what kind of tale does that threaten to issue? Are you one of those people who's confident that actually we can kind of get back to normal? Quite quickly, or are we going to have to rebuild so many of these foundational blocks of doing business globally as a consequence? I appreciate that's kind of an impossible question to answer, but what do your instincts tell you in terms of the general, the day to day, the nuts and bolts conversations that you have? Are you confident that actually the key players are retaining the skill sets and the knowledge to still have constructive conversations?
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Dr. Rahul Sehgal
Yeah, that's a. That's a very good question. It's a broader question. I think there are several points there. I think, number one is that the US is by far the largest market in the world, so. But they also had the lowest tariffs. So the US had an average tariff of something about the 3, 3%, 3.1%. And even on agriculture, the EU is much higher, Switzerland, much higher. The US had an average tariff rate of 5.1%. So they have been traditionally the most open market, but also the fastest growing. So what Trump is doing is kind of leveraging that and asking the companies to pay an entry fee to access the market, which to a certain extent can make sense. And that's why business is also of still exporting to the US in spite of the high tariffs. So that's the first part. The second part is I also think companies will often find a way how to navigate the system. However, I think it's also our duty, let's say, for example, as me, as a Swiss and also as a former Swiss diplomat, is also to make sure that another country like Switzerland in this case remains competitive. So it's not only can a company survive, but also can. Can the economy of a country remain competitive even if some of our companies might relocate to the US So there are different questions here. And I think if all goes well, in four years, we'd be more balanced than we are now, because I think there's a big shakeup, but maybe in three to four years the dust might settle, hopefully.
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Tom Edwards
I like that. Do you know what I like a bit of cautious optimism in volatile times, Rahul. And we got a measure of that just quickly. I wanted to ask you about one other example and the cliche klaxon will sound here. The Swiss army knife Trump's tariffs having perhaps an unintended consequence in effect in this area. This is a funny one, but look, it's a case study, right, of the sort of law of unintended consequences. Tell us, tell us what's happening and what the pathway looks like with this one.
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Dr. Rahul Sehgal
Yeah, so, I mean, the thing is, you have certain products, they are, they are kind of a monopoly like certain watch and then if you have the Swiss army knife that goes to the US and you will have to pay 40% tariffs, then the people who want to pay for it will pay. But you can't, you can't substitute it by something else. And the second point is that for certain people like for the watches Swiss made is a very important factor. So they will not buy a Swiss army knife that is manufactured in, I don't know, in Wisconsin, for example. So I think, but however I'm the cautious optimism may be back here also.
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Tom Edwards
Oh, we love that more of it.
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Dr. Rahul Sehgal
I'm not sure whether in 12 months we'll still be at 39%. So a lot of these, these, these structuring and thoughts, they are good if it's temporary, but I think in the long run I hope at least that we will not be still at the rate of 39%.
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Tom Edwards
It's more optimism. You know, I was worried this morning because there's a lot of, with a lot of heavy issues emerging from the UNGA and so forth, but you've met, you've made me feel better. I don't know if that was your agenda for the day. I hope Our listeners agree. Dr. Brilliant to speak with you. Thanks so much.
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Dr. Rahul Sehgal
Thank you.
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Tom Edwards
Coming to see us here on the Globalist on Monocle Radio. Lots going on in the world. Let's cross back over to our Georgina Godwin in London. Georgina, you've been keeping an eye on the other stories we're watching today.
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Georgina Godwin
Absolutely, Tom. As discussed, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to voluntarily maintain the limits of the New START nuclear treaty after its expiry in 2026 if Washington reciprocates. The proposal, welcomed cautiously by arms control advocates, comes amid US press pressure on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. Record floods in Pakistan have inundated both the rural breadbasket and key industrial hubs, wiping out millions of acres of crops and threatening the country's fragile recovery under an IMF program. Officials warn the disaster could eclipse the devastation of 2022, with food insecurity looming as wheat sowing season nears. And a global aviation summit opening in Montreal today will grapple with cyber attacks, climate concerns, labour shortages. Against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions, delegates to the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization are under pressure to cooperate on security while finding credible ways to cut emissions and recruit enough staff for booming passenger demand.
- [34:40]
Tom Edwards
Thank you very much indeed, Georgina. It's interesting, as I was following it, was Heathrow Airport again afflicted by a sort of A hack attack. Have you got any current plans, Gigi, to try and, you know, cyber attacks allowing to escape the surly bonds of the uk? What's next on the GG agenda?
- [34:56]
Georgina Godwin
Well, and I've got a clever way, I think, to escape these airport shutdowns too. I've only got to take one flight, so I'm going to fly to Charleston in South Carolina for a literary festival there. And then I go off to the Miami Book Fair. But then I'm coming back to England on the Queen Mary 2 on a literary cruise. So hopefully the hackers won't start messing with shipping too.
- [35:17]
Tom Edwards
Georgina, I hope you can still do your programs. Have we checked the facility on the ocean liner? Can you broadcast from there? I will expect regular dispatchers.
- [35:25]
Georgina Godwin
Absolutely. Apparently I can your Mid Atlantic correspondence.
- [35:29]
Tom Edwards
Perfect. I look forward to that. Full steam ahead. You're listening to the Globalist here on Monaco radio. It is 8:34 in Paris, 2:34 in New York City. As we were discussing earlier, the Unger Games. Sorry, continue. In New York City. And we're going to reflect next on President Emmanuel Macron Macron's remarks yesterday recognising Palestinian statehood. Macron said, the time for peace has come and nothing justifies the ongoing war in Gaza. Well, let's get a little more on this. We're joined now by Simon Bouvier, Monocle's Paris Bureau chief. Boumartin. Simon, how are you today?
- [36:12]
Simon Bouvier
Bonjour, how are you?
- [36:14]
Tom Edwards
Yeah, not too shabby. Listen, your president addressed the assembly yesterday to confirm, well again, a much telegraphed decision to sort of recognize a Palestinian state. What did you make, Simon, of his performance at the dais in New York City? And what's the reaction been like where you are making that announcement official?
- [36:37]
Simon Bouvier
Well, Tom, as you said, it was something that he had already stated that he would do back in July if nothing changed on the ground in the Gaza war. And indeed, things have only gotten more intense since he signaled his intention to do this. And so even though he took great pains in his speech to explain that France is a friend of Israel, that the two state solution was the only way for both countries to live in peace, this was definitely.
- [37:09]
Tom Edwards
I want to.
- [37:10]
Simon Bouvier
Say, a reaction to the fact that the Israeli government has been completely unmovable in its pursuit of the Gaza war. So it is a bit of a diplomatic punishment for the fact that they have not been willing to relent, not been willing to give in to the demands to try and find a negotiated solution to this. And as far as reaction is concerned, Tom, I think that for a lot of the front pages, this was a kind of historic moment. Obviously, it's not going to change things overnight, but it is a very significant development. And we've been talking on Monocle Radio about all of these other European countries that recognize Yesterday and in 2024, Palestinian statehood. I think there is a momentum shift owed to the fact that the Israeli government doesn't seem to be listening to the supplications of these European allies for them to behave differently in the pursuit of this war. And only the Figaro was a little bit more kind of distant from this decision, not really supporting it outright.
- [38:26]
Tom Edwards
Well, that's interesting. And just to the point about sort of the broader impact, it is interesting that, you know, there was a suggestion that this was not, I think a Foreign Ministry spokesman said, you know, this is not symbolism. This is not a recognition to score a headline. It's part of a broader, I think they said, very concrete action. Without getting into more details to that point, do you think there's any chance of this adding leverage to the wider European conversation? Simon, you know, whether that's, I think, look, we know Germany won't move. I think Italy's highly unlikely to move on this, but do you think this aids that broader block wide approach to tackling the core issue? Or, you know, you said, you know, you can't throw a switch and change things overnight, but do you think that this could help to kind of reshape that narrative to a degree? What are the conversations you're having telling you on that front?
- [39:15]
Simon Bouvier
Well, I think so, Tom. I think that there is still reluctance in some quarters, as you've said, for historical reasons, for many reasons. But I think think that the shift that we've seen, which is that most EU countries now recognize Palestinian statehood, would have been unthinkable two years ago. So I think both in Jerusalem and in Washington, this is going to cause some headaches and it's going to cause some reflection because it is not going to change the facts on the ground. But it is a clear sign that goes beyond symbolism that Israel and the United States are increasingly isolated on this front. And so, you know, we could see a shift in mindsets in even these countries that do not currently support sanctioning, for example, the Israeli government for its actions. But European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is reportedly keen, keen on imposing some kinds of EU sanctions on the Israeli government for its actions. And so the political support for that is still not unanimous. But if you take a step back, the momentum shift if you look at the last two years is very, very significant in my view.
- [40:41]
Tom Edwards
Simon, great to get your insights. That was Simon Bouvier, Monocle's Paris bureau chief, joining us live on the Globalist here on Monocle Radio.
- [40:51]
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- [41:30]
Tom Edwards
You're with the Globalist here on Monocore Radio. Now. With London Fashion Week wrapping last night and attention turning next to Milan, who better to cast a well trained eye on the scene than our own Sophie Grove, who joins me now. The editor of Confect magazine, of course, Monocle, sister publication. She joins me in the studio. Good morning, Sophie.
- [41:49]
Sophie Grove
Good morning. Hi.
- [41:51]
Tom Edwards
Now, tell me, it's always interesting, I think, to sort of take the temperature in the midst of these busy seasons. Lots of your colleagues and mine crisscrossing Europe at the moment to take in the latest. What's jumping out at you, Sophie? What's everyone talking about? We had, obviously, I think the Burberry show last night. I think Natalie was, Theodosi was there. What are you hearing on the, on the Fashion Grapevine? I know you've got one of those red phones, right, that's always ringing.
- [42:16]
Sophie Grove
Well, I think the Burberry show made a real impact. It's very optimistic. Blue Skies. This amazing kind of tent that Daniel Yee showed his collection in was a festival theme. And I think the brand is really, you know, articulating a new sense of British fashion. And this show really encapsulated that. And in fact, last week we saw a kind of a different sort of, I know, a little bit of a different step for the fashion industry in Britain because I mean, really, if we're very honest, I think the British, you know, fashion scene in general for like just that week had lost its kind of momentum a little bit. And there's a new CEO of the British Fashion Council, Laura Weir, who's an ex journalist and she's really just putting a lot behind it. She's waived fees for young designers. So there's a little bit more of a sense of creativity that, that kind of spring back in its step in terms of London Fashion Week.
- [43:13]
Tom Edwards
More jobs for journalists. They're good, they're good at storytelling. But it is interesting because we have talked before a little bit about, well, we often talk about it across the creative industries, very broadly, that Britain doesn't necessarily know the soft power asset it has. We look at markets like just across the Channel or of course, in Italy in some cases you get very direct state subsidies and support for certain areas. But there's definitely better, a better narrative around what the scene means. But we're making a little bit of progress. Is that mildly encouraging?
- [43:41]
Sophie Grove
I think definitely. And I think she. Ms. Weir, Laura Weir has made the case for the fashion industry more generally as part of the British economy. But also, you know, we have central Saint Martins who've got so much talent and I think that needs to translate into the week. So we felt there is that romantic moment with Simone Rocher. We've got. We had Roxanne after 20 years. You know, it's really an interesting moment for her. So I think really nice feedback from, from London Fashion Week, but then a lot of anticipation for the next couple of fashion weeks in Milan, in Paris. It's a very historic moment. Seismic change. There are sort of 20 houses that have really been appointed a new chief. And I think we're seeing, you know, there's so much anticipation in the fashion industry and it's a moment of suspense. So it's quite exciting really.
- [44:36]
Tom Edwards
And it's funny because I've been talking to Natalie Tudorce a little bit about the sort of musical chairs with all the different, different CDs. And I'd say for someone who's not as immersed in the scene, I sometimes find it quite difficult to keep track of who's where and what. And just on that point, Sophie, it's difficult because I think people often anticipate, oh, you know, new CDs appointed during the, say, summer season will immediately see a transformational impact in the, you know, in the next collection. But what a. There are some kind of values that underpin the approach that these houses, these maisons take to their, to their work and to their craft, which endure despite personnel changes. Also, it's quite difficult to operate those levers that quickly. We need to give people a second. We'll see hints, we'll see suggestions of the direction of travel, but you won't. We can't necessarily expect to see a sea change kind of overnight, although some people seem to want it.
- [45:24]
Sophie Grove
I know it's interesting and, and I think that just shows you. I mean, fashion is about desire and about kind of newness in a sense, that there's such a kind of appetite for it. But in fact, of course, it takes a while to change the tone and the collections in these big houses. So then even somebody like Dema, who's been appointed at Gucci after so many years at Balenciaga, he's not actually going to show until February, but he's been leaking a few little beautiful pieces. People are starting to see a little bit of what he's all about, but actually it's not going to be instant. I'm really excited about Louise Trotter at Bottega Veneta. She's an amazing designer and one of the only women who's actually part of this cohort. And she's just got such incredible taste. She turned Carven round, she was at Lacoste. She has such an incredible vision. And so I can't wait to see how she translates that at Bottega.
- [46:17]
Tom Edwards
And, I mean, what are you most excited about? We look to Milan, obviously. You have particular houses you're following, particular designers you want to see. I wonder, though, is it as much about trying to get a sense of the mood music? You know, what's the vibe? Whether that is from the. The people in the front row who are watching, whether it's about buyers, How. How much attention do you. Should anybody pay to what. What the vibe is? Obviously, I think Natalie's there. I don't know where you're crisscrossing Europe at which time, Sophie, but how much stall should we set by. By what the mood is like, the sense of optimism. People talk a little bit about some of the kind of inertia or fatigue with this space. How important is getting a sense of that mood music, do you think?
- [46:56]
Sophie Grove
I think it's interesting. Even at London Fashion Week this week, you could see in the reviews, the buyers who were in the front row were all mentioned and apparently they had 19% more sort of in terms of really top buyers from coming Dover Street Market, whoever it was, those people are now in the news and I think that's really interesting. And the sense of who. It's not just the celebrities in the front row that people are looking at, which I think is very healthy for the industry. Everyone's looking towards Jonathan Anderson at Dior and Matthias Blasi at Chanel, but I think there's also a sense of who's in the room really matters as well.
- [47:32]
Tom Edwards
Sophie, it was great to have your insights. That's Sophie Grove, confect editor. We've got more luxury and style on the way in just a moment here on the Globalist on Monaco Radio. Well, yes, if you thought Sophie was bringing the height of style and charm you were right, but you were probably thinking, how can we match it? Surely it's going to tail off. But no, we're building on it. Listeners from strength to strength, style wise, the ever elegant Brenda Tuohy, Monacle's Luxury markets editor is here. Good morning, Brenda.
- [48:11]
Brenda Tuohy
Hi, good morning. It's exciting to be in Zurich.
- [48:14]
Tom Edwards
Now, if you. Is there a specifically delightful fragrance, Brenda, in the air this morning or is that just your usual radiance shining into the studio here at D90?
- [48:23]
Brenda Tuohy
It might be Chanel number five. I did. I was a lucky woman. I went to Grasse in France last week to the jasmine farm where they have farmed jasmine since 1921. The same family, the same farm. 33 hectares of. Ooh, what a smell. Glorious.
- [48:43]
Tom Edwards
Now, Brenda, listen, our listeners are very well traveled, they're very worldly wise and I'm sure they've probably been to Grasse, but there may be one or two late comers to the party. Just give us a sense of this place because it is, it's beyond sort of institutional in this space, isn't it? It's kind of like a pilgrimage to Mecca going to Grasse, isn't it? If you, if you're passionate about fine fragrance, tell us a little bit about what it's like being there.
- [49:07]
Brenda Tuohy
Well, it is the foremost area for flowers, for fragrances. I mean, honestly, how they ever discovered where would find the part of the plant that would provide the fragrant essence is beyond me because when I interviewed Olivier Pulge, who is the nose, the perfumer for Chanel, he said that the fragrance part, for example, of the iris plant is taken from the root and that you have to allow it to dry for three years naturally.
- [49:39]
Sophie Grove
Three years, Yeah, I know.
- [49:41]
Brenda Tuohy
Like, how would you know that?
- [49:42]
Tom Edwards
I'm not a, I'm not a patient.
- [49:45]
Brenda Tuohy
I mean, amazing. And from the geranium, it's the leaf and it's a special geranium that they farm, which doesn't have many flowers but has an abundance of leaves, obviously. So the jasmine was in abundance when we were there. Honestly, you were surrounded by this incredible delightful fragrance. I mean, at some points it was almost overpowering. When we went to the refined winery where they create the Chanel no. 5 Lextray, which is the most concentrated perfume for number five. It, it was really seriously overpowering. I actually got into one of the big, huge vats where they press the jasmine because I like to really immerse myself in the experience. It was just as it was pressed, honestly, it became more and more pungent. It Was a fantastic. What an experience.
- [50:40]
Tom Edwards
Brenda, I hope you observed all the relevant health and safety measures at the time. What do they say about these things? Good things take time, right. Years of carefully refining these things. It's a beautiful story. Will we see or hear more about this? I don't know, potentially down the track somewhere.
- [50:56]
Brenda Tuohy
Of course we will. We're going to have more about this. My interview with Olivier will be in Confect's spring issue.
- [51:04]
Tom Edwards
What a treat. Now, let's talk a little bit, not just about fine fragrance, but about high jewellery. Brenda, I know this is something you are a absolute connoisseur of. Tell me what you've been, what you've been keeping an eye on.
- [51:18]
Brenda Tuohy
Well, I went to New York just before I went to France to have a little sneak preview of Chopard's glorious high jewels collection. The ice cube. And the ice cube is reminiscent of New York skyline. And you know, when you're in New York, let's say, looking up at the skyline, at all of the skyscrapers at night and. And the windows, they light up, they're lit, they appear like little boxes and the jewelry mirrors, that sort of undulating topography. Different squares in polished and brushed gold, some in white gold, some in yellow gold, all put together to create this really quite fascinating, modern, wonderful pieces of jewelry studded with diamonds. The hero piece was a nine string necklace. Honestly, you could buy one necklace or as Caroline Chauffelet, co owner of Chopard said, you could start with one, you know, and then maybe you could just keep going until you had all of the nine pieces. There was a wonderful, wonderful chunky bangle. There was a bangle with the secret watch. Every piece was gorgeous. And Caroline, you know, doesn't. Her creative energy doesn't stop there. She creates couture. There were gowns reflecting what you saw in the jewels. So tiny squares of the most incredible fabrics. Some looked like leather. She said it wasn't leather. Some looked like velvet, some looked like gossamer all hand stitched together into these fantastically gorgeous couture gowns. It really was a treat on a Sunday morning.
- [53:00]
Tom Edwards
I'll tell you, Brenda, that was poetic. That was almost like one of those. What are those? ASMR readings going into a reverie. And I'm also relieved that talking ice cube. We were talking east coast, not west coast cultural reference for the younger generation. Or maybe the older one, actually. Ask your parents, kids. Brenda, where next? Where and what next? You're crisscrossing the globe already. Any other treats up your sleeve? What's on your agenda?
- [53:27]
Brenda Tuohy
Well, I'm always doing exciting things. I have to say in my job. It's pretty fantastic. When I go back to London, I'm going to be looking a lot at jewelry. We are going to be choosing pieces for our High Jewels Winter Confect High Jewel special. So I'm going to be looking a lot at wonderful pieces of tantalizingly exquisite jewels as we put together our selection for our next big shoot.
- [53:57]
Tom Edwards
Watch this space listeners. Brenda Tui, Monocle's luxury markets editor. Thank you very much for being on the Globalist. Yes, we're taking along nicely seven minutes till the top of the hour here in Zurich. A very good morning to you if you are listening on cet. Good evening. Good, good night wherever you are. Great to have you with us on the program. Now let's talk about hospitality. If you think eating out here in Switzerland will break the bank, you may be wrong. If you live here, the story could be very, very different. In Bern, a three course dinner costs less than 1% of the average monthly wage, ranking it the third best deal pro rata worldwide. Here in Zurich, also Geneva, over to the west also make the top 20. Dallas, Texas comes in first, followed by Muscat in Oman, about which you can read more in the new issue of Monoclout this week. In cities like Beirut or Lagos, a night out can devour a far bigger share of your paycheck. Well, let's get into the meat, if you will, of this one. With 1, 2, 3 stellar talents, Monocle's producer Laura Kramer is here alongside me and Zurich. Hi, Laura.
- [55:10]
Laura Kramer
Hi. Tom.
- [55:11]
Tom Edwards
Monocle's resident Zurich producer, Desi is here as well. Hi, Desi.
- [55:14]
Desi Bandley
Good morning.
- [55:15]
Tom Edwards
And of course our Georgina Godwin is still with us in London. Hi, Georgina.
- [55:19]
Georgina Godwin
Hi.
- [55:20]
Tom Edwards
Tell me, let's start with you, Desi. You're the Zurich native and I've had some reasonably pricey meals here. Is that more about my, my domestic paycheck in the UK I wasn't expecting so many Swiss cities to feature in this value proposition.
- [55:37]
Desi Bandley
I would have to say me neither because I mean, even though it makes sense, I can see what they did and I can see why the, the ratio looks kind of good here. We're like, so we've got three countries, countries of Switzerland in that 1% club they call it, which means the ratio is less than 1% between the meal to salary. But then I'm like, it's still expensive. It feels expensive to us.
- [56:02]
Tom Edwards
It's, it certainly does. And Laura, I guess this is the thing it's a bit like we were talking la. Beauty being in the eye of the beholder. Value is very much in the eye of the wielder of the. Of the pocketbook. Right. These things are all relative but it's nevertheless interesting that even on this pro rata basis you've got some of these interesting markets. Dallas, Texas perhaps wasn't expecting in there. It's just super interesting to look at the runners and riders here.
- [56:25]
Laura Kramer
Well, you made a joke earlier about my wine drinking capabilities, which is not a joke, I'm quite. Excuse me. I was wondering actually if wine is part of it because Switzerland has a really big wine growing industry. They only export about 1% of it. And I was really taken aback actually last night we went out to dinner. The wines were not very expensive, which I kind of expected. Some of the food items were. So I actually wondered if that has something to play with it in the US Obviously there's California is right around the corner from, from where Texas is. So I wonder if that plays into it and how the alcohol, whether they produce it themselves and how that's kind of seen for the people there.
- [57:05]
Tom Edwards
No, that's really interesting. Of course supply chain pressures and chain changes have wreaked kind of unknown havoc, haven't they on prices in. Across hospitality settings actually over the last kind of half decade or so. Gigi over in London, I don't actually know how London fares on this basis but were you surprised to see three Swissies making the upper echelons? Gigi or not so much?
- [57:28]
Georgina Godwin
No, very, very surprised. I mean, and certainly as Desi's saying, it doesn't really feel like it. But maybe that's because I'm on a London salary, not a Swiss salary. But I have to say increasingly I'm getting more and more cross about paying big restaurant prices because here's my little secret. I am post food so I don't really eat very much at all thanks to those magic jabs but you still have to pay for the full portion even though you're having a mouthful or two. And I think restaurants really need to take cognizance of the fact that the way we eat now is completely changing.
- [58:04]
Laura Kramer
I think they are too. A few of them in New York, in Dubai, a few places they've started kind of having these ozempic menus popping up, smaller portions, more delicate for, for people on the, on the jabs as.
- [58:14]
Tom Edwards
I don't know if I like this direction of travel, it seems quite, it seems quite alarming. So. But Georgina, tell me, so what happens. Are you just sort of nursing some wines then if you're there, or nibbling away on a few like little, you know, amuse bouches? What's the sort of the niceties of the meal supping if you're say you're dining with someone like, like myself, something of a gourmand, I would say. Slash. Just greedy. I'm stuffing my fat face. What do you do to make me not feel so self conscious?
- [58:41]
Georgina Godwin
Oh, I just order something nutritious and delicious and eat it really slowly. Honestly, it hasn't destroyed any of the love of food, but I'm just much more mindful about it. Though I do resent paying full price.
- [58:54]
Tom Edwards
I commend you. Gigi, on your approach. Desi, any of these markets that you're going to visit, are you going to jump on a flight to Muscat and see, see what great value tastes like?
- [59:04]
Desi Bandley
No, I think I'm good. But also London is place 61.
- [59:07]
Tom Edwards
Oh, that's not good, is it?
- [59:08]
Desi Bandley
It's not great.
- [59:09]
Tom Edwards
Laura, what about your Dallas, Texas? Go back to one of your motherlands.
- [59:13]
Laura Kramer
Oh, yeah, I'd love Dallas.
- [59:14]
Tom Edwards
Top of the tree.
- [59:15]
Laura Kramer
Yes. Barbecue, amazing. I've been there. It's a wonderful food scene. Absolutely. I have to go back.
- [59:22]
Tom Edwards
And there we will leave it. Laura Kramer, Desiree Bandley and Georgina Godwin, thank you all for joining us on the Globalist. And that is all for today's program. Big thanks to our producers here in Zurich, Laura and Desi and to Anita Riota back in London, thanks to our researcher there, Daniela Brausmith and our studio manager, Lily Austin. After the headlines. More music on the way. The briefing will be coming to you live from here at D90, 13 o' clock local noon in London. A little bit later, this show will be back from here in Zurich at the very same time tomorrow. I'm Tom Edwards. That was the Globalist. Thanks for listening, Sam.