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Craft matters in small ways, like how a coffee is brewed, and in not so small ways, like how your money is cared for. Which is why for 160 years, UBS has elevated banking to a craft, tailoring unique strategies that combine human expertise with the latest technologies, all happening across 24 time zones and and 12 key financial hubs. With you at the heart of it all, UBS advice is our craft.
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You're listening to the Globalist, first broadcast on 2 December 2025 on Monocle Radio. The Globalist in association with U.
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Hello.
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This is the Globalist broadcasting to you live from Midori House in London. I'm Georgina Godwin. On the show ahead, you are a.
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People who do not give up. But in the face of trials, you always know how to rise again with courage.
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Pope Leo addressing crowds in Beirut we'll hear about the pontiff's first foreign tour as it concludes today. In Lebanon, we'll examine the social and political impact of the massive floods. In Indonesia, we'll be in the storied city of Gdansk as the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz meet In Berlin, we'll have a look at aviation giant Airbus after its shares and reputation took a tumble this week. Then we'll join our man in the Balkans for news from that region.
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And finally, we're going to be chatting about the news that Monocle has released its fifth handbook. It's all about Switzerland and the restaurants, recommendations and spots that you need to have on your list.
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We're very excited about our new guide and we'll be sharing details with you later in the show. That's all ahead here on the Globalist. Live from London. First, a look at what else is happening in the news. Russian President Vladimir Putin meets US Envoy Steve Wytkov in Moscow today as Washington signals optimism about progress towards a Ukraine peace deal that Kyiv and European leaders say still contains major unresolved issues. China and Japan issued conflicting accounts of a maritime confrontation near the disputed Senkaku Islands today involving Chinese coast guard ships and a Japanese fishing vessel. And Honduras presidential race remains a technical tie between Nasri Esfura and Salvador Nasrallah after the vote count stalled and the election website collapsed, prompting rising tension and claims of interference from President Trump. Do stay tuned to Monocle Radio throughout the day for more on those stories Now. Pope Leo ends his first foreign trip today after a packed final leg in Beirut that included an historic stop at the tomb of Saint Charbel, the first time a pope has ever visited visited the site which is revered by Christians and Muslims alike. He moved through the country under heavy security, led an interfaith gathering, urged political leaders to put peace first, and appealed to young people, particularly Christians, not to give up on Lebanon. All this is unfolding as the country is facing economic collapse, political paralysis, and continued Israeli airstrikes. Well, let's hear more from Pope Leo himself, addressing young people in Lebanon yesterday.
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Lebanon's history is interwoven with glorious moments, but it is also marked by deep wounds that are slow to heal. These wounds have causes that transcend national borders and are intertwined with very complex social and political dynamics. Dear young people, perhaps you regret inheriting a world torn apart by wars and disfigured by social injustice. Yet there is hope, and there is hope within you.
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Well, I'm joined now by David Wood in Beirut. He's a senior analyst for Lebanon at the International Crisis Group. David, how has the visit played out in the city? It certainly sounded like he got an enthusiastic response.
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Hi, Georgina. So the visit so far has gone really well and there's been a lot of excitement around town and not just from Lebanon's significant Christian community, but also from non Christians who are excited to have such a towering figure here in terms of the way the event has been organized. There have been road closures throughout the city, but everybody's been very good humored about this exceptional event and how it's going to go. As you mentioned before, the Pope has done a tour of several sites yesterday in northern Lebanon where many of Lebanon's Christian community live. And today there's going to be a huge mass where over 100,000 people are expected to attend on the waterfront in Beirut before the Pope returns to Rome. So in general, so far, so good, and it's been a really positive trip.
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B
And what did that moment at St. Charles tomb mean locally, given that it was the first time a Pope has ever visited the site?
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F
I think that beyond the spiritual dimension, there's also a political element to this. Right, because obviously the Pope is first and foremost a spiritual leader and this meant a lot to Lebanon's Christians. To know that the Pope would make this visit, including that stop, and show that Lebanon has not been forgotten by the international community. But that message also resonates with non Muslims. And the reason for that is that your listeners would know that one year ago, Lebanon and Israel entered into a ceasefire agreement which was meant to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah. However, since that ceasefire has been struck, Israel has continued to attack Lebanon on a near daily basis and also to occupy several points in southern Lebanon. So even though the international community backed that ceasefire agreement, there's a real concern in Lebanon that once the ceasefire was struck, that the international community turned its attention elsewhere and didn't prioritize the ongoing dire situation in Lebanon anymore. So the fact that the Pope took the courageous decision to visit Lebanon despite these incredibly difficult circumstances is a real boost, I think, for many Lebanese in terms of morocc.
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B
And what did he say? How did he address political leaders?
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F
That was an interesting one, Georgina, because the Pope, in addition to these direct messages to Lebanese people, and especially youth, in giving them direct encouragement and cause for hope, he also made direct appeals to Lebanon's leaders to put their political differences aside and work together in the service of the people of Lebanon. Now, that's a really important political message because Lebanon is facing multifaceted crises, and some of these crises come back to domestic causes. And, for example, there's an ongoing dispute between Lebanon's leaders about how to deal with the country's crippling economic crisis. There's also this issue under the ceasefire agreement of last year of the need to disarm Hezbollah and create a state monopoly over arms. However, the Pope did not directly address the other elephant in the room, which is ongoing Israeli attacks and occupation of Lebanon. And I think that while the Vatican obviously realizes that it has a really strong moral platform and has practiced quiet diplomacy for decades, ultimately the only person with sufficient leverage to push Israel to discontinue those operations in Lebanon doesn't live in the Vatican. He lives in the White House.
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B
Yeah, yeah. Now, he also urged people not to emigrate. For Christians especially. What does that appeal mean? Right now.
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F
There'S a real concern in Lebanon that if the current situation continues, that is, there's no solution to the economic crisis, this dire security situation continues indefinitely, where, on the one hand, Hezbollah refuses to fully disarm, and on the other, Israel continues to attack Lebanon, that more and more people will continue to leave the country, and that, at best, Lebanon's economic future and the future of its society will be of those left behind, relying on those who have left and moved into the diaspora. I mean, as you might know, on the statistics that we have, Lebanon is one of the most dependent economies in the world per capita, on contributions from the diaspora. And I think there's a huge element of sadness for many Lebanese about that, because on the one hand, people have moved overseas and made opportunities that they can share with their families and loved ones back home. But on the other hand, those who move into the Diaspora long to live in their country once again, their homeland being Lebanon, but preferably in circumstances where there's prosperity and stability.
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Absolutely. And he also put interfaith coexistence at the very center of the trip. And I wonder how people in mixed neighborhoods responded to that emphasis and what the sort of sense of tension between the religions is there.
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F
It's a really interesting question, because I actually don't think that Lebanon is facing deep spiritual crises right now. I think they're political crises. And for decades, Lebanon's leaders have cynically weaponized religion for political ends. I can give you an example. Yesterday, in my neighborhood, I was speaking to a Muslim shop owner about the visit of the Pope, and he said, I'm really happy for my Christian brothers that the Pope is coming. It doesn't mean a great deal for me on a personal level, because this is not my faith. But on the other hand, if this great figure can help to bring peace to our country, then I'm all for it. So I haven't really seen any kinds of religious tensions provoked by the Pope's trip. In fact, quite the opposite. Every major religious group has extended their welcome to the Pope. For today's masses. There are thousands of Muslims who've registered to go along as well to hear the Pope and his message of peace. So I think, if anything, the Pope, not just by convening these interfaith dialogues, but by showing the courage to come to Lebanon, has really boosted the morale of Christians and non Christians alike here.
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Just tell me a little bit more about security surrounding the visit, because it was very intense.
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F
Absolutely. And there was some criticism of the Vatican for not including southern Lebanon in the Pope's itinerary. And there are Christian communities that live along the border with Israel and Lebanon, which has been racked by conflict for over two years now. On the other hand, even though Israel has reduced the intensity of its strikes in the lead up to the Pope's visit and during it, there have still been operations carried out in south Lebanon since he touched down. So I think it's clear that the security risk was simply too great for the Pope to visit southern Lebanon. But yes, it's a real achievement if the Lebanese security forces can successfully complete the Pope's visit and continue with the relative efficiency they've shown so far, because during Lebanon's economic crisis, the security forces have not managed to escape the impact of that crisis. And just as an example, most Lebanese security officials receive only a few hundred dollars per month in terms of a salary, given that the state budget has been totally depleted. So the fact that Lebanese security forces have managed to pull together with help from the Lebanese public is a real achievement from a security perspective.
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B
And as he leaves today, do you sense any shift in mood or expectation in the city?
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F
I think that people are actually quite worried that once the Pope leaves, what people have been terming the papal pause might come to an end. So while on the one hand his presence and his message has been appreciated here, there's also this looming fear that once the Pope leaves, Israel might make good on its recent threats to significantly escalate its military operations in Lebanon. And, and there's an element, there's a really depressing element I think, to this kind of logic, which by the way, I completely understand, which is that despite the fact that the Lebanese government entered into a ceasefire agreement one year ago, the Pope, merely by visiting for three days has done more to reassure people that there will be a return of relative stability, even if only for a short period, than the Lebanese government has been able to offer. And the blame for that doesn't just lie with Lebanese government because it finds itself in a very difficult situation where as I mentioned earlier, on the one hand it's being one option would be to confront Hezbollah to force it to disarm, which could provoke domestic strife, and the other is not to confront Hezbollah and for Israel to increase its attacks with tacit US Backing. So the government's in a really horrible position and can't provide stability in the way that a figure like Pope Leo can.
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David, thank you very much indeed. That's David Wood, senior analyst for Lebanon at the International Crisis Group in Beirut. And this is the. It is 1513 in Jakarta, 713 here in London. Record breaking rains across Southeast Asia have left more than 1,100 people dead with Indonesia suffering its worst natural disaster death toll since the 2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami. The Prabowo administration is pushing forward with its response, but its decision not to declare a national state of emergency, along with criticism that relaxed forest regulations worsened the has sparked growing political debate. Well, I'm joined now by Randy Mulianto, who is a journalist and the founder and head writer of Red Voice Indonesia. He joins us down the line from Jakarta. Randy, many thanks for coming on the show. What are those latest official figures coming out surrounding this awful tragedy?
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Georgina, thank you for having me. So so far at least 604 people have died in these three provinces and at least 464 people are still unaccounted for. So the death toll is not yet fixed.
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Well, let's have a look at this response now. President Prabowo is attracting some criticism. Why is that?
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So he has not mentioned, he has not designated these disasters as a national emergency. Just like what you mentioned earlier. I mean, you have to remember that, you know, these disasters, you know, these series of disasters have affected basically three provinces, you know, with significant populations as well. And we have to remember that Sumatra is one of the world's largest islands. You know, it has so many provinces within Indonesia as well. So obviously, well, people have been wondering why this status, you know, this designation has not been made yet so far.
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And do we have a reason for that?
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So the head of the Indonesian National Disaster Agency or BNTB actually said, you know, some time ago that the country has only seen two, you know, national scale disasters in recent times. You know, first of all, which being the COVID pandemic and the other one being the 2004 tsunami which also hit Aceh. So I mean, if we are referring to the, you know, the disaster agency has logic perhaps in their opinion. I mean, the disasters that we've seen across Sumatra have not reached that severity yet. Georgina. So I think that could be one of the reasons why.
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And how have the public and the media, the Indonesian media reacted to the government's handling of this crisis?
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I mean, I can't say those in Sumatra because I'm based in Jakarta, I'm now on Java Island. So, you know, there's this geographic concern as well. But I mean, I've seen on social media posts that some of my friends, for example, you know, they've been posting, you know, messages of solidarity on their Instagram stories, for example. So obviously people even far away from Sumatra, even far away from the disaster zones are actually in support of these residents. I have to remember that thousands of them are cut off from these necessary supplies here. So people across the country, you know, especially here in Jakarta where I am, you know, among my circles and basically among my friends in the media, are actually very concerned about what's happening there.
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B
And I wonder if this disaster has raised broader questions about governance, about transparency and accountability in Indonesia. How is it driving the political debate?
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G
That's right. So I think I just want to step back a little bit on a study that's basically published by the Jakarta based in El Century of Economic and Law Studies or SELLY or C E L I O S. Basically, you know, they published a research finding yesterday which basically concluded that the disasters were estimated to reach over US$4.1 billion in economic losses and this number covered damaged residential homes, household income losses, roads and bridges that were destroyed, and agricultural production losses. Georgina, I mean, we have to look back again that this modeling was created using data as of November 13th. So perhaps the actual figures might be higher as the days progress. But I think this could basically, you know, the weak regulations and weak political will also play a role here. I mean, you know, the same central so basically mentioned that, you know, there's the change in land use, you know, in terms of the palm oil and other extractive activities. So I think weak political will as well as weak regulations are some of the contributing factors here.
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Randy, thank you very much indeed. That's Randy Mulianto in Jakarta. Now still to come on the programme.
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I'm Monocles man in the Balkans, Guy Delaunay and my roundup from the region features everything from Serbia's oil crisis to festive fights over singers in Croatia and Bosnia.
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This is the globalist.
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Craft is a matter of perspective, a unique outlook, an obsessive attention to detail. With UBS's Chief Investment Office Houseview, we're focused on identifying the latest investment opportunities and market risks to help you achieve your financial goals. So you get the big picture broken down into thought provoking insights delivered daily and curated by over 200 globally connected, locally active analysts. UBS banking is our craft.
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Well, let's continue now with today's newspapers and joining me in the studio is Alicia Fitzgerald who is a London based political journalist for outlets such as Times Radio, Sky News and the BBC. Good morning to you, Alicia.
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Good morning.
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I understand it's been a bit stressful, transport wise for you.
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I mean, classic early morning rush, cabs, cancer, cancelling all of that standing out in the cold. But we're here now and the rain.
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London weather as I'm afraid turned really quite nasty.
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It's absolutely awful. The thing that always baffles me is it can be really sunny and kind of crisp and nice one day and then you wake up the next morning and it's grey, it's pouring with rain. I just don't understand how it changes so quickly every time.
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B
Let's go to the front pages because it's a big, big story and this is about Netanyahu seeking a pardon on his fraud cases. Now Israelis have been actually protesting this. Tell us more. Perhaps from the perspective of Al Jazeera, which has done quite a deep dive into this. Yes.
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H
So Netanyahu is seeking pardon for three accusations that actually kind of came to light in 2020 when he stood trial. The first one prosecutors alleged he had received gifts such as cigars and bottles of champagne from businessmen in exchange for favors. Secondly, he was accused of offering to improved the circulation of an Israeli newspaper in exchange for very positive coverage. And thirdly, they alleged that he promoted regulatory decisions favorable to the controlling shareholder of an Israeli telecoms company in exchange for positive coverage. Bayern News website All of those things are absolutely not allowed if you are the leader of a country. And therefore he has been basically put on trial. As a result, Netanyahu now is seeking a pardon from the president that basically kind of dismisses all of these charges and means that he gets away with it, I suppose. And the reason for him doing, doing this is that he claims he simply doesn't really have the time to speak to the court three times a week. And actually he thinks it's inflaming tensions, I suppose, in the country that he says needs its leader. Of course, though, this is really problematic because lots of his opposition will say that this is totally not democratic, it's not fair. If he has done something wrong, he needs to be punished accordingly. And people are really urging the president not to actually offer this pardon.
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Right. So politically, I think also what we may be looking at here is, of course, as long as Netanyahu is in office, he's somewhat protected. The minute he goes, obviously he's not. Is this him hedging his bets, thinking that the end of his time in the Knesset is coming up and he needs to just make sure of his future? Prompted and urged on, of course, by his big buddy Donald Trump, who's just invited him to the White House again, which would, I think make it his fifth visit.
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H
Well, part of the reason that often leaders seek these pardons is they can really get these convictions, can get in the way of them standing for officers another time. So that's definitely playing on his mind, definitely what he's kind of laying the foundations for with this. And as you rightly say, Trump has actually been urging the president of Israel to offer this pardon, to give him this pardon. So we kind of know just how well where Trump stands with this and that he's kind of, he wants to keep Netanyahu in because they have quite a close working relationship. And of course they are. They are allies. So there's definitely kind of a political logic to why that's happening. But I mean, if this does go ahead, it will not be without serious backlash. I mean, not just from people within Israel, but globally as well. I mean, Netanyahu is an extremely divisive character as it Is, and I think if this pardon is granted, people will see it as really not democratic and probably pretty unfair.
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And I mean, let's face it, he is at some point going to be looking at war crimes charges, isn't he?
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H
Well, I presume so, yes. That would probably be a lot more severe than the charges that he's already facing.
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B
Yeah. Yeah. All right, well, let's move on because NATO, this is, according to the ft, NATO is considering being more aggressive against Russia's hybrid grid warfare. Just unpack that for us.
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H
Yeah. So obviously when we think of warfare, I think in times gone by, we always thought of traditional warfare. We thought of boots on the ground, guns, tanks, etc. Etc. But over the past decade or so, the way in which warfare exists has changed so drastically. It's our infrastructure, it's undersea cables, it's cyber attacks, and all of these things keep happening in closer kind of proximity to each other. There have at times been cases that have been totally attributed to Russia, namely the Baltic Sea cable cutting a few years ago. But that's not the only one. And all sorts of things like cyber attacks and hacks have been really damaging NATO countries and European infrastructure over the past few years. And for so long, it's been seen that NATO are very kind of slow to respond. Russia do seem one step ahead. I mean, cutting out undersea cables has a huge effect. I mean, this is how data is transferred. This is kind of our whole infrastructure relies on these cables. So when something like this happens, it's not just a case of it's a short blip in the day, it's massive and our data is compromised again and again. So NATO are basically saying that they want to kind of shift the way that they respond from being reactive and responsive to actually maybe being proactive. And this didn't go down too well in Russia. Russia said that this is an escalation and said that this suggests that NATO is suggesting that they might attack Russia. I think what NATO are trying to say is that they need to kind of get ahead of the curve and stop Russia from always being able to do this. And I know that there's lots of investment at the moment going into finding out ways we can monitor our undersea cables. A lot of companies across Europe trying to find ways that you can kind of get these autonomous underwater vehicles basically just manning the cables the whole time. But I mean, it's very expensive to have to do that. So it'll be interesting to see what kind of conclusion they come to in the end with this.
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B
Hmm, let's go to Politico now. And they are talking about France wanting to end free health care for foreign pensioners. They have a very, very generous health care system, don't they?
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H
They really do. I mean, yeah, I mean, probably the most similar to ours, I suppose, across the globe. So this is mainly an issue directed at the us but of course the UK is not an EU country as well. So keep that in mind when I explain the story at the moment. If you move to France in your kind of retirement and you know you can, you have a long stay visa, you can prove you have sufficient funds, after a while you can effectively benefit from the free healthcare that France has to offer. France wants to crack down on this because of the huge cost. It is obviously taking its toll on their economy. And the amount of people moving from the US to France recently in their retirement, I mean, obviously you can understand why, why that would be a popular place to retire has meant that this increase has just ballooned and ballooned. So France want to really crack down on this and basically just end all free health care and have a system where people pay for their health care if they are pensioners. And of course pensioners are usually the most costly age group to the health sector in any country. So that's kind of where the crackdown is. I think the main thing here though is of course we are also a huge portion of France's overseas population as well. And this is, would be for all non EU countries. So this would be very much impact us as well. So anyone thinking of retiring off to France might want to think again.
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B
Absolutely. And I mean, they are also after reciprocal rights. That's what they would like.
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H
Yes. The key thing as well is they were basically targeting this at the US and saying, hang on, if a French person goes over to the us they can't get free health care. But obviously, you know, the US doesn't have free health care, so it's a slightly different kettle of fish. Obviously in the UK we do and we're pretty generous as well with what we offer for people who, who move here. So I think this is definitely a policy aimed specifically at the United States, but it will have a knock on effect on all the other EU countries.
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B
Yeah. Finally, let's have a look at the 2025 Fashion Awards. There was some confusion.
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Yes.
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H
I mean, I think Sharon Stone announced the wrong award for the Outstanding Achievement winner. I don't know how that really happened.
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B
How do you get that wrong? It's written on the end. Unless you're given the wrong envelope.
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H
See, I can't tell whether she was given the wrong envelope or whether she just had a kind of crazy moment and really just messed up. But, I mean, look, you know, mistakes happen, and it was a bit of a blip. But I often think things like that kind of add a little bit of lightness to the viewing experience when you watch these things. So it's not the worst in the world. And I mean, all sorts of amazing outfits on, you know, on show. It was amazing. Lots of a list celebrities. Sienna Miller and Ellie Goulding announcing their pregnancies. I wonder if that was. They were kind of hoping they'd be the only ones to do that. And then they got there and there was someone else. So, yeah, it was a really, really great awards ceremony there. I do often think, though, that there gets a point with these fashion ceremonies where how outrageous can the costumes, the outfits really get? Because I feel like every year it ramps up. You know, in the 2000s, people were pretty casual on red carpets. People used to wear kind of jeans and a fancy top. And now, you know, you get these massive gowns. And I wonder how much, how much more extreme it will get, I suppose.
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B
What were the sort of main awards? I know that Kate Hawley won for a few that film. Frankenstein.
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H
Yeah, she won for her work on Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein. I think that was apparently a first. She was the first ever Costume Designer of the year award. So that was a really impressive one. And it's kind of nice, I think, when you see that merge between film and fashion. And it kind of just, you know, shows that costume is really important in films as well.
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B
Absolutely. And Jonathan Anderson, he was one Fashion awards designer of the year, and that's the third year running, so just fabulous. Alicia, thank you very much indeed. That's Alicia Fitzgerald, and you're with the Globalist on Monocle Radio. Now here's what else we're keeping an eye on today. Vladimir Putin meets US Envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow today after Florida talks that Washington says helped sharpen a draft Ukraine peace plan. Though Kyiv insists there can be no deal without firm guarantees and no territorial concessions. President Zelensky calls the talks constructive, but says the toughest issues are still unresolved. And European leaders stress there is no final plan on the table. China says it expelled a Japanese fishing vessel from what it considers Chinese waters around the Diaoyu Islands, while Japan says it pushed back two Chinese Coast Guard ships that approached the boat near the Senkaku Islands. The exchange comes amid high Tensions after Japan's prime minister warned that any Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo and Honduras. Presidential election remains too close to call with just 515 votes separating Nasri Asfura and Salvador Nasrallah and no official updates since early Monday as the election website crashed. Tensions have risen after President Trump. Trump claimed counting had abruptly stopped and accused officials of trying to change the result. This is the Globalist. Stay tuned. It's just coming up to 7:30 here in London. That's 8:30 in Gdask. Berlin hosts high stake talks today between Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Mertz, a meeting meant to reboot a relationship strained by years of reparations, demands, political sniping and newly reopened reinstated border checks. Both sides want to look ahead with security, Ukraine and joint defence projects on the agenda. But history is impossible to keep out of the room. Well, I'm joined now from Gdansk by Bruno Kaufman, who's a global democracy correspondent for the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Now GDASK is a city whose own story encapsulates both the friction and the promise in this relationship. It experienced the worst of German Polish conflict and then it helped form Europe's democratic rebirth. And now right on the edge of Russia, it's doubling down on civic participation and local democratic culture. So Bruno, first of all, how are today's consultations in Berlin being framed by both sides given all that political and historical weight being considered?
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I
Yes, good morning, Georgina. In fact, I mean this joint government consultation, they are seen in both countries, especially by both governments, as a chance to reboot, to revitalize the connections, the relations between these two important neighboring countries. Because I mean, Poland is the fourth most important trading partner of Germany. But at the same time, of course, as you have said, history is still very much an important factor here. And that can be shown that for instance, the Polish prime Minister Donald Tusk, he really wants to avoid too many pictures from this meeting. So people in Poland thinks that he will subutate to Germany and that's the picture still in Poland about Germany very much right.
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B
I wonder how much political room he has because there does seem to be a lot of anti German sentiment in Poland.
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I
That's right. I mean in 2023, when Donald Trump and his democratic alliance got into power after eight years of right wing government during which time there were no negotiations because the government in Poland really used Germany as a picture of conflict, as a picture of enemy, also against Europe. In fact, of course, there was a big hope that Donald Tusk would be a very different kind of partner for Germany. But this hasn't really turned out because the pressure in Poland is still so high and many Poles still feel that Germany not really assess what happened in history. And that for instance, I mean from the first day to the second last day of the Second World War, Germany was really making war on Poland and one fifth of Polish population was killed, killed by German troops.
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B
So where do reparations sit now?
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I
I mean, this reparation issue has always been from German side seen as a non issue anymore. Germans try to avoid this. They try to address especially the word of the future, the common European future. There is no willingness from the German side and from current chance. Chancellor Friedrich Merzi underlined that also in the press conference last night, again that this issue is a non issue. So there is not much opening for this kind of conversations. Both sides of course want to look into common fields when it comes to security, especially vis a vis Russia, of course, but also when it comes to the common European field. And there of course, Donald Tusk is much more open than the opposition in Poland.
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B
Let's, let's shift to where you are. Why is Gdansk such a powerful place to understand German Polish relations?
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I
It's indeed, I mean going around, walking around here and, and talking to people in Dansk, it's all about, you know, you can say, as you said initially, the best and the worst, you know of this relationship because obviously the Second World War started just a few kilometers from where I'm sitting just now, near to the main railway station on the Wester Platte, which is the harbor of Gdansk, where at that time Gdansk was a so called free city and Germans really started here to war, the Second World War with its attack. But at the same time also after the Second World War, especially then in the early 80s, the trade union movement here under the leadership of Lechwavensa, the later president Nobel Prize winner, they started in fact the democratic upheaval in Eastern Europe and in Europe. So it's a place where the European democracy was reborn and this is still in the government, especially now by the former and the current mayors. Really underlined.
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B
Yes. Well, just tell us a little bit more about the legacy of that union. That's Sulladanush. How does it continue to inform the city's politics and its sense of democratic mission?
- [35:24]
I
That's right. I mean there is a huge center here in the harbour, the European Solidarity center, which not only informs, but which is also in fact a place where for instance, civil society organizations are having their offices where everybody who wants to do, to contribute to the city and to Poland and Europe can do activities and is supported for that. And this is really very much the Dansk idea that you have to unify instead of confrontation, you have conversations. And this is seen every day here. And it's the mood which still preserves today. And at the same time you can also see some exhaustment of many people here because of course, it's only a few kilometers to the Russian border. And Gdansk is a city which, through its Solidarity Id also have received tens of thousands of refugees from Ukraine. So people here in Gdansk also feel a little bit, we contribute so much, but not people in Europe really understand that.
- [36:27]
B
Yeah, I mean, I wonder how that geography, as you say, so close to Russia, influences as the city's investment in civic resilience and also in local democracy, which does seem unusually strong.
- [36:39]
I
That's right. I mean, the former mayor, Pavel Adamovic, he was for 20 years really the lighthouse of democratic development in Poland. And he was then killed 2019 in an open setting. And this shocked, of course, at one point, but on the other side, his successor, Alexandra Dulcevich, she really took up this flame and she has continued to develop with the city this kind of participatory approach. And I have these days had so many meetings and conversations with people who really feel that they have a say in the common city affairs and they are investing a lot into, for instance, the mayor every month go to schools, have civic lessons, there are houses for citizen activities. There are a lot of investment into promoting, let's say, social cohesion. So Gdansk is really, you can say, a model of a democracy city in Europe today.
- [37:43]
B
Bruno, thank you very much indeed. That's Bruno Kaufman there, and this is Monocle Radio. Airbus spent the Thanksgiving weekend rushing to fix a software glitch that exposed thousands of its jets to corrupted flight control data caused by solar radiation. Most aircraft were patched and flying again by Monday, but the company was then hit by a separate issue that sent its shares tumbling. Wilmurdo Morrison is head of Strategic content at Flight Global and joins me now. Murdo, it's lovely to have you back on the show. Can you tell us more about the solar flare problem and how it was first identified? It was a JetBlue crisis, I understand.
- [38:32]
J
It was a JetBlue emergency landing and the regulators looked into this and discovered that there was a potential problem with potential vulnerability to solar radiation, particle strikes that could affect the software upgrade to an onboard computer. Very sort of complicated stuff. But this was identified the Aircraft were all recalled, some 6,000 aircraft. And it was a very simple software fix for the vast majority of the aircraft. Just a few hours of, you know, change to the software and the aircraft were back in the air again. So, so, you know, it was kind of a big issue for Airbus to deal with, as you say, over the Thanksgiving weekend, the busiest weekend for travel in the US but it was dealt with pretty well by the airlines and by Airbus. So they kind of got over that crisis pretty quickly.
- [39:35]
B
I mean, why was it necessary to order such an immediate global fix?
- [39:41]
J
Well, I think when the regulators, so that's the EASA primarily in Europe and the FAA in the US run the show really, so all other regulators kind of follow their lead. It was, I think they, when there's a safety issue, safety is paramount, safety comes first. And you just don't really want any aircraft flying with a potential problem. So the regulators do tend to do a, you know, a very sort of sudden order to, to sort of get this fixed. Now it's not kind of, oh, well, could you get this fixed sometime over the next two or three years when convenient? So that's not that unusual for the regulators to do this. So it was obviously serious enough for them to order the immediate, immediate recall or the immediate action. But luckily this was not something that involved each aircraft going into the repair shop for days or weeks on end.
- [40:39]
B
Now, what do we know about the second problem that was identified on Monday?
- [40:43]
J
We don't know very much about this. This was a story that was reported by Reuters and others have followed it up. So potential panels which again potential problems to some panels which Airbus has identified in the supply chain. So there's no evidence that any aircraft with this fault have been, have been delivered and Airbus have been, are sorting this out. I don't think this is going to be a problem. The shares, as you said, did take a dip. They recovered somewhat and of course Airbus shares have been performing very, very strongly all year. So this is, you know, this is, I think this just will be a sort of temporary glitch. It will get sorted out.
- [41:27]
B
I wonder if this shifts how Airbus is viewed relative to Boeing, because of course, Boeing was the one taking all the flak and still is. But is the blame, if you like, being more equally shared now?
- [41:40]
J
Well, it's difficult to see. I mean, Boeing, Boeing's reputation did take a real knocking over a succession of problems, starting with the two Max crashes, if you remember, in 2019, 2020, which caused the grounding of the entire MAX fleet. Now that happened as Covid happened. So it sort of overlapped a bit when aircraft were grounded anyway. But that's been a problem that has caused, you know, CEO resignations. It's caused multiple problems for Boeing. They've had problems with, with programs and it's really boiled down with Boeing to a sort of whole cultural problem with their, with, with their engineering and with their whole processes that the new CEO has sort of resolved to, to address. Now Airbus has really escaped all this. They've not really, in their sort of plus year history had very many problems where there's been a question mark over their sort of engineering excellence or their safety quality. So you know, this is, this will come as a sort of a bit of a shock to Airbus. But remember, it's, you know, it's very often how the manufacturer addresses these, how it reacts to these things that really matters. And Airbus seems to have address this issue very, very quickly and very effectively.
- [43:05]
B
So what will regulators and operators be watching for next?
- [43:10]
J
Well, I think they're always watching for things. You know, let's not forget that aviation's a huge global industry. There are tens of thousands of aircraft in the air every day around the world. And you know, the safety issues do come up. I mean, aviation is a safety obsessed industry and although any incidents, any crashes, when unfortunately do happen, get sort of become global news, that's partly because they are so rare and aviation remains a very, very safe way to travel. It remains an industry that's got obsessive safety culture. So the regulators will always be on the, on the watch, they'll always be on the guard and they'll always be ready to react to any safety issues that arise.
- [44:03]
B
Murdo, thank you very much indeed. That's Murdo Morrison, head of strategic content at Flight Global. And this is the globalist on Monocle. Radio.
- [44:15]
A
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- [44:54]
B
Well, I'm joined now by Guy Delaunay, who's Monocle's Balkans correspondent, for a wrap of news from the region. Guy, good morning to you.
- [45:01]
C
Georgina. And good morning all.
- [45:03]
B
Now, Serbia has only one oil refinery and it might have to shut today.
- [45:08]
C
It's looking quite probable, to be honest with you, because it's not got any crude oil to process. So the refinery we're talking about here is owned by a company called nice. That's a Serbian acronym, which basically means national petrol industry. So it's the national oil company. But about, let me see, about 17 years ago, I think it was, they sold off a big chunk of it to Russian oil companies. Gazprom, Gazprom, Neft. And that's a problem because the US has imposed sanctions on those companies. And since October, that's applied to Nice as well. And of course, this is a huge problem for this refinery because it can't get crude deliveries from Croatia anymore, because Croatia is respecting these sanctions. Serbia is landlocked. The pipeline from Croatia's coast is the only way in for crude deliveries and this refinery is about to shut down. And you can imagine the impact that's going to have on a country like Serbia.
- [46:01]
B
So, I mean, that's going to affect petrol and diesel supplies. It's really going to just have a huge knock on the population.
- [46:09]
C
Absolutely, Because Nice is not only the largest petrol and diesel retailer in the country, it actually provides more than 80% of the petrol and diesel sold in Serbia, as well as almost all of the jet and heavy fuels. And I saw something quite extraordinary a couple of weeks ago when I was at Belgrade Airport. There was a great big queue of tankers waiting to get into. Into the fuel depot at Belgrade airport, because they were clearly keen to stock up while they could, if you like, because Air Serbia is relying on these. These fuel supplies and of course, other airlines as well. But Air Serbia in particular, being the flag carrier, needs in order to operate a supply of fuel at a given price. And if it's going to have to get refueled in different places that it flies to, that's going to cost it more. And this is the issue all around for Serbia, that if it's going to bring in fuel from other places, it won't be at such attractive terms as it's been getting them from Nice up till now. And it's really scrabbling around now to find these fuel supplies that will keep vehicles on the road and keep planes in the sky.
- [47:14]
B
Now, you've got some extraordinary music stories for us.
- [47:18]
C
Indeed. It is the season to be banning gigs, Georgina, and we can talk first of all about a gig which has just been banned, which is in Bosnia's Republika Sarpska region, which is majority Serb. And they were going to have a big party to mark the seasonal opening of the Yahoorina ski resort. And this was going to be headlined by Atsa Lucas, who's A big star of the Serbian music world. He plays a style of music called Turbo Folk, which doesn't do it for me, to be honest with you. It was particularly popular in the 1990s, rather associated with, with Serb nationalism, to be honest with you, but it is very popular among certain groups of people. He sold out a Red Star Belgrade Stadium about 10 years ago. He's a big star, but he's been banned from holding this concert and it's all because of a photograph that he posed for and a fan came up to him, said, can I have a snap with you at sir Lucas? Obliged. And it turns out this fan was NASA Orich, who was a somewhat notorious commander in the the Bosnian army in the 1990s and thus responsible for, as the Serbians would say, war crimes against Serbs.
- [48:26]
B
But apparently this, this singer Lucas had some genuine offenses to his name anyway.
- [48:33]
C
That's right. I mean this, the ironic thing is, you know, he's being banned for posing for a photo with a fan, and yet he has convictions to his name for, among other things, assaulting his ex wife and illegal possession of weapons. So he's not a particularly savory character, Atsalukas. But he's been banned because the Republika Szarpska authorities say that he's let everybody down, all the Serbs down, by posing with this Bosnian commander.
- [48:59]
B
Dear, oh dear. Well, let's look at the ultra nationalist singer Thompson. Who's that? And, and why is he a part obviously from his politics controversial?
- [49:10]
C
You might have noticed there's a bit of a theme here, Georgina, which is the, the hugely popular singers in this region tend to be nationalist or, you know, reflective of the, the ethno nationalism that we get in this region. Thompson's real name is Marko Perkovic. He's also got a past in the military. He calls himself Thompson after the, the brand of machine gun that he was given when he joined up to, to fight in the nineteen nineteen nineties and what Croatians call the Homeland War. And he's hugely controversial because his most famous song opens with a Nazi era salute, which is a bit problematic really. And he held this huge gig in Zagreb at the Hippodrome in the summer. About more than 300,000 people turned up. I mean, Thompson would claim there were half a million, but there were certainly hundreds of thousands. And we've seen since then an. A definite increase in incidents of xenophobia, of assaults on people from minority ethnic groups, on immigrant workers and on rhetoric that's also been xenophobic. Zagreb city authorities have Decided, enough of this. They've decided to ban the utterance of this Nazi salute on any premises belonging to the municipality. And this includes Zagreb Arena. So Thompson wanted to play two gigs at Zagreb Arena. He's only playing one because that was the one which was booked before this ban came into effect. And Zagreb city authorities said, you're not playing the second one, mate.
- [50:36]
B
Well, I mean, that's got to be a healthy sign, hasn't it?
- [50:39]
C
You'd think, wouldn't you? But it doesn't go down well with everybody. I mean, there are people who equivocate over the use of this Nazi era salute. And they say that, no, no, no, no, it's not Nazi. It's an expression of Croat patriotism. And they say that because it's become associated with the homeland war in the 1990s because there were certain militia groups which used that salute. Now I have to tell you, the militia group which started it actually was very keen on the Nazis, it has to be said. And the, the father of Croatian independence, Frano Tudgeman, was not keen on that them and he disbanded them because he thought it was very unhealthy for the Croatian independence movement to be associated with Nazism. I mean, that's, that's the thing. I mean, you're getting this conf. People conflating the two. An independent Croatia with this, with the homeland war. And somehow the Nazi puppet state of the 1940s was the original independent Croatia is what some people seem to be saying.
- [51:39]
B
But I mean, Croatia was holding anti fascist rallies over the weekend.
- [51:43]
C
That's right. And this is again notable not just for the fact that tens of thousands of people turned out in four of Croatia's largest cities, including the capital Zagreb, but for what happened. So tens of thousands of people turned out. But you did have masked and hooded goons attacking some of these anti fascist rallies. And then the response from the governing party, the hdz, has been quite interesting, to put it mildly. So for example, we've had the Defense Minister Ivan Anushic saying that the United Against Fascism protests were not anti fascist, but pro Yugoslav and directed against the state. So this is what we've got in Croatia at the moment is this rather extraordinary situation where people are saying that anti fascism is somehow anti patriotic. And I think this is all. You can trace this all back to this mega gig by Thompson over the summer. Everything seems to have flowed from that Guy.
- [52:40]
B
Thank you very much indeed. That's Guy Delaunay there. You're listening to the Globalist on monocle. Radio. Now, if you are planning a summer hike, a winter on the slopes, or a weekend of galleries and good food, Switzerland, the Monocle Handbook is the ideal companion. To tell us more about our new publication. I'm joined in the studio by Monocle writer Claudia Jacob, who was part of the team that traveled to Switzerland and helped compile the book. Good morning to you, Claudia.
- [53:17]
E
Morning, Georgina.
- [53:18]
B
So why did Monocle look to Switzerland for its fifth handbook and what fresh challenges did this one one present? Because I know you've been involved in many of them.
- [53:27]
E
Absolutely. It's the third one I've been involved in and I think Switzerland was a special one for us because Monocle has got such strong roots in Switzerland. You know, our other HQ is in Zurich and it really chimes in with a lot of the themes that Monocle cares about, about high quality goods, about political neutrality, about the way that it's managed to gain some stability around the other European countries. But I think also we have a lot of recommendations, a lot of ideas, a lot of things to say about Switzerland. And so this was an opportunity to actually wrap it all up into one book and give it to people in one place. And that was exciting, but also quite a challenge. I think probably the biggest challenge that I've faced, having done two other of these books, is that we usually arrange them in terms of urban, coastal and rural hotels, for example, if we're thinking about that chapter. And it was the first time that I think we took a step back and thought, actually this doesn't work for Switzerland. You know, it's the only country where we've done so far that doesn't have a coastline. And actually the first country we've done that has such an emphasis on, you know, alpine living, on skiing, on mountains. And so we basically had to come up with a new formula for this one, which was, which was exciting and involved a bit of, you know, math, should we say, looking at spreadsheets.
- [54:37]
B
I mean, because for people who've not been there and don't know much about Switzerland, it's very easy to fall into the, into the stereotypes, watches, banking, chocolate and so on. And I guess it was your job to show people that really there's so much more to it.
- [54:52]
E
That's it. It was a project that aimed to look beyond the stereotypes, to look at why this is such a well respected country and to celebrate Switzerland for everything it is. You know, they have a very high quality of life there and it's something that we. That speaks to us a lot at Monocle and We really wanted to encapsulate that within our project. But that involved, you know, not just representing Zurich as, you know, the economic capacity, capital, not just looking at Verbier as the mountains and at the, you know, the Matterhorn, the iconic Matterhorn, but, you know, looking at, for example, the Italian speaking region of Ticino, looking at the, you know, the peaks of the Bernese Oberland and looking at how people can access these places and where they should be looking to, because there's, there's an overwhelming choice, you know, especially when it comes to the mountains. But also there is plenty more to do in Switzerland as you acknowledge. The hikes, you know, the swimming in the lakes, the shopping, the food, there's a lot to unpack. And I think that's what we aimed to do within this new handbook.
- [55:42]
B
And I mean, it's not just for the casual visitor. If you're thinking of relocating, for instance, you recommend architecture, you recommend places to live, areas to be in.
- [55:51]
E
That's it. I think for me, one of the most interesting parts of Switzerland is its diversity. Not just in terms of terrain and terroir, like we just talked about, but also in terms of, you know, linguistic diversity. I think Switzerland is a place that can welcome a lot of different people because, you know, it's quite unusual in the fact that it helps four official languages. And I think that's what makes it an interesting place not just to holiday, but also to actually settle down in, to set up a business, to find, you know, a new place, a new place to live. And I think the way that Switzerland represents its different identities within the four corners of the country is what makes it so, so interesting and such an interesting, you know, mediator of, you know, political, you know, issues within Europe and within the surrounding countries that, you know, borders. It borders so many countries and all of those countries identities are reflected within Switzerland itself. And I think that's what was a challenge to represent, but what made it so exciting.
- [56:41]
B
Now of course, as you say, you start with a whole raft of recommendations from people who know, do you then have to go and try those all out yourself? It's a hard job. But tell us about that experience.
- [56:53]
E
Exactly. So we split up the country between us. We all took different parts. I personally started off in Zurich and then went to, to the town of Lucerne, then up to the mountains to Staad, which was a very sort of, as an amazing experience to see something such, such an elegant place.
- [57:09]
B
It's an extraordinary place. I remember being there once and seeing there was an ashtray in the, in the, in the street and somebody had put out a huge Havana cigar in it.
- [57:22]
E
Yeah, I mean, it was a place that we used to be sort of, you know, it used to be farmland essentially. And then in about 1904, the railway came to Staad and that was when it suddenly attracted all these tourists from all over the world. And all of a sudden, you know, you've got, you know, Michael Jackson was there, you've got, you know, going back, you've got Frank Sinatra and Sophia Loren, Quentin Tarantino, all these celebs who came to Staad and it suddenly became this sort of, you know, the elegant heyday of, you know, Alpine tourism and holiday making. And some of the hotels there, like, like the Gstaad palace, which is so, so famous, and Hotel Olden, which have, you know, really encapsulated the sort of glitz and glam of what Staad, of what Staad means. And it truly was sort of a completely different experience, completely different to the other parts of Switzerland that I, that I visited, which is what made it so interesting ultimately.
- [58:09]
B
Yeah. And Claudia, so personally. And just to wrap up quickly, if you had to recommend one Swiss thing that we should definitely do, what would it be?
- [58:17]
E
Do you know what, it's, it's probably an unexpected thing. You're not going to expect me to say this, but the supermarket in Switzerland, Micro, which is, is the most iconic supermarket, it's celebrated its 100 year anniversary this year has the most unbelievably high quality food and prepared goods. And honestly, if you're in Switzerland, you need to go and check it out. It's just, it's, yeah, it's the epitome of what living in Switzerland really means.
- [58:37]
B
Claudia, Jacob, thank you very much indeed. Well, our new book, Switzerland the Handbook is out now. And that's all for today's program. Thanks to our producers Chris Chermack and Angelica Jops, our researcher Joanna Moser and our studio manager, Lily Austin. After the headlines, there's more music on the way and the briefing is live at midday. In London, the Globalist will return at the same time tomorrow. I'm Georgina Godwin. Thank you for listening.
- [59:21]
A
With ubs, you have a truly global partner incorporating new technologies, innovative approaches and unexpected opportunities, leading you to insights that help answer the questions that matter. Delivered with passion, care and unmatched expertise. Because it's about rising with the dawn each day, knowing that we can do even better. That's what banking is to us. Not just work, but a craft. UBS advice is our craft.