← The Globalist
The Globalist
The global reaction as the US seizes a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela
00:59:09
Loading summary
Transcript147 lines
- [00:04]
A
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 12 key financial hubs. With you at the heart of it all, UBS advice is our craft.
- [00:38]
B
You're listening to the Globalist, first broadcast on 12 December 2025 on Monacle Radio. The Globalist in association with UBS. It's 11am in Abu Dhabi, 8am in Paris, 7am here in London and 3am in Caracas. You're listening to Monocle Radio. The Globalist starts now. Live from London, this is the Globalist. I'm Tom Edwards.
- [01:21]
A
Coming up today, some people talk about invasion in Venezuela. The threat of an invasion in Venezuela. And I answered. Venezuela has been already invaded.
- [01:30]
B
What next for Venezuela? As tensions with Trump are ratcheted up another level. Portugal faced its first general strike in more than a decade. But will the government change direction? We'll also be in Abu Dhabi to take a robo taxi. Recap what we learned this week.
- [01:47]
C
We swiftly learned indeed that the ruse is sufficiently potent as to get the President of the United States to turn on one his own country's national games in favor of a foreign sport invented by cheese eating Europeans.
- [02:01]
B
And reveal what that is coming up over the alpine pass in 2026. All that ahead on the Globalist. Live from London. A very warm welcome to this Friday morning edition of the Globalist here on Monocle Radio. Great to have you with us wherever in the world you. I'm Tom Edwards here at Midori House in London. We're kicking off this edition of the programme in Venezuela. The US of course, as you've probably seen and heard, seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of the country that caused oil prices to rise by more than 1%. That move was the latest effort from D.C. to curb Caracas main revenue source. What does all this mean? Well, I'm nothing short of delighted to say that. Joining me here in studio one is Monocle's Ed Stocker. Good morning, Ed.
- [02:55]
D
Good morning.
- [02:56]
B
Now Ed, people of course know you as our Europe editor at large but you were once our America's editor. You spent a lot of time, well, in various places you were in BA for, for many years but you spent quite a bit of time in, in Venezuela. You know the region. Well, just zoom out a little bit for us. Give us the Edstocker macro. Take what do you make of the tensions we're seeing, these latest expressions of US Hostilities. What do you make of what we're seeing?
- [03:20]
D
Well, you know, Donald Trump, you know, wants to be seen as a winner. He wants to be seen as someone who takes decisive action. It's an open secret. Well, it's not even a secret that the US Is no fan of Nicolas Maduro, who's obviously been in power in Venezuela for a long time. And obviously, you know, the economy in that country has continued to slide. It's tried supporting opposition leaders. None of it has worked in terms of bringing about the objectives it wants. And for some time now, you know, Trump has been upping the ante. As we all know, in the Caribbean, there's some 15,000 troops there, about a dozen ships. You know, we've seen these brazen really shooting down of ships that it says are trafficking drugs. Over 80 people have been killed. We haven't seen any evidence that any of these ships have contained drugs. But that's what America has claimed, the US has claimed, saying it's sort of legitimate, they're fair game targets because this is apparent, apparent warfare on the U.S. this trafficking of drugs. Obviously very questionable legality of that international law. And so, you know, this latest move is, should be seen in light of that. You know, the US has accused Maduro of heading up, you know, this, this cartel, Cartel de los Solas, saying he is basically this kingpin in this drugs trade. So they're sort of linking all these smaller things probably with Maduro. And there has been a suggestion for some time that, you know, Trump may move decisively to change that regime in Venezuela. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen. But it seems that he's wanting to more decisive than the US has been in the past in terms of what's happening in that country.
- [05:23]
B
Well, let me ask you about that and maybe you can reflect a little bit on, as I mentioned, the time you spent in Venezuela. Sometimes there are these countries that sort of find themselves in the literal or metaphoric crosshairs of the US and sometimes one gets a sense or even anecdotally people say, oh look, there would be an appetite for outside intervention to drive change politically, domestically and in other cases, very much not. And the public, even if they're maybe dissatisfied with their leadership, they really don't want intervention from without. Reflect on your time. Actually when you visited Venezuela, did you get the sense that this was a country of people who were quite receptive to outside ideas, clearly not being implemented by force, but just on input from Without America file or actually quite resistant. What was the sort of appetite even going back a little while when you were there talking to people on the street?
- [06:14]
D
Well, so. Well, just to. Just to clarify, yeah, I was based in Argentina for about five years, and so I traveled all over Latin America. I went to Venezuela a long time ago now, actually. So a lot has changed since then. When I went there, it was Hugo Chavez's. You know, he was obviously the predecessor to Nicolas Maduro. He named Maduro as his heir. And, you know, I was there when, you know, there was a booming oil production. A lot was being spent on social programs. Caracas, the capital, was actually very safe when I was there. And obviously, you know, Chavez became entrenched in power. This has slid even further with Maduro, and the economy has been handled extremely badly. Poverty has increased, you know, inflation, we all know, is. Has been out of control in that country. There's been huge migration, obviously wealthier Venezuelans, many of them, but not only. So a lot of those have moved to places like Miami and even Spain, of course, other migrants moving across the border into other countries like Colombia. And so there's been this huge outpouring of people who've left Venezuela as a result of. Of years and years of mismanagement. And so it's hard to really judge what is happening there. I mean, some things have stabilized in a way. I know, you know, odd things that have come back to Venezuela that these, you know, odd, very luxury establishments there. There's a big gap between rich and poor. So, you know, obviously there was a big difference from when I was there to now, but there's plenty of people, obviously in that country who would like to see Maduro leave power and happier times for a country that has, you know, a lot of petroleum.
- [08:15]
B
Astonishing. I mean, this is worth remembering, isn't it? Astonishing.
- [08:17]
D
Oil reserves it has, and obviously, you know, it could be producing a lot more if it was handled in a different way. But obviously, one can't really think about the situation with Venezuela without thinking about this huge wealth that it is sitting on and arguably potentially the US Might be interested in.
- [08:35]
B
Yeah, he's right.
- [08:36]
E
He's.
- [08:36]
B
An arched eyebrow was thrown here in studio as well. If we then zoom out a bit more, then are there other stakeholders who could meaningfully get involved in this? Trump's foreign policy pronouncements or detours are, as with most of his policy, as with most of his pronouncements, they're quite erratic, they're quite hard to predict. He's very volatile in terms of his decision making, which makes reading the room difficult. But are there other, I don't know, nations, individuals, supranational organizations who could maybe be a stabilizing factor, a helpful influence, whether it's on the US Side or the Venezuelan side in, in this game. Anyone you feel we should be hearing more from at this time?
- [09:21]
D
Well, obviously, I mean, you could argue, you know, mediators want to step in. You know, Qatar's wanted to play a more powerful role in international mediation. Obviously there's big, you know, huge neighbors, like I mentioned before, like Colombia. But, you know, any attempts in the past to sort of really end the current situation have failed. I mean, at some point, Maduro, you would think, has to go, and there'll be lots of people who would be happy for that to happen. It will be really interesting. You know, we were just talking just a few days ago when I was on Monocle Radio. You know, while I'm here in London.
- [10:02]
B
We work our correspondence hard, people tackling.
- [10:05]
D
Various themes, you know, spreading, spreading across, across the globe from Europe to Venezuela. That's it. You know, we were saying how unpredictable Donald Trump is, but so it's very hard to, you know, take a read on him. It's very hard to sort of try and predict what he's going to do if, you know, there's talk of would he actually send troops into Venezuela? You know, is that going to happen? There is a buildup, as I mentioned before, of US Power in the Caribbean. Is that just a threat? Will he move on? Will he move on to something else? You know, he, he, he wants to, you know, achieve. He wants to say that he's done that. He's already claimed that he solved how many conflicts, I don't know, in this.
- [10:43]
B
Recent policy report, nearly in double figures.
- [10:45]
D
You know, he, he solved just about every, every one of the world's conflicts. And so he died.
- [10:50]
B
It doesn't feel like that, does it?
- [10:51]
D
He wants a Nobel Peace Prize, so.
- [10:53]
B
You know, that's nearly, nearly as good. Just a final quick thought, Ed. Do we know in terms of succession you mentioned, like, Maduro doesn't feel like he will be there for the, for the long term. Are there runners and riders? It's very difficult. We know that across Latin America, really, we tend to get this quite polarized domestic political scenes with some very outspoken voices, very prominent figures, often at the extremes of the left and right side of the, the agenda. What's the, how does it shape up within Venezuela? As you said, it's been so dominated by These very singular voices for such a long time now.
- [11:28]
D
But obviously we have Maria Machado who just won a Nobel Peace Prize. So, I mean, she's, she's, you know, she is the most high profile opposition leader there was also obviously, you know, there were people like Juan Guaido who at one point, you know, we thought, you know, had strong backing from the US among other nations and also in Europe. She's the most hope Rifa at the moment. But again, it's just, it's very hard, you know, she took a risk traveling to Oslo and so it's very hard to know who will emerge. But at the moment, you know, not much is going to change, I don't think unless the US decides to wade in. We'll have to wait and see what happens. It'll be interesting to see that.
- [12:13]
B
We shall do. Ed, always lovely to gather you here around the table in Studio one. That's Monocle's Ed Stocker joining us here on the Globalist on Monocle Radio.
- [12:23]
E
Portugal has plenty more to offer visitors than sun, sea and sand. With its vibrant cities, rolling vineyards, an incredible history of design and a resourcefulness that always amazes.
- [12:35]
F
It's a fun place to eat.
- [12:36]
C
I mean, like, you just don't stop.
- [12:38]
F
It's sunny and it's warm and everything's outside.
- [12:41]
B
Like, it's great.
- [12:43]
E
The Monocle Handbook is the first in a brand new series revealing our favorite places to eat, stay and shop from Lisbon to the Azores. Should you wish to stay a little longer, it will also help you find a neighborhood that could become your new base and introduce you to the people who have already put down roots. Head to monocle.com to find out more and prepare to see this fascinating nation afresh.
- [13:14]
B
You're listening to the Globalist on Monocle Radio now. Yesterday, Portugal experienced its first general strike in more than a decade with the walkout causing severe disruption across the country as the nation's two principal trade union confederations brought key public services, from transport and education to healthcare to a standstill. I'm joined for more on this by Monocle senior foreign correspondent Carlota Rebelo. Good morning, Carlotta.
- [13:37]
E
Good morning, Tom.
- [13:39]
B
Now listen, huge disruption. We may have listeners tuning in right now who experienced it themselves. We had colleagues flying in yesterday for Monocle's Christmas do, having their flights changed and so on. Tell us how we got there.
- [13:52]
E
Yes, this is the first general strike in Portugal in about 12 years and at the center of it all of why these trade unions have called for a massive event like this. It's the new proposed changes to the labor laws and this is by the new government and there are about like 100 different proposals in there. But the three things of note that are the key anchor points here of this frustration and this desire to stop this bill going through is that the new changes will allow employers to roll over temporary contracts for years on end. So it doesn't impose a limit on that. Obviously the issues of precarious work, people not having a fair deal when it comes to the workplace. And also it's lifting a ban on the way that workers can be fired and then immediately rehired, rather than becoming part, or what we call effective workers, part of the company. And also it removes a requirement that exists now that, let's say a worker needs to take their employer to employment tribunal or vice versa. If it's then at the moment, if the worker is found, you know that he is, he or she are correct, they can ask either to be reinstated in their previous role or to get a payout. And this basically removes that. Even if they are correct, they're gone from the company.
- [15:14]
B
Can I ask you rota, because this seems to me to sort of buck the trend. Certainly here in the uk, obviously we have a Labour government very committed on lots of these Labour issues. But even EU wide we know how much more structured and rigorous the regulatory environment is. Some of these things effectively like a sort of zero hours contract as we have here, fire and rehire some of these compensatory claims. This seems to be way out of step with the general direction of travel. So is the public view, despite the inconvenience, that actually lots of these union bodies have quite a substantial point?
- [15:48]
E
Absolutely. This has been described as the biggest regression in terms of labor rights since the democratic process after the revolution. And it is a manifestation, of course of being this being supposedly a center right government, but that has a big support from the far right. So we're seeing a lot of these as Portugal likes to describe the conquests from April, which was when the Carnation Revolution was being slimmed down. Now, the general strike really impacted and showed how the general public does not support this. You know, public transport was down to a minimum to the point that the metro from Lisbon wasn't even running the minimum services. They were just. The metro was closed, you had to get the bus and that would be at minimum services airport, Lisbon airport issued warnings and Porto all across the nation issued warnings that most flights will be canceled. And the few flights that might make it, you might not have baggage handlers, you might not have border staff to get you through all of that. The body that represents the doctors in the country said that about 90% of doctors and nurses and other health professionals adhered to this general strike. And of course, in terms of health, there are bare minimum to ensure obviously that emergencies are covered and many, many others. So I think the government really has to take stock of the full impact that yesterday had and the message that it shows because it clearly shows that these reforms are not popular and people are worried about what that might mean for the future of the country.
- [17:19]
B
Well, just quickly and not to put you on the spot, Carter, what happens next? I don't know what kind of leverage this degree of unanimity, certainly from workers, organizations, but when it also aligns broadly with public opinion, one would imagine that can move the dial. Is there any sense, I know we're only one day later of what the impact of these protests, this general strike will be in terms of maybe a pivot from the government.
- [17:44]
E
So the initial response from Prime Minister Luis Montenegro was essentially saying, in other words, that this was, you know, a bit of an overreaction, that it wasn't that bad. And that's how the day started yesterday. By the afternoon, we had seen the rhetoric starting to change. I think now, of course, we're going into the Christmas recess for Parliament. But going into that period, I really doubt that the other parties also need to either support the bill or at least abstain in order to go through. I don't see how these other parties will be able to vote in favor. So I think it's really going to shift how this is seen. Now I think a lot of these, as I mentioned, as over 100 changes to the labor laws being proposed here, a lot of them will pass as they stand. But some of these most controversial ones that I mentioned, there has to be some reworking done and the next week will be crucial to see what's the result there.
- [18:38]
B
Carlo Trabillo, great to have your insights. Thanks for being with us this Friday morning. Plenty still to come on the program. Yes, more about that later. Yodel. Do well to stay tuned. This is the Globalist on Monocle Radio.
- [19:02]
A
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.
- [19:38]
B
You are back with the Globalist on Monocle radio this Friday, the 12th of December. Hope you're having a great day wherever you are. Mine's got a little brighter because I've been joined in the studio now by Ash Bardwaj. Ash, good morning. How are you?
- [19:49]
F
I'm very good, thank you. How are you?
- [19:51]
B
I'm not too bad at all. Now, it's funny, normally we like to look forwards on this program, but we're actually going to look back because one of my colleagues chatted with you way, way back at the start of 20 tourism and travel to the US and you made some predictions. You gazed into your crystal ball, read the tea leaves, whatever you want to call it, and essentially you were correct. We've now got more data showing that a lot of the trends you were kind of picking up on, yeah, they're really happening. And the tail is much longer. Tell us why. Now, I know we've got some new data, but why is this something that's so important if people are passionate about their travel and in particular or were passionate about traveling to the US So.
- [20:27]
F
The specific data comes from the United States Travel association, and it shows that the trend that we saw at the beginning of this year, which was a slump in visitor numbers, has continued through to the end of the year. It's about 5% down inbound into the United States. Most of that slump tends to come from the European Union, but also from Mexico, from Canada. Now why is this happening? There's a couple of different reasons why travel numbers will decline. One might be economic. That might be the US Dollar becoming stronger again, so it's more expensive. People have put off their trip.
- [20:57]
G
Trip.
- [20:57]
F
One might be policies. We've heard about the way the United States is becoming stricter with its visa enforcement. I, having traveled as a journalist, it's much harder for me to travel as a tourist going to the United States because I already have that journalism visa. If I want to just go on holiday, I have to go and apply for a separate visa rather than being able to get the ESTA waiver. So there's just a bit more complexity of traveling to the United States. But the first but the third is a big one in travel is sentiment. And I think people are just not wanting to go to the United States because of the way the United States is treating or talking about their countries. And there's two options for this one. You either delay your holiday, I might go to the United States in four years, or you go somewhere similar now. And I think we have seen that Canada, for example, has picked up a lot of the tourism that would have otherwise gone to the United States. Similar geography and similar climate in many places, and people are just going there rather than the U.S. and I guess.
- [21:55]
B
It'S that funny thing, there's a bit of a perfect storm, isn't it? Because in a lot of examples, if we look back through history, you might have one or possibly two of those shaping factors driving the agenda. But here we have all of them at once. And then overlay that with deeper policy things, questions about trade and tariffs, and the rest of it becomes ever more tempting, I guess, for people to just say, look, I'm going to leave it. And of course, this is leisure travel, not business travel. What are some of the manifestations, though, of this ash that perhaps people haven't thought about? Because I guess there are certain big, big ticket locations, whatever you'd call it, that are still getting a degree of support from external travels. But there are the sort of second visit spots that are really feeling the pinch.
- [22:36]
F
I guess second and even third or fourth visit spots are the ones that really seem to be taking the punch here. The first time you go to the United States, it would probably be from the uk, Florida or New York. And people are still going to go for their big 30th birthday shopping holiday in New York. They're still going to go for their kids 10th birthday to Disneyland in Orlando.
- [22:57]
B
Not my kids, Ashley. They can wait a lot longer. But I appreciate what you're saying.
- [23:00]
F
You know those, those big ticket things, they're still there. And then the second or third trip, you might go somewhere else. You might go and visit Utah or Nevada or Arizona. And the New York Times had a report this week about the big impact on the Navajo Nation. And that's indigenous people of the United States, particularly in this region around Utah, Nevada, Arizona. Visiting the amazing landscape, but also the cultural history that you get in that region, region, most of the visitors to that region are international. Those people are no longer coming. Other states, maybe in the Northwest, Pacific Northwest, they're not getting as many visitors because people are saying, why would I go there when I don't need to go there now? Or I could go to British Columbia over in Canada, for example. So you're not seeing this drop affecting local areas or tourism across the board. The other areas that are getting really badly affected by this, right along the northern border with Canada, people would cross over the border from Canada that they'd drive over, spend their holiday in the United States. They're not doing it anymore. Part of that really is this sentiment of we thought America was our ally. Now you're being rude about us and treating us badly. Why are we going to go and spend our money with you?
- [24:08]
B
And that's just on, I guess, a point which reflects on the economic side that you talked about at the beginning, which is that US Tourism will find better deals, internal tourists will travel more within the country. But you made the point when we were chatting earlier that's not boosting the sort of GDP picture for the US or it's certainly not boosting the balance of payments for the US So, and that is another thing again, I guess the legacy of that, it's a bit further down the track. So maybe there isn't the same kind of willingness to discuss that with the same kind of urgency that perhaps there should be.
- [24:42]
F
Yeah, we forget that tourism is actually an export industry because you're just getting foreign currency coming into your country. It's free money. And if you are just depending on domestic tourism instead, yes, your domestic market is growing, but you're not getting that foreign currency reserve flowing into your country. So even if you could replace it with the domestic economy, you're not getting that inbound revenue. And even so, domestic tourists, they're not as many. They don't spend as much money. And if one of the main regions that America is seeing a fall in tourism numbers from is Europe, remember that Europeans actually have more holiday time than Americans. So losing that that market is going to have more of an impact on the wider tourism market than losing or shrinking the domestic market.
- [25:28]
B
And just to the point you were talking about visas, you know, there are all sorts of the word you used earlier was complexities, and there are so many about dual nationality and how much more difficult it is for the kind of fluency of movement above between all of these different markets, that picture is, if anything, getting even more tangled, isn't it? And there are many dual nationals, lots of European nations, of course, who have big families on both sides of the pond. It doesn't appear like there's any appetite to address that or make it easier even for dual nationals. Right.
- [25:57]
F
So actually, a Republican senator originally from Colombia has just tried to introduce a bill in the Senate which would make it impossible for Americans to have dual citizenship. His belief, and once he became an American citizen, he renounced his Colombian citizenship, is that you should view American citizenship as something with great pride and you don't have any need for any other citizenship. And for some people that might be true. And for others, they may want to have a second citizenship because they have relatives in Italy, for example, or they may want to go and study there for a while or take advantage of the fact that depending on what state in Europe you're from, you might get funding for your university fees. So there's lots of advantages for people to have a second citizenship. But this does seem to tie in with, with the new national security strategy that the United States released, which talks about a primacy of Western civilization and the fact that European civilization is degrading because of immigration and not prioritizing national identity and so on. Whilst this bill from this Republican senator is very unlikely to pass or get through, it marks a sentiment that chimes with that national security strategy, which is this idea of the primacy of America and this risk of decline in terms of how that affects tourism sentiment for Europeans. If they're being told by Americans all the time that you guys are declining, they're not going to visit America as tourists as often. But Americans do still want to come to Europe because so many of them have their ants and because so many of them have their ancestry on this side of the Atlantic. I don't think that's going to decline unless they're just becoming more fearful of coming here.
- [27:34]
B
Final thought. Look, you said you're a passionate U.S. traveler or were more previously. Ash, what, what do you miss the most? Is there a particular spot? Could be one of those first visit locations. Maybe it's somewhere you found, I don't know, a number of times down the road. What, what do you most look forward to going back to whenever that day rolls around.
- [27:52]
F
So there's three things I really love about America. There's things that only America does that well. Kennedy Space center in Florida is incredible. I have been a space geek all my life. I, I wear a NASA T shirt half the time. And going in and seeing the space shuttle there was just remarkable. So that's number one. Number two is the landscape. So I was recently in Oregon. The rivers, the mountains, the volcanoes, the forests, it's incredible. The redwood forest in Southern Oregon, northern California, some of the most remarkable landscape on Earth. And then the third is the indigenous Native American culture, which is hard to find in many places, but it is accessible in places like Oklahoma, like the Navajo Nation. And it's often overlooked when we tell the story of modern America, but when you can access it on the terms of the indigenous people, it is a really special thing to become a part of.
- [28:50]
B
Ash Bardwaj, broadcaster and author of why We Travel thanks very much for being with us here on the Globalist on Monocle Radio. Now, as it's Friday, that can mean only one more thing. It's time for Andrew Muller's wry take on some of the more ridiculous news of the week.
- [29:15]
C
We learned this week. Or really, if we're honest, just too late last week for last week's what we learned. But by golly, we weren't about about to miss out on this. That the peacemakers are, after all, blessed. Just like it says in Matthew 5:9. We learned that though those pencil necked desk jockeys on the Norwegian Nobel Committee had been bewilderingly unmoved by the labours of the greatest peacemaker this side of Abraham himself, perhaps, who knows, he had just been too modest and self effacing and tactful for his own good.
- [29:51]
B
Prime Minister Abe of Japan gave me the most beautiful copy of a letter that he sent to the people who give out a thing called the Nobel Prize. He said, I have nominated you, or respectfully, on behalf of Japan, I am asking them to give you the Nobel Peace Prize. I said, thank you. Many other people feel that way too. I'll probably never get it, but that's okay. They gave it to Obama. He didn't even know what he got it for. If it were somebody else, they would have gotten five Nobel Prizes. I never even got a mention. I think I'm going to get a Nobel Prize for a lot of things.
- [30:25]
C
If they gave it out fairly, which they don't. We learned that there was one organization sufficiently robustly principled, so famously virtuous, so proverbially incorruptible, and so rigorously committed to fair play that they could see what those chunky jumpered moose botherers in Oslo would not. We learned that the Federation Internazionali Desociacions de Football, better known, universally respected and really very rarely condemned as a wretched sack of shifty crooks as FIFA, had completely coincidentally chosen this of all moments to inaugurate the FIFA Peace Prize on award night itself. We learned, of course, that due to the meticulous process by which the doubtless many deserving nominees that FIFA solemnly considered were whittled diligently down to one suspense shrouded until the very last minute, the identity of the first winner of this extremely prestigious trophy, which FIFA will definitely ever bother to award again.
- [31:27]
B
I don't know that I'm getting it. I haven't been officially noticed. I've been hearing about a Peace Prize.
- [31:31]
C
We learned, however, that on this occasion the bookmakers had Called it.
- [31:36]
H
Please welcome the very first winner of the FIFA Peace Prize.
- [31:42]
C
Come on, let's give him a Drum roll.
- [31:47]
B
The 45th and 47th President of the United States of America, Mr. Donald J. Trump.
- [31:53]
C
Please. Well, blow me down. We learned that not only did this immensely eminent accolade come with a trophy, albeit one depicting hands holding a globe and therefore resembling, somewhat ironically, in this context, 4 Diego Maradonas cheating England out of a World cup semi final. At once.
- [32:13]
H
Mr. President, this is your prize.
- [32:17]
C
This is your peace prize. But a medal.
- [32:20]
H
There is also a beautiful medal for you that you can wear everywhere you.
- [32:26]
B
Want to go right now. Okay, let me hold.
- [32:31]
H
Ah, fantastic. Excellent.
- [32:34]
C
A medal which, to be clear, absolutely does have any more gravitas than a plastic sheriff's badge which fell out of a box of Fruit Loops. An assess with which, all right, thinking people will concur. We learned anyway that there remains nothing quite like the promise of some title and or bauble, however obviously contrived and or ridiculous, to get a celebrity to turn up at your wingding and to retain their favor thereafter. We swiftly learned indeed that the ruse is sufficiently potent as to get the President of the United States to turn on one of his own country's national games in favour of a foreign sport invented by cheese eating Europeans.
- [33:18]
B
When you look at what has happened to football in the United States, again, soccer in the United States, we seem to never call it that because we have a little bit of a conflict with another thing that's called football. But when you think about it, shouldn't it really be called? I mean, this is football. There's no question about. We have to come up with another name for this. It really doesn't make sense when you think about it.
- [33:43]
C
We have not as yet learned whether the NFL has heeded what seems a fairly heavy hint that the sport over which it presides should be renamed Trump Ball and. Or that every team in it should be renamed in the President's honour. Perhaps in time for a Super bowl between the Green Bay Donalds and the Buffalo Donalds. And why stop there? There's plenty of first family to go round. And given the way the Browns got belted last week by Tennessee, who on this season's form would frankly struggle to beat Monocle, we suggest the Cleveland Erics. And sticking with the theme of Europeans and indeed of heads of state convicted of crimes in courts of law, Actually, always a delight though it is to hear from the Bobby full of four. Probably some rueful accordion is going to go better here. No, a Bit more rueful. There it is. We learned that just in time for Christmas, former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, recently dispatched to the slammer for trousering bungs from loopy Libyan despot Muammar Gaddafi, had published his non awaited contribution to the canon of jailhouse literature in the shape of Diary of a Prisoner, a brutal, unsparing recollection of his 20 days behind bars.
- [35:11]
E
Wow.
- [35:11]
C
Which to be honest, sounds more of an anecdote than a book. But let's give it a chance. We learned that Nicolas Sarkozy's Diary of a Prisoner was already being compared to Alexander Solzhenitsyn's the Gulag Archipelago.
- [35:25]
H
Compared to Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the Gulag Archipelago, Nicholas Sakuzis Diary of a Prison absolutely blows.
- [35:33]
C
And we learned that it has much to tell us about the privations of French prison life. We learned, for example, that the food is unlikely to be starred by Michelin machine. These are all genuine quotes, incidentally, voiced by Monocle's dissatisfied customers, desk chief Tom Webb. We learned that the beds were uncomfortable.
- [35:56]
B
I had never felt a harder mattress. The pillows were made of strange ma, perhaps plastic. And le blanquettes were blanquettes in name only.
- [36:08]
C
And that the showers were ill equipped for Sarkozy's luxuriant bouffant.
- [36:14]
E
This thin stream of water stopped very.
- [36:16]
B
Quickly, like a tamare you constantly had to finely button at presit.
- [36:22]
C
All right, Papillon, we get the idea for Monocle Radio. I'm Andrew Muller.
- [36:29]
B
Thanks, Andrew. You're with Monocle Radio. Funny how many people get these things wrong. I go into a lot of jazz clubs and I go, what made you build it like this?
- [36:38]
F
Everyone's got an opinion about design these days. Join us on a journey to cut.
- [36:42]
B
Through the noise as we sit down.
- [36:44]
F
With some of the design greats.
- [36:45]
B
It's possible to really improve how we.
- [36:48]
C
Live and how we work through design.
- [36:51]
F
Make sure you tune in every Tuesday at 200 London tomorrow for Monocle's weekly design show, Monocle on Design.
- [36:57]
B
Or find it wherever you get your podcasts. This is the Globalist on Monocle Radio with me, Tom Edwards. Now we head to Paris for the opening of a new St. Ambrose branch. The iconic Milanes inspired restaurant designed by Fabrizio Casaraghi has set up shop in the French capital's 6th arrondissement. Monocles Fernando Augusto Pacheco caught up with Fabrizio at the restaurant. Faye began by asking him about revisiting his relationship with the brand at a second location.
- [37:32]
H
This is the Second one, and I had the pleasure and the honor to design the first one in Milan, which I, because I'm Milanese, it's really incredible to work with an Institution at St. Ambrose. Like if you are asking to a Parisian, what is the dream of every Parisian architect would be to remake the cafe floor. But if you ask to a Milanese, obviously it's. It's a Santa Rose. To me it was like a dream. When I received the email when they were asking me to redo the restaurant in Milan, I was like, oh my God. I called my mother and said, mama, you don't know what, what happened. I just received an email for Santambrosa and. And I'm redoing this restaurant. And she was like a l'.
- [38:08]
C
Etoile.
- [38:09]
D
In many ways.
- [38:10]
H
You know, Paris is a world class city, amazing restaurants. But I think it's a good fit to have a Saint Ambras. You know, the first two European city after Milano, to have one. I think it fits the neighborhood as well, right? I think, yes. I think that also in Paris, I'm living in Paris since 10 years and it's. There is a lacking of like sexy good Italian restaurants, but even in London, in London a little bit less, because London, it's a little bit sexier in general, the restaurant scene. But the fact is that in Paris, the Italian restaurant are more linked to the. The trattoria, the Osteria, the very typical traditional, which is incredible because it's very good, but it lacked before Santa Rose of an offer that can mix good food, Italian, but with a little bit of sexiness. The place where you can also go after a dinner to have just a drink. And this is very, very rare in Paris. I think I love the way you use the word sexiness because that's also. It's not just the food, but it's the materials you use, the colors as well, the light, a lot of wood. What materials were you thinking for this project in particular? I think that Santambros is a brand obviously from Milan. And when you think about Milan, you think about like the me at least I think about a certain period. Because you're a Milanese, I'm a Milanese, yeah. I think about a certain age of Milan, which is the 30s, the 40s, the Villanetti era. So this beautiful aesthetic of rationalist with lacquered wood, beautiful colors, dark colors, very yellow light, very cozy atmosphere, but at the same time elegant and a little bit austere. It's not like Mediterranean, it's not the south of France. It's not the south of Italy, it's Milan, which is a little bit of a mix between Italy and Switzerland, northern Europe. So there is a certain generosity of marble, wood, this river boat feeling of the wood around us in this moment, but also at the same time, a certain idea of, like, sophistication and elegance. Timeless and a little bit austere. I know you are, of course, from Milan, but you're based in Paris. Do you feel that you bring for your work always with you, this kind of the Milanese inside of you. So even though you're in Paris, Sure.
- [40:22]
B
I'm sure you're influenced by the style here.
- [40:24]
H
But the Italian, you can't avoid.
- [40:26]
B
Right?
- [40:26]
F
The Milanese.
- [40:27]
H
The Milanese. Because it's incredible how when you talk about a French architect abroad, it's always a French architect, an Italian architect abroad is something different. If you come from Naples or you come from Milan, they have two different aesthetic. Like, the aesthetic is. This is the power of a country that is so different. If you come from Milan, you don't have a Italian DNA in terms of aesthetic, but you have very Milanese one. And I'm from Milan, and I bring my roots everywhere around the world. I'm just coming back from California yesterday. I just finished the house, and it's a Milanese. In California, I can do just what I know how to do things. So I know how to be a Milanese, because I am a Milanese. This is what I can do. I've been having a little bit of a Fabrizio weekend here in Paris because coincidentally, I'm staying one of the hotels you've designed, Hotel de Grand Voyager. Of course, they're not identical, but there are something at the Grand Voyageur here, the dark colors, the mood lighting, you know, which I think is very important to you, right? When I talk about sexiness, when I say sexy, like, the first time I heard from a client about this word sexy, I was like, oh, my God. Like, I don't want to deal with that. Like, what is sexy? Like sexy what it is like having, like, women in miniskirt and people offering them glasses of wine.
- [41:45]
C
No.
- [41:46]
H
Sexiness can be also just a way to feel better, to feel handsome, to feel beautiful, to feel good and to feel desired in a place. And this from a shop to a restaurant to a bar to a hotel, like the Grand Voyageur. It's important to me that people feel, well, sexy, beautiful attire in a place that I design. This is very important for me, especially for hospitality has been your 2025. I believe so. Of course you're a man full of projects, you know, but do you have any particular areas you're focusing on? Hotels, restaurants, or do you still do residential? A lot of residential stuff. The 2025 was good because we started a lot of new projects, but that will take a few years. Like we signed hotels. One in the Vatican City.
- [42:30]
A
In the Vatican City.
- [42:31]
H
One in the Vatican City. Oh my God, that's quite incredible. One in Portofino, one in Venice. We have private houses in Italy and abroad. I just finished a house in the U.S. and so yes, it was a very full year with new projects coming, new projects starting, a few project ending like St. Ambrose. I think that 2026 will be also a year where I will finish a lot of projects that I was working since along time. For example, we are working on a boat, which is my first boat and it will be finished in the 2026. I'm so excited too. Talking about boats at the Hotel de Grand Voyager. I felt a little bit like I was in a very chic cruise, I have to say. I guess there was one of the. Exactly the mood board at the beginning like we. The Grand Voyageur. The hotel is next to Montparnasse, the station. So I started with the idea of a train and then I said okay, but the train with this thing of Oriental Express today it's a little bit too much. So let's go with something connected, linked to the thematic of the travel but not especially to the train. So the boat is something that I love and also I am a huge fan of boats, old boats you can see from my design. So yes, not just in boats, but also in places, hospitality, restaurants.
- [43:48]
B
That was Fabrizio Casiraghi in conversation with Monocles own Fernando Augusto Pichecco. St. Ambrose. Paris is open now. You're with the Globalist.
- [44:01]
A
IQ, EQ and AI. Three components key to the craft of innovation at UBS. Because to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving age, you need a partner with decades of experience, endless passion for the work and a finger on the pulse of leading technologies. Bridging human expertise with artificial intelligence. All to elevate you. UBS banking is our craft.
- [44:37]
B
You're back with the Globalist here on Monocle Radio. Me Tom Edwards in the chair this Friday morning here in London. We head to Abu Dhabi now, where early next year Mercedes Benz plans to launch its first Robo taxis using self driving software from China's Momenta. The new system will guide the next S class without hands on the wheel or potentially even eyes on the Road. Here to tell us more is Monocle's golf correspondent, Insomn Rashid. Insi, good morning. How are you?
- [45:08]
I
Good morning, Tom. I'm very well, thank you. It's lovely to be in the studio. Lovely to be in London with the whole team and to see your faces.
- [45:16]
B
Once again, even this face for radio. Kind of you to say and feeling fresh this Friday morning. I gather there was a bit of hijinks and Monocle goings on last night. Feeling fresh. You've made it to the studio on time in one piece.
- [45:27]
C
Just about.
- [45:28]
I
Just a few Diet Cokes for me. It was a lovely evening, really nice to see everyone.
- [45:32]
B
He's a very responsible gentleman. But, Izzy, listen, would you jump into an S class if it was being driven by a memento self driving software. Software.
- [45:43]
I
You know what? I absolutely would. And the reason is, is because.
- [45:49]
E
You.
- [45:51]
I
Well, let's, let's put it into context of the UAE in particular. Traffic. Horrific. Terrible. I don't like driving, particularly in the uae, even though I drive absolutely everywhere, because you just have to. So having.
- [46:04]
B
You're a very capable driver.
- [46:05]
I
Thank you.
- [46:06]
B
I can attest to this. Thank you very much.
- [46:08]
I
That's very kind of you. Yeah, that's a lot of years of driving that has taken me there. But in particular, you know, having someone else drive you a taxi or whatever is great and I enjoy that. It means I can get my work done in the back of the car. But sometimes you have to speak to that person driving you and sometimes the conversation isn't the greatest conversation on the planet and you just want to concentrate. So having a driverless vehicle kind of drive you around could be quite interesting, I think. And a Mercedes, you know, the ultimate kind of luxury vehicle driving around is even better. Why not?
- [46:48]
B
And it is interesting, I suppose, because there are certain markets, one imagines, where the infrastructure or the capacity to make wholesale changes, technological, infrastructure wise, are just easier. And the UAE is clearly one of those markets where we know that for various complex reasons, it's just easier to sort of instigate, whether it's an experiment or a wholesale change. In practice. Is it the perfect proving ground for these kinds of technologies?
- [47:17]
I
Absolutely. I think we've spoken about it before, Tom, where the UAE is just a place where they just get stuff done, right? They just cut through all the red tape and they, you know, safely as well. They managed to kind of pass all the safety checks, but they just worked work faster and quicker and, you know, they just get things done. And so the Gulf as a whole is quietly becoming this global testing lab for autonomous mobility, Dubai has cruise robo taxis, which is currently on pause after some incidents. I believe they've got pilot zones for autonomous buses. They've got an objective for 25 of trips to be autonomous by 2030. Then you've also got the flying taxis. Whilst they're not autonomous, you know, it's still a next step in invention as well. And Abu Dhabi is positioning itself as the more kind of controlled, less congested counterpart and that's ideal for this kind of early mass market deployments. So, you know, you don't have the huge amounts of traffic that Dubai has, so it can test out these kind of autonomous driving vehicles. And I think the Gulf is just becoming a bit of a stage now where, where Chinese tech, which is what Mercedes are investing in here, Western automakers and also kind of local state backed operators are collaborating in ways that would probably, if you think about it, be a bit politically sensitive, but are actually commercially quite viable in the Gulf.
- [48:58]
B
Well, that was specifically what I was going to ask you about actually, which is whenever I've been in the uae, one of the things we've spoken about about it before is, you know, just generally across the Emirates there's a real skill and an interest in convening stakeholders from wherever. If you've got the expertise, if you've got the skill, if you've got the resource. Yes, true to an extent. Come and get involved in the conversation. Is it helpful that there is. That attitude is broadcast almost as a soft power plus for the UAE and it means you can have Mercedes Benz with a Chinese software company, you know, that the red tape would be potentially completely restricting in certainly the us, in large parts of the eu. There's an opportunity here. Is there any reticence or concern about that?
- [49:38]
I
No, I think it's arms open and, you know, come to the uae, come and test your product here, come and work with us to bring the next level of innovation, the next level of technology. And the UAE has always been a place of they want to be the first, the biggest, the best. And so I think it's that kind of mindset, that notion which has meant that they are streets ahead when it comes to particular kind of technology and other kind of, you know, sectors as well. But I think with this kind of sector in particular, you know, they love the idea of, you know, having this future technology coming out of the uae. The Arabs in particular, the Gulf Arabs in particular love the idea of being the first to be able to do this. So they will be saying, you Know what, politically, whatever the notion kind of it looks like bike, just come, come in, work with us. We'll make sure that we get this out on the road and in some cases in the air as well.
- [50:43]
B
Very exciting times. Just that point, Ainsley, whilst you're here in London, careening towards the end of the year, what are you most excited about? Just quickly look forward to us 2026. So much opportunity. Is it about going to a different market? A particular story looking forward to telling? What are you excited about?
- [50:59]
I
There's so much happening in the Gulf, as you know, Tom, look at the UAE in particular. We've got Etihad Rail coming up next year. Year, which is going to be a game changer for the way people get around the Emirates. You know, interconnecting all of the seven emirates around the uae, it's going to be incredible. It will cut your journey time from Dubai to Abu Dhabi to just 22 minutes. And I think that's pretty incredible.
- [51:21]
B
And that's a lot faster on the.
- [51:23]
I
Highway down the Sheik Zayed Road.
- [51:25]
B
Yeah, Itzy, great to chat to you as always. That's Monocle SCOLF correspondent Interman Rashid here on the Globalist on Monocle Radio. Don't go anywhere. We are potentially going to be doing some yodeling after this. Now's the perfect time to plan your next alpine escape. Introducing Monocle's latest travel title, Switzerland the Monocle Handbook. It's the perfect travel companion on a tour of Monaco's most cherished Swiss spots. From mountainside resorts and riverside bars to smart boutiques and the finest food and wine producers, the Monocle Handbook said out all the places that make Switzerland tick. And for those looking to stay in the country just a little longer, we showcase the areas in which you may want to live or set up shop. For more on the land of high peaks and great urban living. Pick up a copy of Switzerland the Monocle Handbook. Buy it today in store or visit monocle.com. UNESCO has recognized Swiss yodeling as an intangible cultural heritage, giving the traditional singing style true global status. The announcement came in New Delhi from UNESCO's Cultural Heritage Committee. Well, I'm delighted to say I'm joined now on the line from her lofty Alpine outpost in Switzerland by professional yodeler yodeling royalty, I'm gonna say. Melanie. Ersh. Melanie, a very warm welcome back to Monocle Radio. This must be very exciting news for you and all other practitioners. Tell me a little bit about what this kind of recognition from the UNESCO.
- [53:22]
G
Committee Mains It's a very cool thing for everyone, I think. Here in Switzerland, we have the association of Swiss Yodeling and there are more than 12,000 people who are in it. And it gives them a push, of course, but it's also from the association, it planned to bring yodel back to the schools and to allow people to learn things about yodeling in school or even at the high school, it's possible to study yodeling. So it's so diverse so you can yodel in your family, but also you can say, hey, I'm interested to go deeper and to go in these techniques and all these traditions and all these different kinds of yodeling, even here in Switzerland. So it's huge, the yodel universe. And it's a very good push for everyone, I think. And it's also a connecting thing because it doesn't matter if you like the traditional styles or the natural styles, or if you are an artist who takes a little bit yodel to make a pop song. For me, the power and the energy of yodel is the same. And that's very, for me, it's very cool to have this connection.
- [54:49]
B
Very, very exciting. And tell us, I think what's interesting is people who know your work will know, of course, you come from this great tradition and your family tradition as well. Do you sometimes have to balance respect for the tradition with continuing to kind of be innovative with your performances and with your yodeling? How do you balance up those. Those things? Melanie?
- [55:09]
G
Yes. So for me, when I was five years, I fell in love with yodeling and it was like a language and it is like a language for me. And I love yodeling and of course, I love every kind of yodeling. I love these traditional styles here in Switzerland. I love the natural yodeler, but also I love to do experiments or to play along with other styles of music. Because yodeling is so connecting, it's so positive and it has such a good feeling and such good vibes. Yes, it's a tradition, but it's also more than that.
- [55:54]
B
Just on that point about innovation, obviously one thing that you're well known for is your this kind of tongue lashing style of yodeling, isn't it? And I know you've spoken and demonstrated to us on monocle kindly before. Tell me how you kind of developed that and why. That is a little bit of one of your, I don't know, hallmarks. Is it one of your sort of. Not a trademark, but it's something that people Maybe associate with you specifically, Melanie, a bit.
- [56:16]
G
Yes, it's like a trademark. But people here in Switzerland, it's a little bit too much for them. We have five technical techniques, yodeling techniques here in Switzerland, and the tongue yodel is one of these techniques. But. But here in Switzerland, when you are in a choir, for example, it's not so usual that you use it a lot. It's like a decorative element sometimes. But for me, it's like, I love it so much, this style or this technique, because it gives a rhythm to the yodel. And normally traditional yodel songs, they are. They have no fixed rhythm.
- [57:04]
B
Well, to that point. So if I was good. I've never done any yodeling. I don't want to shock you. If I was going to get started, should I start with a traditional style? Should I start maybe with this tongue yodeling? What would be a good entry point for me? And I don't know, can you give me some. Give me your advice? If I was just starting out, what should I. What should I be thinking about?
- [57:21]
G
So to start with yodeling, you can take a melody you. You like and you sing along with the silps. OO and O, O and U. So these are the. The normal silps here in Switzerland, we. We use for the. This. Yo.
- [57:40]
B
Okay.
- [57:41]
G
Of course, it's this.
- [57:45]
B
Should I give it a bash? I might. I might. I'll back away from the microphone a little bit. Should I give it one try and you can tell me if I've got a future in Yoda fiddling?
- [57:53]
G
Okay.
- [57:54]
B
Okay, I'll give it one go. Yo, yo. How is that, Melanie?
- [58:00]
G
That's good. To take it a little bit or to put it a little bit more in. In your throat.
- [58:08]
B
Oh, okay. I don't. I might have to work. I might have to work on that. I'm pretty proud of my. I'm pretty proud of it as far. I'm gonna tell people. Melanie says that I've got a future as a yodel, but Melanie, tell me 2026, it could be a very big year for yodeling, but it's going to be a big year for you. You've got loads of exciting plans. Tell us what you're going to be up to.
- [58:28]
G
Yes, our year 2026 is already fully booked, so we have a lot of concerts and festivals and also special things. And we have a lot of concerts here in Switzerland, but also in Germany, Austria, and maybe in the U.S. well.
- [58:47]
B
We certainly look forward to seeing and hearing everything. You'll be doing in the year ahead. Melanie Ersh, a huge thanks for joining us here on the Globalist on Monocle Radio. And I promise I will keep on practicing my yodeling. And that's all for today's program. Big thanks to our production team, Tom Webb and Laura Kramer. Thanks too to our researcher Joanna Moser and our studio manager, Christy o', Grady, and for her editing assistants, Mariella Beaven. After the headlines, there's more music on the way. The briefing is live at midday in London. And this programme, the Globalist, will be back at the same time on Monday. I'm Tom Edwards. Goodbye and thanks for tuning in.
- [59:51]
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.