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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. You're listening to the Globalist, first broadcast on 19 January 2026 on Monocor Radio. The Globalist in association with U. Hello there and a very warm welcome to the Globalist coming to you today from London with me, Emma Nelson live from Midori House. And also we're up in the mountains because we have a special week of programs for you as the World Economic Forum kicks off in Davos. In the mountains, Carlotta Rebelo will set the scene With a record number of attendees and a hefty security budget. This edition of the World Economics Forum annual meeting is set to be like no other. We'll go through some of the items on the agenda. While in Zurich, we have Juliet Lindley in our studio at du 4 Strasse 90. A very good morning to you, Juliet. How's it going? Everything is looking wonderful here in Zurich. Thank you, Emma. Right, what are we going to be talking about? Well, this is the first WEF without its legendary founder, Klaus Schwab. So it'll be interesting to see. It's now being headed up by Larry Fink of blackrock and the head of Roche, Andre Hoffman. So it'll be a new look WEF as far as I'm seeing. And I'm also looking forward to hearing what Pope Leo is going to be telling the world's big and glorious who are there up in the mountains as we are all too. We'll speak to you in a minute, Juliet. Also ahead in the next 60 minutes, too far, some have said. Others are saying it hasn't gone far enough. What I say is that this is a moment for national unity, that is the Australian Prime Minister and the government's new reforms to gun laws and hate speech go through Parliament today. But we'll hear from the latest from Milan from Fashion Week as well. And we'll catch up with the cinema news too. That's all coming up on the Globalist live from London. First, let's take a look at some of the other stories that are happening this morning. There are fears that the number of dead could rise after two trains collided in the south of Spain, killing at least 21 people. The President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, has announced an EU summit in the coming days to discuss growing concerns over President Trump's threatened tariffs against countries who oppose his wish to take over Greenland. And the US military has ordered 1500 active duty soldiers to prepare for possible deployment to Minneapolis because of protests against efforts to deport migrants. Stay tuned to Monocle Radio throughout the day for updates on all of those stories. But first, they've blown the budget at this year's World Economic Forum in Davos from the money to stump up for Donald Trump's security, not to mention his extended family members who are tagging along to the 3,000 business leaders and 60 heads of state. Any concerns about whether Davos has lost its thrill or its relevance seem to have melted the snow, however, still playing its part well. We're joined now from Davos by Monocle senior foreign correspondent Carlotta Rebelo. And in Zurich, we have Juliet Lindley at Dufourstrasse 90. A very good morning to you both. Morning. Good morning, Emma. Let's begin with you, Carlotta. Budget busting in big numbers on every level this year. Absolutely. And apparently 9 million Swiss francs just for security. And the latest numbers point also to 5,000 soldiers being deployed to secure the perimeter around and in Davos. Now, we know that a lot of that has to do with, as you mentioned, the hefty US Deleg that's coming in. Donald Trump is going to be here in person, which, as you might recall, last year he joined via video link and also several members of the senior Trump family. It's also interesting that this comes hand in hand with the first ever official USA house. Now, there's been in the past smaller iterations of that, but they were never, let's say, sanctioned by the State Department. But this time they're here in Florida Swing. They've taken over the church in the promenade here in Davos and have a packed program of sessions and panels and discussions and, you know, networking receptions, including with the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland and several senators who will be here in town. So the US Is going to be very difficult to avoid over the next four to five days. Juliet, you've been up to Davos. You're on your way in the next couple of days. I mean, just listening to what Carlota is saying, it feels, you know, the beef is back. You know, it's, it's muscular again. Is that the sense that you're getting in Zurich? That is very much the sense I'm getting. And very much of that is because there's a new leadership at the top of the World economic forum for 55 years. It was headed up by Klaus Schwab. He's the one who originally founded it in 1970 up in the little mountain resort of Davos, which usually has a population of about 11,000 residents. And clearly this week it's shooting up way beyond going almost double that. But it's thanks to the new leadership. Everyone is saying it. There was a great FT article just over the weekend saying that the new co chairs, who are Larry Fink of blackrock and Andre Hoffman of Roche, but mainly Fink, it's thanks to them that Davos is no longer really being seen as having lost its relevance. So it's thanks to Fink's extensive Rolodex that you've even got Trump coming. I mean, that is what they're saying. You've got JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon, Nvidia's Jensen Huang. A lot of the big, the big hitters are there again. And over the years there was kind of the sense that that Davos was. Had sort of lost its luster, that it had sort of lost its meaning. So that's going to be really interesting to see. What are going to be the big changes thanks to this new leadership, Emma and Carlotta. I mean this going back to the founding princ that Schwab had in, I think it's 1971, where the world economic film first started off, that the idea was, is that if you want lasting progress, you have to have cooperation, you have to have business, you have to have government and you have to have civil society all working together and alongside each other. How much is there a sense that that is going to be a priority this time or is this more we're going to lean further and further into business? Well, I think at least from the official side of the World Economic Forum, they're very much hoping to lean on that legacy because you we need to remember that the theme, the official theme for this year's edition is a spirit of dialogue, which given everything that's been happening, is quite timely. I would say there is some merit in the fact that this is set to be a record number of attendees, not just in terms of those registered, but also in terms of everyone in attendance. Self reported numbers by WEF say 850 CEOs will be in town. Also expected 65 heads of state. So it feels a bit more hefty. Juliette will remember from last year, it was quite empty and it was what everyone was talking about. How was this maybe the end of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting, but I think this change in leadership and this look back to business really has brought back a Davos that has maybe more of a business entrepreneurial and commercial feel than ever. While of course having those very high level geopolitical conversations between leaders happening, we need to remember this is going to set the tone for the next 12 months. And a lot of the discussions between leaders and in terms of security that happen here will continue next month at the Munich Security Conference. So this is really, it's really important for, for a lot of these leaders, both in business and in politics, to set the tone right over the next few days. Staying with you for this tone, Carlotta. I mean, just looking at the Financial Times headline, EU readies $93 billion. Sorry, 93 billion euros. Tariffs in retaliation for Trump's Greenland threat. Tariffs have been the overriding word which dominated 2025 in the world economy. And what Donald Trump was doing that. And when you have the, the theme of WEF being spirit of dialogue, who is actually going to be talking to whom? Are we seeing a world which is trying to navigate the unpredictability of tariffs, which is still sort of blighting the world economy, or are people actually going to try and talk back to the United States and say, look, this is, we need to have a more stable way here? Well, I think it was our own Andrew Tuck yesterday on a monocle on Sunday who said we need to start being comfortable with the predictability of the unpredictable or something along these lines. And I think that's quite poignant. The global risks report that WEF releases right before the meeting begins, pointing at the biggest risks for the year ahead and set to shape the discussions. The number one risk was geoeconomic uncertainty, geoeconomic confrontation. And this was seen by all the respondents as the cause that was more likely to trigger the next global crisis in the year followed by state armed conflict. Now we are in a scenario where the two are being discussed for different regions, but they're not a far off reality. So it is very unlikely that, you know, conversations about this will be able to be avoided. Now, we need to remember that these conversations, what's in the public program is one thing, and the Congress center, you know, all the international organizations, NGOs, academics, will be there alongside some leaders. But the real conversations happen behind closed doors and most of us won't really know much about them. But having people in town staying in the correct locations, most of them at the Belvedere Hotel, is crucial to at least get the right people in front of each other, across the table, from each other, to see if that's spirit of dialogue becomes more than just a slogan. Juliette, we're going to be, we're going to have Carlotta up in Davos. You and I are going to be doing back and forth from Zurich for the rest of this week. What are you looking forward to most when it comes to the way to what we're looking to from Davos? Well, I'm certainly going to be looking to hear what Pope Leo has to say. The popes haven't, by tradition, attended any world Economic forums, but they do always send a strong message. And Pope Francis, very famously in 2014, was the one who said to the powerful leaders of the world, you need to make sure that humanity is served by wealth and not ruled by wealth. And so let's expect something from Pope Leo along those sort of epic lines. He's known to speak out often about the ethical governance of AI. He's known to be against Trump and his leadership's deportation of immigrants. He's known to often talk out, talk out in favor of laborers and against the exploitation of immigrants and of workers. So I'm going to be looking to that. He'll probably send one of his cardinals, Cardinal Peter Turksen, but he will most certainly be sending this message ahead of the opening of the World Economic Forum, as per tradition. Carlotta, if I could momentarily ask you to put on your Portuguese hat and bring us up to date with the results from the Portuguese presidential elections. We have the Socialist candidate winning the first round of the vote. Is that correct? That is correct. And it was quite a surprising result. None of the polling ahead of the election yesterday predicted any candidate to have above 20 to 25% of the vote. And the Socialist candidate, Antonio Jose Seguro, came up with just a bit over 31%. Now, we always knew this was going to go to a runoff. The question was, who would go with the far right leader, Andre Ventura, who came in second at the 23%. So now the second round on the 8th of February is set to be between the far right leader and the Socialists. The big question is, who is the right going to rally behind? Quite tricky to get the right to rally behind a Socialist, but one could argue, also tricky to get them to ask their voters to vote for the far right. So the next few days are really going to show where the chips will fall here. Of course, the candidates who lost towards the left side of the spectrum from smaller parties have all put their support and urged voters to vote for Seguru for the second round. And we need to mention here the former Navy Admiral Enrique Gouve, who started the campaign almost as a guarantee that he would go into the second round and barely made it to fourth place here, really a starting result. And then also Luis Marquez Mendes, kind of blessed in a certain way, not literally, but by the incumbent president Marcelo Lukabel de Souza, and a complete disaster at fifth place. So really was an evening that no one could really have predicted. But the real campaigning begins now. A question between the far right and the left part of politics in Portugal. Thank you for that. Carlotta Monocle, senior foreign correspondent, Carlotta Rebelo in Davos. Carlotta will be hosting the briefing from for the next couple of days, Juliet Lindley, journalist, broadcaster, former Vatican correspondent holding the fort in Dufourstrasse 90. Juliet will be coming back to you later in the program, but thanks to you both for now. Now let's cross over to Copenhagen. We have a team standing by on their way to Greenland. They'll be stationed for the entire week. Our contributing editor Andrew Muller and foreign editor Alex's self joined us now to tell us what is happening. Andrew and Lex, good morning. Over to you, Lex. Here we are in Copenhagen in a hotel lobby with the annoying Euro disco soundtrack to prove it. I quite like it. I'm tapping my foot. Listener. Yeah, I don't really know where to go with that. But we are here in Copenhagen because we are on our way to Nuuk in the morning. Regular readers of the Monocle Minute, and who wouldn't be may already have read your piece setting the scene. So what are you kind of hoping or expecting to see when we get there? Well, it's a once in a lifetime trip to stark and beautiful part of the world, or starkly beautiful rather. I suppose. Donald Trump makes a lot of noise about the US and about Europe, but I want to hear from Greenlanders about what they think about all this and hopefully speaking to as broad a spectrum as you can get in a town with a population of a few thousand but ordinary Greenlanders to really hear their views and hopes for the future. Yeah, I'm looking forward to that as well because it has always been my experience that when you, when you visit somewhere that you've been reading about which has been making headlines, you often run across subtleties and nuances which may not have been apparent from the headlines. But as you see it, what actually are the stakes here, do you think? Is it as existential a moment for the Western alliance as the more gloomy are suggesting, I don't think that we're going to come to that. You know, the worst case scenario, which is obviously conflict, military conflict between the US and its European NATO allies. What I think we're seeing. And today, you know, the mood changed from stunned European leaders yesterday to a really kind of bullish tone. And I think we've especially seen that here in Denmark. The chair of the Danish Defence Committee, Rasmus Yarlov, said, we pray that our true allies will stand with us because we are going to need it. And I think, you know, the noise coming out of London and Paris and even places that are perhaps more Trump sympathetic or closer to Trump, like Rome, like Giorgia Meloni, are very unequivocally saying that this is wrong. So actually, you know, after a year of being pushed around and we are nearly at exactly a year since Trump came to office, that's tomorrow. This could be a moment not unlike, and again, it was more extreme in Ukraine's case, but actually this kind of galvanizing thing for the whole of Europe after a year of being pushed around to kind of bring it together and to really speak in one voice and against this kind of behavior. Yeah, I have been having a bit of a rip through the Danish newspapers while we've been in the not inconsiderable queue to check in at the hotel here. And that bullishness you talk about is very much present. Politikon is headlining on Lars Locke, Erasmus and the Danish Foreign minister. As to saying Trump must give up his dream rather mischievously under that they've posted a feature length outlining of, And I quote, 13 ways Trump and his family rake in money. So they've gone big on the big Trump grift, but they've also got a piece by an economist, or a piece rather on the views of an economist. His views are interesting in that he says that Trump and the US have the most to lose from a trade war. But I'm mostly mentioning it so I can mention his name, which is, and I kid you not, Jacob Funk Kierkegaard. I think he might have written this song, actually. Well, you know, you say it was. It was tongue in cheek, the Politikan 13 Ways Trump and his family rake in money. But actually, I think, you know, this is a country where wealth equality is a really important part of the country's identity. And actually that's one way as America and Europe diverge further, that I think Europe can kind of rightly poke fun at the US and kind of demonstrate that actually it isn't the old dysfunctional continent that it's sometimes made out to be. But what about you, Andrew? What are you looking forward to in Nuke? Pretty much everything is the unhelpful answer. Going to Greenland is something I have fancied doing for a great many years. So I'm really excited, excited about being there. I've always enjoyed places in the high north, those remote Arctic places that I've visited before for Monocle, whether in Finland or Iceland, one or two other places. So I'm just excited to go. But what I'm mostly looking for is just those nuances, like I was mentioning earlier, that you don't necessarily pick up from the headlines. You know, what you actually find out about how Greenland has changed, maybe in the last last year, just from having a conversation with people who've been there, while Trump's sort of fantasies of acquisition have been a factor in global politics. Because this has got to have been a really weird 12 months for the people of Greenland. I mean, it's the size of a small town somewhere in the Midwest of the United States in terms of population, by and large, people just leave it alone and pay it little mind. And now all of a sudden, it's become the most crucial place on Earth, at least until President Trump spins his raffle wheel and decides where else he fancies invading. So I'm really interested in finding about how this has changed Greenland and how happy they are about that. It's going to be fascinating. It is. And we'll be there all this week. So do please tune in. We shall do. That was Andrew Muller and Alexis Self, our contributing editor and foreign editor respectively, in Copenhagen. And as I said, we should stay tuned for a big week of radio. The briefing's coming live from Davos from tomorrow. Our team is in Milan for Fashion Week. We'll check in with them a little later on today's program. And we'll be having special reports on Greenland. And the Daily will be coming from Nuuk. Stay with us. You're listening to the Globalist. 1820 in Canberra, which is where we head now because just days before it has been debated in Parliament, new legislation covering gun control and hate speech in Australia has had to be changed. The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, was responding to calls from a range of different voices from the political spectrum. So what is actually scheduled for debate this week? Well, to tell us more, I'm joined from Sydney by Katie Silver, who's an Australian journalist and broadcaster for outlets including cnn. A very good Good afternoon. Good evening to You, Katie. Thanks, nice to be here. So just tell us about these last minute changes, please. Yes, it's been very tough to get it over the line. Now, Anthony Albanese, he wanted what an omnibus law basically that would combine reforms on gun control as well as hate speech. And he had originally said that it was an all or nothing type parcel. Now he's saying that he's going to separate them in order to try and speed up parliamentary approval. And of course this has been seen as very reactionary policy following of course that attack in Bondi last last month. He came under heavy criticism, particularly from the Jewish community as well as many members of the opposition party, particularly the opposition leader, Susan Lay herself. Now, one of the challenges has been there does seem to be bipartisan, relatively widespread report support when it comes to gun control reform. The issue though is these hate speech laws. And we've seen, for example, here in the state of New South Wales, of course, where Bondi is located, we saw just before Christmas the state holding, trying to get some last minute reforms over the line and we saw them vehemently opposed by the likes of, for example, Palestinian communities as well as indigenous communities, saying that these, particularly when it comes to that hate speech element, that it was going too far. So that has been one of the contentions and he does seem to be, A separating it and B taking out some of the reforms that he was keen to include. So this being brought together as a concerted response to the Bondi beach shootings of last month is what is now going to go through Parliament this week being seen as a considered response? Really depends who you speak to. They collected in the order of about 7,000 submissions. There's been a lot of questions about whether or not these have even been processed and listened to. And we heard, for example, from one senior liberal, the opposition party, saying that they, that this was an arbitrary deadline. At the same time we heard criticism in December that he wasn't acting fast enough, that he was sitting on his hands and that he hadn't acted in accordance with about 13 recommendations that were provided in a government commission report into how to mitigate what they saw as growing anti Semitism earlier last year. So there was definitely a feeling that he had acted too slowly and now perhaps that some of these things haven't been considered. We heard, for example, from a very senior member of the Greens Party, which I guess is the third major party in Australia, calling it, basically saying that it was all too fast, that, that, that there was, that it's too important that some of these Reforms are too important that more thought and care needs to be given to exactly how they're constructed. Is there a fear therefore that areas of what is clearly well intentioned reform and needed reform could be hijacked politically to the point where actually to all intents and purposes, it fails? Well, that's different potential concerns when it comes to this hate speech reform. So it's been criticised, as I say, by both the opposition party, the Liberal Party and the Green means they've dropped this one specific offense that would have made it illegal to publicly promote or incite racial hatred. That's part of getting the bill over the line. It was clear, as I say, that they didn't have the support with that clause included. One of the other interesting elements has been whether or not it, it should be extended beyond just religion to also include things like disability and sexuality. And when it comes to these hate speech laws, the way it would be widened out the way they. Of course we already have hate speech laws in Australia, but this, for example, would establish a new way to designate or label organizations that espouse hatred. Also giving officials more authorities to cancel or to revoke any visas of people that they say are likely to spread hate and division as well as actually even customs authorities having the power to prohibit the importing or the exporting of any violent extremism material. So that, as I say, is the contentious one. The less contentious one is the gun control reforms. And they are relatively wide, wide sweeping reforms as well at the federal level that do seem like they'll get the go ahead tomorrow. Katie Silver, Australian journalist and broadcaster, joining us on the line from Sydney. Thank you so much for appearing on the Globalist. You're listening to Monocle Radio. Craft is a matter of perspective, a unique outlook, an obsessive attention to detail. With UBS's Chief Investment Office House View, 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. It is what 7:25am here in London. Let's have a look at the papers. Simon Brook, journalist and communications consultant, joins me in Studio one. Good morning, Simon. How are you? I'm okay, thank you. Despite the miserable weather here in London. Thank you very much indeed for that. Look, let's. It will change one day they will, I promise you. Letters take a very, very quick spin around the papers now in terms to have a look at this rail crash which has happened in Cordoba in Spain. This is growing in severity. The more that the information is coming out now, we're seeing that El Pais is now saying that 39 people have been killed with 150 in hospital. It's two high speed trains on a completely straight, undamaged two tracks and a catastrophe appears to have happened. Yes, as you say, the death toll seems to be as high as 39. Now it looks like 75 people. Could be. 15 of the 75 people who are taken to hospital could be in a serious condition. The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has talked of a night of deep pain for the country after the incident happened. It's thought at about 6:40 local time last night. Italy stands close to Spain in its grief for this tragedy, says the Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni on a social media post. And she adds, our thoughts go out to the victims, the injured and their families. One of the drivers of the trains which, the train that was traveling from Madrid to Huelva is among those who have died, according to local media. Just looking at what El Pais is talking about in terms of huge questions already been asked about how two high speed trains traveling on a straight line, on an undamaged track could see this happen. And El Pais is saying that the last inspection of the Irio train that crashed took place just four days ago. It was manufactured in 2022. The Italian rail company have confirmed this. Spain in the last few years has been very good at improving its rail infrastructure, getting an international train manufacturer such as Irio to really boost infrastructure connectivity in Spain. And yet we see again these pictures of mangled carriages. Yeah, anybody who's traveled trains in Spain over the last few years will see how the AVE system has really transformed the country. I mean, there really are some spectacular stations which have brought parts of this huge country into the sort of the network, if you like, of modern public transport, huge economic boost. But there have been a number of train crashes over the last few years. You remember the one was a few years ago when it looked like the driver of one of the trains or the train that crashed was responsible simply for going too fast. So, yeah, as you say, it's a mystery so far why this incident could have happened so soon after an inspection. But that will be something that, that investigators will look at and it may well lead to a review of the way train systems are inspected and regulated in Spain and perhaps even changes to the way they're built and developed over the next few years. Let's move on. To other stories that have been dominating the headlines this weekend we had the announcement of the members of the so called Peace Board of Peace which will be in charge of sorting out Gaza, to put things mildly. Sir Tony Blair has said he's absolutely delighted, he's honoured to be appointed by it. It is one of those very, very difficult situations where the people who know the region have connections to the region and those connections will never be straightforward. No, exactly. And New York Times is looking at this. It's seen an early draft of the charter and it will cost a billion dollars in cash for the boards to be a member of the board for the first year. Interestingly, according to the New York Times, it's it believes that this Board of Peace could have a much broader role than was first thought, according to New York Times. Interestingly, even though the aim has been so far to oversee Gaza, there's no actual mention of Gaza in the charter. And this is added to speculation that the group might have a broader mandate, according to the New York Times, to cover other conflicts and could even be seen as aimed at creating a US Dominated alternative to the United Nations Security Council. According to the charter seen by the New York Times, the board is to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict. And it's also there to undertake peace building functions in accordance with international law. But there's also a reference to a more nimble and effective international peace building body. And I suppose the question is, is that a dig, if you like, at the United States nation's Security Council, which has been quite clunky, many would say, you know, in the way it's approached difficult situations around the world. Indeed, this is again another difficult area. Nimbleness is something that the great organizations of this earth always struggle with. And yet the Board of Peace, for all its problems, is getting its act together. It is. And I think what's interesting is it shows how Trump has this impatience for international law and supranational institutions, doesn't he? He wants to act quickly and he sees opportunities for big personalities, strong men, if you like, to do deals amongst themselves and to move in a way that is much quicker and nimbler, I suppose, than, you know, those big international bodies which have to follow protocols and have to go through the messy business of creating some consensus amongst warring parties. So it will be interesting to see how this board develops. According to the New York Times, obviously, members already include Marco Rubio, Jared Kushner, the President's son in law, AJ Banger, head of the World Bank. But apparently invitations have gone out to representatives from Argentina, Canada, Egypt and Turkey. And King Abdullah II of Jordan's also been invited. Let's soothe ourselves with the final story from the Times. No great drama, no great spectacle. Just a bunch of dull men. Which actually sounds rather comforting. It does sound really comforting. That's why I chose this story, to be honest. Emmy. Yeah, Cordy, the Times has gone inside the dull Men's club, where ordinary is a badge of honor. So these are people who enjoy observing a smooth Mars bar. Or really, as opposed to a warp kind of bumpy, ridgy Mars bar is something. So if bumpy and ridgy is too exciting for you, then you can go for a smooth Mars bar. So there are Conquer fights between people who take photographs of dustbins and somebody who draws pictures of potholes. But don't worry, it was under the watchful eye of the organizer of the World Conquer Championships. And so it was. Yeah, this is a lovely, lovely story. I think this is a group for people who prefer a room without a view, according to the organizer, and want to share how neatly they've arranged their sock drawer or out. Or they like to highlight a particularly beautiful drain cover. There's something rather sweet about this at the end. I mean, regardless as to what the, like, the silliness of it is, it says the club exists for people who aren't constantly moving on to the next big thing. Fair enough. But instead of suffering from fear of missing out fomo, they celebrate Jomo, the joy of missing out and tell us to enjoy what we have. Totally. I have to say, I just. As I say in this fast moving and increasingly frightening. Yeah, sign me up now. Right, I'll get you around to do the sock draw later. Simon Brooke, thank you so much for coming into the studio. That Simon is a journalist and communications consultant. You're listening to the Globalist on Monocle Radio. Now a quick look at some of the other stories we're keeping an eye on today. As we've just heard in the paper review, there are fears that the number of dead could rise after two trains collided in the south of Spain, killing at least 39 people. Rescuers have been working through the night to get to the wreckage, with the country's transport minister saying the crash happened on a straight section of track that was in good condition. The president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, has announced an EU summit in the coming days to discuss growing concerns over President Trump's threatened tariffs against countries who oppose his wish to take over Greenland. Mr. Costa said the EU stood ready to defend itself against any form of coercion. The US military has ordered 1500 active duty soldiers to prepare for possible deployment to Minneapolis because of protests against efforts to deport immigrants. The city's mayor said federal agents were already acting like an occupying force and sending in the military would be shocking. And as we've heard from Coleta Rebelo out in Davos, results from Portugal's presidential elections show the socialist candidate Antonio Jose Seguru has won the first round of the vote. In the second round, he's likely to face Andre Ventura, who's leader of the far right Chaega, whose party has been campaigning for tougher anti immigration measures. This is the Global. Stay tuned. 1635 in Tokyo, which is where we head now. Japan is expected to hold a general election next month. A press conference is imminent where the Prime Minister, Sanae Takechi, is expected to formally announce the dissolution of the House of Representatives. Fiona Wilson is Monocle's Tokyo bureau chief. She's waiting for this press conference to happen. Good afternoon, Fiona. Good to have you. Hi, Emma. Thanks. What is happening today? There are lots of moving parts. There are. I mean, the press is all over this. The assumption is that Takaichi, the Prime Minister, will hold her press conference in about an hour and a half where she will explain to the public why she is holding this election. Now, she's only been in power since October, so it's a very, very short time. She can't really campaign on her record because she hasn't done very much yet. And the session, the next session of Parliament opens on Friday, so she has to wait until that happens. And the assumption is that on Friday she will announce the dissolution of Parliament. And if that happens, it looks like the election could be as early as February 8th. So it could all be happening quite quickly. I mean, obviously the Starken gun is about to be fired. She is clearly capitalizing on an incredibly high popularity rate. I think the last time we spoke about this, it was, you know, 70%. But is this actually what Japanese voters want? Yeah, that's a very interesting question. Look, the LDPSHE's the president of the LDP. This has been this amazing election machine that has pretty much won every election since long after the end of the war. She is in a very difficult position at the moment. She has an absolutely razor thin majority in the lower house. She doesn't have a majority in the upper house. Very unusual position, position for the ldp. And I think what she's thinking is I've got these very high ratings. This is the moment to seize that momentum, seize that popularity and regain our majority so that we can really achieve what we want to achieve. At the moment, she has to negotiate everything. She's in a coalition with an unfamiliar the Japan Innovation party. Now, for 26 years, the LDP was in a coalition with Comato and. And they pulled out of that coalition because they didn't like some of Takechi's views on certain subjects. Now that has really raised a lot of different issues because COMITO is a very effective election organization and it pulled out a lot of voters for the LDP and really throwing the cat among the pigeons. Last week, that party, Comato, announced it was forming an alliance with another opposition party. So we've now got a new party of sorts of. It's a sort of working election party called the Centrist Reform Alliance. Very unexpected, didn't exist this time last week, so who knows what that will mean for the election. But that's Komeito and the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, who previously they really didn't agree on some very fundamental issues like nuclear energy and defense, pretty big issues, but they've overlooked those for the purposes of the election. I don't know how effective it will be, though. What does this do for Japanese stability insofar as we are seeing, you know, worries about inflation, but business is doing better than it has done for a very, very long time. But Japan's currency has been at its weakest level in 18 months and there are fears that actually that Takechi has very big issues and very big ideas to grapple with and going to the country might not be the greatest thing to do right now. Yeah, I think a lot of people have said, hang on a minute, aren't we really. We should be focusing on getting the budget for 2026 passed, which is what this parliamentary session should be about. And I think there's a feeling that Hannah, she sacrificed that for political gain. So that's still unclear whether that gamble actually pays off. But no, you're absolutely right. There's a big concern among the Japanese public about the cost of living. I'd say that's the top issue. Now. People do appreciate her decisiveness, as we've seen. She's been very decisive. She. She's really faced China head on unexpectedly, I think, and maybe she didn't plan that, but that's happened and she hasn't backed down and that's actually proved to be rather popular. So it's a sort of interesting moment, but definitely the economy is a huge issue and she really needs to deal with that. So that's the opposition parties are focusing on that. They're saying she should be tackling the cost of living, not holding an election that she doesn't need to hold after three months. Thank you so much for joining us on the line. That was Fiona Wilson, Monocle's Tokyo bureau chief, keeping us across the imminent announcement that the Japanese parliament is going to be dissolved and they're going to have a general election. You're listening to Monocle Radio, Traveling far and wide. Also, our correspondents are today on the Globalist. We're now going to go to Milan. Our associate editor for design and fashion, Grace Charlton, joins us. She's there for Milan Fashion Week. Good morning, Grace. How's it looking where you are? Ciao, Emma. It's looking good. It's a little bit foggy, but that's okay. It's January. It's to be expected. And I imagine that that will cast a rather marvellous atmosphere in what's going to be a very good week. Exactly. Lots of men wearing, you know, leather gloves and hats and, you know, coats perched on their shoulders. I was about to say, is there some excellent wool being draped over shoulders at the moment in Milan? Oh, there really is, Emma. You would love talk me through it. So proceedings started on Friday afternoon with the Zegna show. Zegna is an interesting brand, very Italian. It's doing incredibly well. They've got an artistic director called Alessandro Sartori, and the show was incredible. It was staged in this big palazzo and they had a sort of closet built on the set. And all these men of different ages with the sharpest cheekbones you've ever seen walked down the Runway in, like, these, these coats with the collars high and, you know, just gorgeous fabric. So I think that really set the tone, and it was the most Milanese experience ever. And that sounds like as if there's a sort of a boldness and a pride to what's going on there. Yeah, definitely. I think Milan is an interesting city when it comes to menswear. It really thrives in terms of, like, the bespoke tailoring and more of those classic cuts like, you know, Brioni, Canali, all of those brands. But they do have, like, some interesting things going on. It is quite a lean season. Only about 18 brands are showing, like, actual shows, not presentations. Whereas in Paris next week or this week, sorry, there are about 35. So for context, it is, you know, quite a quiet men's Fashion week, but there are still Interesting things going on. Speaking about quietness. And the clever thing about Xenia is that it has managed to successfully move away from its identity as a company that made extremely good, good business suits to then becoming the emblem of casual luxury. How, how much of is that going to continue? I think it will and I've just announced actually that they've. They can officially call themselves fourth generation. They've got these two co CEOs, their brothers Eduardo and Angelo, Zenya. So I think through the different generations we've seen Zenya evolve with the times and that's how they've kept their relevance. Okay, thank you for that. Right now let's look ahead to what's happening later. It will be all eyes on via Borgo Norvi 21, the first show since Giorgio Armani died. What's the anticipation like? Yeah, it's Armani day today. I wonder what it's going to look like. Obviously there'll be a sense of grief, I'm sure, but I reckon there will be a sort of reverting back to the classic Armani signature, you know, silvery greys, deep navy, classic cuts. And also Armani is designing the uniforms for the Italian Olympic team at Cortina and happening in just a few weeks. So I wonder if there will be nods to that as well. But it's hard to tell. It'll definitely be an emotional show considering he passed away last September and given the fact that Milan and Armani were, you know, one and another, the fact that he, you know, the location of his, of his, of his headquarters slap bang in the middle of town and the fact that everybody always looked to Armani for this one. I mean, what do people saying about, about what they're hoping to happen? Yeah, I think people are still waiting to sort of move past the grief before talking about the new creative director or anything like that. Because like you said, he is so synonymous with Milan. You know, he's such a presence. He even has hotels and cafes around the city. So I'll be really intrigued to hear what people are saying backstage and you know, at the actual show what the mood will be. Grace Charlton and reporting for us on excellent shoulders and what was it, sharp cheekbones at Xenia. Thank you so much for joining us on the line from Milan. Wishing you the best of days. Thank you so much for joining us on the Globalist on Monocle Radio, 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. We head back now to Duforstrasse 98 in Zurich. Juliet Lindley is standing by. Juliet? Thank you, Emma. Thank you. And I'm joined now here in the Studio 4 at the Zurich headquarters by Dr. Rahul Sagal. He is, Emma, the CEO of the Swiss American Chamber of Commerce, affectionately known here as the Swiss Amcham. Welcome, Rahul. Thank you. Good morning. Thank you for having me. So good to have you. And thank you for coming by. As you are about to head up the mountains to Davos. Remind me, this is about your 5th or 6th w World Economic Forum, isn't it? Yes, exactly right. Correct. It's your second as the head of the American Swiss Chamber of Commerce. Okay. What are your priorities this week? What are you going to be focusing on majorly? So I think there are different priorities for Switzerland. And what we are focusing on, number one, is clearly the trade discussions that are going on between Switzerland and the US we have found some sort of a, I would say relatively good solution with the 15%. We would like to show the US side that we are implementing the market access commitments that Switzerland made, that the investments from Switzerland to the US are on their way and that we are ready to negotiate a binding agreement. I think that is one of the priorities from our side and that everything according to us is looking in a positive direction. I know that the deadline is the end of March. What could change? Yeah, as we have seen so much. Exactly. So much exactly. As we have seen, there are many things that could change. We would like to keep the ship steady. I would say fortunately or unfortunately, the Greenland question has erupted. But Switzerland, as you know, is not part of the eu, so we are not part of that retaliatory tariff package. Switzerland has also noted put any troops or moved any troops. So I guess at this point we are probably a little bit outside of this Greenland EU US spat. However, as you know, things can change very quickly and six weeks is a long time before a formal signing. Which industries do you think within the Swiss business community would be looking specifically to developments this week which you think are going to be the most affected? So I think there are quite a few. I mean, you have the pharmaceuticals there, you have separate ongoing negotiations. I think that's going to be a very big topic, at least for the Swiss in certain areas. And then I think overall for companies to assess what the US market is actually going to be like in 2026. Because if you talk about Swiss investments in the US they're obviously linked to a successful and productive US market. And I think if the feeling is that, oh, the U.S. is unstable or there will be a recession, then the investments will not be as large as expected. So much to be looking at. Swiss President Guy Pamela has said he's going to be talking about tariffs with Trump, he's going to be talking about trade. But let's remind our listeners that Switzerland also represents US Interests in Iran. So how much you think of the conversation between Pamela and Trump when it takes place is going to actually be focusing on Tehran so much in the news right now now. So I think, I think that is going to be one of the main topics, to be honest. I think, I think the trade is, I mean we have now this deal. It has been implemented from the US Side. It has been implemented from the Swiss side. Yes, we are negotiating. Yes, they are. There are certain exceptions that we would like to get through. But I think the focus is going to be more on a global level. Parmela is now the president of the country. So he's not only the economic minister. So I think Iran is going to be a very important topic. Since 1979, Switzerland represents the U.S. but also the U.S. in Iran, but also Iran in the U.S. so I think in this situation our good offices will be key. Well, this is certainly a moment for Switzerland to shine. The spirit of dialogue is the theme. And of all things, Switzerland is so famous for its ability to be good offices, diplomatic and so on. But Rahul, let's just look at you specifically. What is going to be your high highlight this week? Work wise and personally perhaps, what are you looking at? So I think work wise we have, we have our so called Swiss American Friendship cocktail that we do on Thursday evening. We do that every year. It is very interesting because it brings the most important players from the, from the US Swiss business but also public world together. We will have the US Ambassador to Switzerland, Calista Gingrich, we will have her husband Newt Gingrich there. We will have the Swiss ambassador to the US Ralph Hechner there. State Secretary Bootlegger, State Secretary Fazel who is the State Secretary from the Ministry of Foreign affairs who is directly responsible for the Iran question. We will also have the president of the Swiss national bank and CEOs and chairmans of many Swiss and US companies. So I guess that cocktail is for me always the highlight because it's really the most important moment for us to shape. Also what the thinking is with regard to this important relationship for sure. And just one final quick question. This is looking like a very beefed up World Economic Forum. People have high hopes for it. Fink has taken over from Schwab. Do you think it's going to be very different? Yeah. This Fink who has taken over from Schwab and Andre Hoffman who is the. Remember the farmer gentleman. Yes, yeah, exactly. And the Swiss actually. So that's so from, I think from my perspective he's also a very important man because I think it will be different because Andre Hoffman has a different focus than for example Klaus Schwab had. Larry Fink has a different focus. So I think it's going to be slightly different. Let's see. The spirit of dialogue is very important to understand. So I'm looking forward to also seeing how they cultivate it. It'll be great to see what it's like with a Swiss co chair co chairing the World Economic Forum, Dr. Rahul Sagal. Thank you so much. You're listening to the Globalist on Monocle Radio. Back to the London studio. Emma, thank you very much indeed. Juliet. We'll be back with you Tomorrow from Studio 4 for another update on Davos. But now it's time for a film news roundup on the Globalist. I'm joined in the studio by Karen Krasanovich, film critic and regular Monocle Radio contributor. Good morning, Karen. How are you? Very well, thank you very much. I'm very excited for this week. Why are you very excited about this week? Because Thursday is the Oscar nomination. Simon, did you know that, dare I say it feels as if it's been going on for about six months already and so it should. Excellent. Tell us what's in them. Ah, well, I've been priming people for months but that you really only need to see six films this year. Year, really. And this is why I'm excited because that's not too many to really. To really do for most ordinary people. So if you've seen Hamnet, one battle after another. Marty supreme sinners and also. Ah, hang on just a sec. So make sure I'm getting a sentimental value which aced the European Film Awards and Marty supreme, you're going to be just fine. Okay. And explain to. So go through these one by one because I mean just seeing six is actually it's pretty doable. It's doable. It's doable. We can do this. We can. We can absolutely have this. I want so Hamnet, the. The thing that people are saying Is that it's. And it's an exquisitely polished film, yet at the same time it has a sort of visceral impact like no other. Yes, yes, absolutely. Well, Jessie Buckley is very, very close in the running for best best female performance as Shakespeare's first wife, although I think she did inherit his second bed. But that's another story. It is. It's Paul Mescal and Jesse Buckley in an unusual film. It'll catch you. The mood of it will catch you right off the bat. But I guarantee even the hardest heart will be in tears by the end. I tried to resist and I could not. Is it sentimental, though? Because the book itself is. Is deeply, deeply emotional. Yeah, the book is amazing. It's more evocative than sentimental. I think it's for anybody that it's about death, basically. Death, grieving and the afterlife to a certain extent, but it does it in a way that you don't expect. Okay, thank you very much indeed for that. Let's go to one battle after another. Ah, well, now, hopefully you've seen this already. This is Leonardo DiCaprio in a comic role. Who knew? In Paul Thomas Anderson's epic story of battle against, I guess, the man establishment, but done with incredible verve, a great excitement and a wonderful chase scene at the end, which is just absolutely stunning. And if none of that appeals, there's Benicio Del Toro also in a supporting role that apparently he kind of ad libbed his way through. But it really is an extraordinary film and I don't want anyone to feel put off by the running time or the epic quality of it. But it is one of Paul Thomas Anderson's best. Okay, quick look at Sinners and then sentimental value. Sinners, of course, is Ryan Coogland. Coogler. Sorry, am I awake? I am. With his take on Deep south of America, the history of black Americans, and also the other world, and entrepreneurial tendencies as well. It is quite remarkable and also remarkable in that it was made with certain circumstances, has a lot of wonderful special effects and is incredible to watch. Sentimental value. And then a bit of Marty supreme. And then we need to talk about something. Moving right along. Sentimental Value, big hit at Cannes. Skarsgrd is up for the best performance. The male as a rather unpleasant father who is trying to get his film made. And he doesn't have a lot of budget, but it is an extraordinary film. It is primarily, I believe, in Swedish. And then you wanted Marty supreme. His face. I'm not a huge fan of Marty supreme, but everybody who's seen it Loves it. It is one of the Safdie brothers doing a take on ping pong's or table tennis's great star. He's not a nice guy, but the film is beautifully made. Technical achievement is just through the roof. And of course, a best actor Oscar, at least nomination, if not the actual gong itself for Timothee Chalamet, who will beat Leonardo DiCaprio. Are you sure about that? There is discussion that Timothee Chalamet will. Can play the guitar like Bob Dylan can, you know, play table tennis like no one else, but will never be awarded an award, given an award until he's in his mid-50s and for something that's not very good. Well, he's 30 now, so I think. But another thing too is that he has changed his way of approaching. People were saying he had a big head and now he's beginning to be humble in his speeches. And so people are going, well, I think that makes a difference to the voters. Where are you taking us next in the world of film? Well, I just wanted to say Sundance Film Festival. This is the last year in Utah and it's moving to Boulder, Colorado. It's got a big, starry lineup. Natalie Portman, Chetney Tatum, Dave Franco, Chris Fox, Chris Pine. I could keep going on. The films look amazing this year. If you like quirky, sort of knock it out of the ballpark kind of films. You think, why is this important? Well, because last year's Sundance had train dreams, Sorry, baby lurker. If I had legs, I would kick you. Those are all significant films. Why does moving the location of Sundance matter? Because it's been there for 40 years. It's been there for four decades. 40 years. And I think it's significant because it's one of the major independent festivals before we really had one, before we had south by, anything like that. And also it was started by Robert Redford. And it's to embrace storytelling across the board. So it's to counter the kind of studio films that people are getting used to. And the reason it's important is because there was a concern that it was going to be shut down because it couldn't find a suitable venue out of 67 cities they looked at. Finally, talk very quickly about IMAX. Ah, try and get tickets to Christopher Nolan's IMAX series here in London. Impossible. It is impossible. I can't believe it. But imax. Who knew that IMAX was such a success? It is doing incredibly well, particularly in China, strangely. And it's been around since 1967, which is also astonishing. But what I'm saying is that if you're worried about the cinema and exhibitor and exhibitors are always worried about people going and watching films rather than watching them at home, it's important to go see an IMAX film and what they're calling it in China, eventize something. And I think that that's really important. So don't worry. Just try and get tickets to IMAX if you can. Karen Krasanovich, thank you as ever for joining me in the studio. And that's all the time we have for today's show. The warmest of thanks to my co host in Zurich, Juliet Lindley, and also to Carlotta Rebelo, who'll be hosting the Briefing from tomorrow from Davos. Thanks to the rest of my gift guests and to the producers, Chris Chermack, Laura Kramer and Tom Webb. Our researcher was Anneliese Maynard and our studio manager was Mariella Bevan. After the headlines. More music on the way. The Briefing's live at midday here in London, but from tomorrow it's in Davos. The Globalist is back at the same time tomorrow, co hosted from Studio 4 in Zurich. And we will be having the daily coming to you from Nuuk in Greenland from tomorrow. Andrew Muller will be your host for that. So buckle up everybody. It's going to be a busy week. But for now, from me, Emma, Nick, goodbye. Thank you very much for listening and have a great week. 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.