Can Marco Rubio sell the Iran war to G7 foreign ministers?

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1:14programme coming up. Can Marco Rubio sell the Iran War to America's allies? We'll look ahead to a meeting of the G7 group of leaders in possession of a sizable helping of skepticism. Also ahead in the next 60 minutes, having bet her career on an early election, Denmark's Metafredrickson admits defeat and steps down as the country's prime minister, which he's then told to pull her socks up and form a coalition government, while have the latest on a self-inflicted mess. And what makes a good airport, as the annual top 10 rankings are published, our editorial director Tyler Brouley will join me to give his verdict from Zurich, which has slipped down the list. Plus the papers and the latest design news from Tokyo too. That's all coming up on the Globalist. Live from London. First, a quick look at what else is happening in today's news. President Trump has insisted Iran is taking part in peace talks and is desperate to make a deal to end the war in the Middle East.

2:17Something Iran has flatly denied. Australia has banned visitors from Iran in case some choose not to return home, and the British legacy fashion brand Mulberry has hired the Scottish designer Christopher Kane to overhaul its women's ready-to-wear collection. Stay tuned to Monaco Radio throughout the day for more on these stories, but first, G7 Foreign Ministers gathered today in France at the Abbey of Order Selne, the preoccupation among several huge intractable issues what to do about the Iran War. The Osecure State Marco Rubio is expected to try to persuade his allies to join in. What will he need to say? Well, I'm joined by Paul Walder, Europe correspondent at the Global Mail, who's following events. Good morning, Paul. Good morning. So we have around the table Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the United States. Who's actually going to say yes to Marco Rubio out of this group? Well, that remains a big question. And of course, this is Rubio's first trip abroad since the

3:18war in Iran started. And of course, the big question is going to be the fate of the straight-of-hard movies and trying to open it. And all of these countries have been pretty cool towards the US and Israel's airstrikes against Iran and launching this war. So it's going to be a tall order to try and get some of them on board as Rubio will likely want to to patrol or reopen forcibly the straight-of-hard movies. So I think he's got a real tall order in front of him, but also keep in mind, invited to this meeting as well, our foreign ministers from Brazil, South Korea, India, and Saudi Arabia as well as the Ukrainian foreign ministers. So there could be a lot of interesting bilateral discussions as well. But I think Rubio for the most part is going to be the odd man out here. I mean, Rubio has got himself a bit of a reputation here as being quite charming. And I think I read somewhere that someone described him as a chameleon. Is there actually enough in Rubio to bring people around? Well, I'm sure that's true. And I'm sure, you know, of all the people to sort of put in front of G7 foreign ministers, he's probably the best one in the administration. The problem he has

4:22is that back home Donald Trump's, you know, makes a comment every hour and changes his mind every hour. It seems to give a different direction and a different scope of where the war is headed every hour. So I think for Rubio, the challenge is enormous because he comes to Paris for this meeting, not really knowing when the war is going to end, how the war is going to end, what the strategy and what the plan is going forward. So I think it's going to be, yes, you know, a massive challenge for him. And he may put the brightest, the bravest face on it as possible and sort of suit some of the initial anger and resentment and come out of this meeting without everybody kind of yelling at the US. Keep in mind, they're also not issuing any kind of formal statement to avoid obvious tension. So I think the best he can hope for is, you know, minimal commentary after this meeting. What does he actually want these countries to do because getting directly involved in the US Israeli operations has been something that everybody from Canada, France, you name it Japan, have all said no to, they've all pushed back. The United Kingdom has is helping, just as an

5:22example, by allowing US planes, military planes to use its air bases to launch what it calls defensive strikes against Iran. But the idea that he wants to sell the war to his allies means what exactly? Well, I mean, I think he can point to one thing, you know, last week there was a statement released signed by all of these countries, including Japan, saying that, you know, and South Korea, saying that they were prepared to do something viable on the street of Germany. So I mean, I think you can point to that and say, all right, you're willing to do something. Let's talk about what that is. I think at this point, he's going to have to talk specifics, you know, the sort of conversation about why the war started and how and whether it was legal and honest kind of. I think for a lot of these countries over and they want to see oil flowing again and they want to see it flowing through the street of Hormuz again, you know, particularly countries like Japan and South Korea, things are getting pretty dire in terms of the supply of oil. So I think at this point, he's going to have to point to them and say,

6:24you know, okay, look, how can we make this work? How can we get this oil flowing? He will face a lot of heat, I think, for easing sanctions on Russia, easing sanctions on Iran of all things for the sale of oil. So that's going to be problematic and how he justifies that in terms of driving down the price of oil, which really hasn't happened to a large degree. So I think he will try and cling to that statement they put out last week and saying they're willing to help in some fashion. But, you know, we heard from Canada's foreign minister yesterday saying no decisions have been made and they're really a long way from from deciding anything, but at least they did open the door. So perhaps that's one way forward for him. Indeed. And just looking at the other the other six countries, I mean, what are the concerns for them? What are the possible consequences of climbing on board with the United States? Well, that's the balancing act for all. I mean, you know, as much as Rubio's in a bind there and a bind as well, you know, you've already heard officials out of Germany saying this is having an impact on their economy. Certainly, again, Asian countries are feeling it probably most acutely. So they've got a balance, you know, all right, we need the oil. We've got to do something with the straight of her moves versus

7:27do we get on board with the US in this entire war? So they're in a real bind as well as Rubio, which is why I think this meeting probably results in little if nothing and certainly nothing sort of dramatic coming out of it because I think both sides realize they've got a lot of state here. And indeed, they also have a lot of stake in terms of the way that geopolitics geopolitics. And indeed, international alliances are created in the future. The learning lesson that Europe, the rest of the world may not need to see the United States as no longer a predictable partner is forcing is concentrating minds. But to what degree do we believe that actually it is forcing people to do things? Well, I mean, you're right. I mean, to some extent, we've already seen Europe sort of coalesce. We've seen that over the Greenland issue and over other things as well. And Trump, you know, tirades against NATO. I think we've seen the European countries kind of bad together. So, okay, look, we've got to stand on our own. We've got to spend more on defense. We've got to, you know, start to exerting some of our own foreign policy

8:30in a way that's different from the US. So that's probably going to continue. How practical that will be going forward remains to be seen. But, you know, they are spending an awful lot more on defense, Germany, Britain, other countries as well. And I think, you know, now it's going to be more on the diplomatic front and saying to the US, you know, no, we're not going to do this. We're not going to help you on that. But, yeah, again, there's only so far they can go with that. And, you know, the US says they don't like NATO or they're going to pull out a NATO. That really does, in fact, obviously Europe. And indeed, just thinking much further ahead that in a post-Donald Trump, the amount of destabilizing and unpicking, which is being done at the moment, will have effect across the world and it costs the likes of the G7 for a very, very long time. Well, I think absolutely. I mean, certainly from the Canadian perspective, Canada is already desperately trying to turn its trade attention elsewhere. And I think you're going to see that with other countries in Europe as well saying, look, you know, we just can't rely on the US anymore. Maybe that's a big wake-up call for a lot of countries who maybe rely too much on the US and going forward. That might be a silver lining out of all of this. But I think you're right, it'll be

9:33a lot of damage has been done to those relationships and they're not going to be the same going for it. I think pretty much everybody agrees on that. Let's talk about the other issues as Europe for discussion. I mean, we cannot forget the fact that the war in Ukraine is still incredibly important for those sitting around the table today. Oh, absolutely. And I think this will be a major point of attention as well that the US has, as I mentioned, easing some sanctions on Russia, which doesn't help matters at all and fuels the Russian economy. I give the more money to spend on armaments and to keep up this war and Ukraine. It looked like the Russian economy was teedering. It looked like Putin might need to be forced to do something. Now he's probably the pressures off for him with the price of oil going up. So I think there's going to be a lot of criticism for the US on that move. I think also there's fear that the US has lost interest in Ukraine and that the military support is going to, you know, dwindled as it mounts even a tougher war in Iran. So, oh, yeah, I think I think Ukraine is going to be a big part of this. As I mentioned, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister is going to be this. He'll obviously have a lot to say. But

10:35maybe as well, this will force Canada and Europe and other countries to say, all right, we're going to have to pick up more of the slack here. But it's going to be very difficult to see how Ukraine war ends diplomatically or militarily given the US and its distractions right now. And indeed, if we just look at some of the breaking news that Russia may be ready to send a package of aid and indeed drones to Iran, that connection between conflicts is something that world leaders really do need to bear in mind. Well, for sure. I mean, you've got, as Russia gets more revenue from oil, they're going to do things with that beyond Ukraine. They can start trying to help Iran in some fashion. And, you know, there's been all kinds of reports already that Trump seems to dismiss them. But, you know, at some point, the US is going to have to take that seriously and decide, you know, what to do about it, if anything. But yeah, man, I think for Ukraine, as they just sit there looking at this, looking at all of the missile systems designed to shoot down drones and Iranian missiles and wonder why aren't they here to help us? And they must wonder that as the US again refocuses his attention, it runs out of its own military capability. These are,

11:39you know, challenges in all in one way. What's what's going to go for them? So it's going to be up to Europe. And when the Europe is up to it or can't afford it, it remains to be seen. But I think that's going to be a huge part of the conversations in Paris tomorrow and Friday or today and Friday. Well, Walde, Europe correspondent at the Global Mail. Thank you so much for joining us on the Global List. It's at what 8 11 AM in Copenhagen. Now, two days ago, Denmark's Prime Minister Metta Fredrickson led her country to the polls, buoyed by her recent surge in popularity for standing up to Donald Trump and his pitch to possess Greenland. Well, as we go to air this morning, Denmark doesn't have a government. As Fredrickson's social democrats came first, but didn't enjoy enough votes to claim a majority. She stepped down as Prime Minister yesterday, only to be told to pull her socks up and form a new coalition. So to tell us more about what is happening in a very fast moving political climate in Denmark, Bruno Kauffman is Global Democracy correspondent for

12:42the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. A regular voice here on Monaco Radio and he joins us on the line from Copenhagen. Good morning, Bruno. Hello, Emma. So what for the last two days been like in Denmark? I mean, it has been a very wild ride, you can say, from an election which was celebrated. That is normally celebrated in Denmark. 84% of the people went to the votes. All parties who were running for the vote got seats. So firstly, everybody was really happy. And now after the results came in, it's really a hard challenge for everybody to see the government being built on this foundation. And the Prime Minister met Fredrickson, which has been dominating Denmark for so many years. She still has the role to build a new government, but all other parties are not very interested in really working with her. So that makes it extremely difficult. Indeed. I mean,

13:45we had yesterday what 12 party leaders going to see the king at some point yesterday. I mean, that's a lot of Danish blue crockery being washed up as we have a revolving door, but it suggests just how widespread a mess this is. That's right. I mean, these are the traditions, of course. And you know, it's very different from country to country how governments are built. I mean, we know countries like Belgium and Netherlands where it can take half a year. We know situations like in UK where the new government is built a day after the election, of course, depending on the outcome. But in Denmark normally, you know, you have like a clear maturity on one or the other side. And then it's a negotiation to build this together with other parties. But now there's no real perspective for which kind of government, which will be possible. So Mette Friedrichsen, she already will start today to negotiate a possible government together with

14:47her leftist coalition partners. But that's not enough. She needs more support from the right wing parties, from the liberal parties, especially from the current foreign minister, Larslöker-Rasmussen, with the kingmaker. And he is not keen to work together with the leftist parties. So it will be a major challenge for her, which has run the country since 2019 to succeed or a third term. So talk us through a little bit about what her options are, because her party, as I mentioned, they're, I think they won 70 seats, but they need 90 for a majority. So that's quite a big jump. That's right. I mean, it was already in 2022, difficult to build a new government, because at that time Mette Friedrichsen survived, you can say, as the social democratic party, by reaching out to ruler areas, and by almost eliminating the populist right wing parties on immigration. And this, you can say, this trick, but also this art of building new foundations for

15:55a party wasn't possible to do with this time. So at this moment, you can say that the classical liberal party, which was until now the biggest, and it's still the biggest, on the right wing side, this party has almost been eliminated in the big cities. It's mainly existing now on the ruler areas, while Mette Friedrichsen lost on, but in both the cities and in the ruler areas. So when they were talking about that, this was a success for them. It's in fact a defeat, and they have now to find new partners. And it's, again, as I said, the party of the former minister Lashlok Erasmussen, he sits really with this, he's to the future government, but he's very, let's say, he wants to high in his prize much more than he has done the last time. So we now have Mette Friedrichsen, as you've just outlined, with this impossibly difficult task.

16:56She is the one who got herself into this mess by thinking that a snap election would actually keep her in power, having been buoyed by what happened with Greenland and Donald Trump. Are we now looking at the end of the Mette Friedrichsen era as Danish Prime Minister? We do it, of course, in a little bit longer term, but I think she will still be the one now to be the only one, you can say, to really build this kind of coalition. I don't see a real coalition without her at this moment, but just within two, three years situation will be very differently. And we already see that on the right-wing party side, many of the leaders really have given up, you can say, on the option to be in government this time, and they look forward to 2029-2030 when the next elections will be, and they hope then, of course, that Mette Friedrichsen will have left. I mean, she's only 40-80 years old, and many expect her to maybe run for

18:00European office in 2029, or after the next European election. So in 2030, there will be no Mette Friedrichsen anymore in Danish politics, and that will be the big opportunity for the right-wing or the liberal parties to build there. What they say is the only option for a well-seated Denmark. It's a government right of the middle. Very briefly, Bruno, if you're sitting there and you're the incumbent in the White House and you were pushed back when you wanted Greenland a few months ago because of Mette Friedrichsen and the unity that Denmark displayed, how much of an opportunity would you say here? I mean, I'm not the incumbent in the White House, and it's hard to imagine that, but in one, I mean, there's more to this story, of course, because also, Denmark is represented, Greenland is represented in the Danish parliament, and they sent now somebody who is, in fact, interested in negotiations with the United States about Danish independence.

19:01There are more chances to that. There is more, let's say, momentum or the harmony between Greenland and Denmark to be broken. So there is, of course, an option, but at the same time, you have to say that the current government, we've met the Friedrichsen, we've slashed, look at us, I mean, they are still in office. They are not the, they are so-called interim government until the new government is built. So there is still a phone number to call in Copenhagen. I don't see that Denmark at this point is in the crisis when it comes to foreign policy because all the parties basically, also in this new parliament, with this 12 parties, almost nobody in this parliament is not subscribing to the policies which have been run by Mette Friedrichsen and by Lars look at Osmosen in recent months, we have eaten the United States. Bruno Kaufman, global democracy correspondent for the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation joining us on the line from Copenhagen. Thank you very much. Still to come on today's program. That's the sound of nightly vigils in Caracas

20:13calling for political prisoners to be released, but who's actually in charge in Venezuela? Stay tuned. 720 here in London, let's have a look at the newspapers joining me. It's Terry Stiezni, political journalist and monocoregular. Good morning, Terry. Good morning. How are you doing? All right, thank you. Now, we mentioned at any interview with Paul Walde a little bit earlier on that there is these

21:14reports that Russia is now helping Iran with its war efforts. And that's a story that is on the front page of the Financial Times, isn't it? Yes, the Financial Times is leading with this morning and they say they have information from Western intelligence reports which are suggesting that Russia is supplying drones, medicines and food to Iran and the FTSE is reporting that Iranian and Russian officials began secretly discussing the delivery of drones days after the first strikes on Tehran by Israel and the U.S. They said they started processing these deliveries in early March and they will get them this month. And now this is obviously significant in quite a few ways. I mean, it's just interesting to see perhaps not surprising to see Russia and Iran attempting to cooperate in this way. And of course, I mean, the Kremlin spokesperson says the Dmitry Peskov says there's a lot of fakes going around right now but said we're continuing our dialogue with the Iranian leadership. And it says it's, you know,

22:18the Westerns are saying that Russia is effectively trying to underwrite the broader political stability of the regime in Iran by trying to supply drones and food and medical supplies and also talking about the level of the capability that this would allow Iran to have. Indeed, I mean, just looking at the capability that Iran will gain from the Russian help. I think the article mentions a spokesperson. I think it's Antonio Justotsi from Russia, the Royal United Services Institute, saying the Iranians don't need more drones. They need better ones. They need advanced capabilities, which is astonishing, giving them out of chaos that these drones have exerted all over the Middle East, you know, closing down the likes of Dubai Airport. Yes. And it suggests that, you know, Contra to what the United States are saying that they will still have access to these supplies. I mean, we've seen other reports, different reports from the US suggesting that, well, you know, what if Iran runs out of drones if they run out of capability? And of course, you've got to think

23:22about the West's ability to be able to constantly shoot down these drones. And of course, the question is, as well, how much is Russia able to produce? We know that Ukraine has been offering advice on how to deal with Russian-made drones coming in. And Ukraine has got very good at trying to counter those. And how much capability has Russia got to produce these if they are trying to use them both in Ukraine and send them to Iran as well? Let's have a look at a story which affects not just the British Museum, cultural issues, but also a global question here, which British ministers here in the United Kingdom are considering charging international tourists' money to access some of the permanent collections, which the United Kingdom enjoys. This is very much a London story, given the fact they're talking about the likes of the British Museum. Now, just to be clear, locals would not have to pay. Yes, this is interesting. And I think it's interesting as to how you would decide this. I mean, I think if you look at international museums, most places in the world you are expected either to make a donation or buy a ticket and

24:25you don't often get a free entry to big museums and galleries. And I think this is one of the things that back in the early 2000s, a Labour government brought in free access to the biggest museums in a place like the British Museum, for instance. And I think it's an interesting question here. On the one hand, you do want to support the cultural sector and you want museums to be able to have enough money to function and obviously charging particularly tourists in London to go and see the British Museum, for instance, would presumably raise a lot of money to see those permanent collections. But, you know, how would you decide? How would you keep that access open to people who currently get that for free? And some of the heads of museums in the UK are dubious about this and they think that perhaps the better way to get money from tourism into the museum sector is to have this idea of having a sort of a tourist tax, having more contributions from people staying in London, which then go to museums, whether they then visit them or not.

25:28I mean, I'm just looking at the practicalities of it as well. London is quite an international city. So, trying to determine between a tourist and someone who just lives here is going to be, it's going to be quite a fun question. I don't want to be the person having to do that job. But when we look a bit more broadly at it, the Louvre is doing this as well, because I think from January, they pushed prices up for people from outside the European Economic Area, which includes the United Kingdom here, that you have to pay 28 euros to get in. Now, that's an awful lot of money if you're a family of six or whatever to go in. And one wonders whether there will actually be a chilling effect here. Well, I think yes, the Louvre's obviously got a whole load of different problems going on at the moment. But I think certainly, yes, given the cost of living, the cost of going out in somewhere like London or Paris at the moment, if you, as you say, if you do have to think, okay, well, that's 28 euros per adult, plus whatever if they charge for children, that might certainly think, well, I'm going to do something that is a bit cheaper. And yes,

26:31that might, you know, reduce the cues for other people who want to go and see the Mona Lisa or whatever. But, you know, will the museums get the revenue that they hope to get from it? Finally, let's move to a story which is effectively prompted the world's media to publish endlessly entertaining pictures of UK, well, actors from the 20th century dressed up as 17th century soldiers, lots of lace collars, excellent swords and enormous hats. This is to do with the three musketeers. Yes, this is to do with the three musketeers and they have possibly found the fourth and possibly most famous musketeer, D'Artagnan. And this is in a church in Maastricht, which in something that sounds like a, you know, something from a movie, part of the floor in the church of St Peter and Paul in Boulder in Maastricht collapsed. And they looked under the floor to see what was there. And they found the, what is long rumoured to be there. And possibly the remains of D'Artagnan, who was a real person, Charles de Batt de Castellan

27:32Moore, a Gaskon nobleman. This seems somebody who has been looking for this corpse skeleton for the last 28 years have found a skeleton which has got a muskete ball at chest height that he was killed by a muskete ball to the throat. They have a French coin minted in 1660 on the body. And so this archaeologist, he's trying to be cautious. It's a very exciting moment, could be the highlight of my career. So he's waiting for DNA confirmation of this skeleton. And they're actually taking DNA from it and comparing it to a descendant of one of D'Artagnan's relatives to find out whether this really is the musketeer. So it's a bit like sort of Richard III under the Car Park in Leicester, you know, they've possibly found D'Artagnan under the floor of a church in Mastery. How exciting. I mean, one does think though that if you have the muskete ball in the right place and you have the coin strategically placed, it sounds like rather a bad sort of like murder mystery for a Sunday night on Delhi. It's almost, it's almost to sort of ready made, isn't it?

28:33You just kind of think, but you know, if it was buried under the floor, you know, you couldn't have necessarily got there to put the coin and the muskete in the right place or, you know, perhaps you could. It is a little bit too good to be true to this story. So we will wait and see if the DNA confirms this. Eyebrows raised all round. Terry C. Asney, political journalist and regular monocle contributor. Thank you so much for joining us on Marco Radio. Now a quick look at some of the other stories we're keeping an eye on today. President Trump has insisted Iran is taking part in peace talks and is desperate to make a deal to end the war in the Middle East. Iran has flatly denied this, claiming Washington's talk of negotiations is an admission of defeat. Australia has banned visitors from Iran in case some choose not to return home. It's been suggested this could affect more than 7,000 people already granted visitor visas. North Korea has welcomed the Belarusian president on his first visit to Pyongyang, the two sanctioned states have supported President Putin's war against Ukraine. Canada's

29:35Prime Minister Mark Carney has criticised our Canada for its response to the death of two of its pilots at a crash at La Guadilla Airport. A condolence message was published only in English, but one of the pilots killed was from French speaking Quebec. Prime Minister Carney said that Canada is a bilingual country and companies like Air Canada have a responsibility to communicate in both official languages. And the British legacy fashion brand Mulberry has hired the Scottish designer Christopher Kane to overhaul its women's ready-to-wear collection. The push towards clothing is part of a strategy to revive sales by transforming the firm from what it says is a leather goods brand into a culturally relevant British lifestyle brand. This is the globalist. Stay tuned. Now Venezuela's ousted leader Nicholas Maduro is set to appear in court in New York today. He's been in custody since the start of January after he and his wife were captured by US

30:40forces. At a previous hearing he described himself as a prisoner of war and has denied the charges against him. But back in Venezuela daily life is continuing and many people are still trying to make sense of increased US involvement in their country and what it means for the country's future. Catherine Ellis has been speaking to Venezuelans in Caracas and sent us this report. In the Venezuelan capital of Caracas a small lively parade fills the downtown street, dancers, jugglers and performers dressed up as Nicholas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. A show of support in their absence. But while someone them home many Venezuelans like Carola disagree.

31:49Being freed of Maduro. Nicholas Maduro had ruled Venezuela since 2013, following the death of Hugo Chavez who led the country for 14 years. Chavezmo, the movement named after Chavez, had ambitious social programs funded by oil wealth and championed anti-imperialism. But over time it became marked by corruption and authoritarianism as well as allegations of fraud in the 2024 presidential election. An election Maduro is widely believed to have lost. But despite his removal this year, key allies still remain in power, like Delsey Rodriguez, now, Venezuela's interim president, who seems to be complying with Washington's orders.

32:54Something that appears to please President Trump. She's doing a great job because she's working with us. If she wasn't working with us, I would not say she's doing a great job. In fact, if she wasn't working with us, I'd say she's doing a very poor job, unacceptable. For Caracas-based analysts Phil Guntson at Crisis Group, what comes next is unpredictable. There's every reason to sketch about this process, and we don't know if it's going to lead to a transition. But the process is being driven at the moment. From Caracas and Washington over the heads of the Venezuelan population. Now, the danger of course is that what we end up with is something well-short of democracy. So I'm just at one of the nightly visuals that they hold for political prisoners near to El Elicoe they prison. But tonight they've done something a little different. They've actually blocked one of the main roads. I'm kind of roped across it, they're flying,

33:57Venezuelan flags at their demanding the release of all political prisoners. Hundreds of political prisoners activist, journalist, politicians, protestors have been released in recent weeks. But around 500 people still remain in jail. And families say they won't stop protesting until every one of them is freed. Jesus Armas, an engineer and political activist, was released in February in his cautiously optimistic. So right now is a moment when many activists that were in the exile and coming back to Venezuela. This is the great opportunity for the opposition to reunite again. Like other opposition members, he's also waiting for the return of opposition leader Maria Carina Machado, in hiding for months before a dramatic escape to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway in December. But what will her comeback mean?

34:59That will be a game changer. She will inspire the people again and our goal is to create a moment in to be ready to raise her voice to have that fair and free election. After US intervention, Washington outlined a three-stage plan. Stabilization, economic recovery and eventually a political transition. But Maria Carina Machado seems to have been sidelined, even though many credit her with the opposition success in the 2024 election. The thing about Maria Carina is that she's seen as honest, brave, committed, determined, hard to imagine that anybody else could develop what she did in that campaign. But that's not the profile of somebody you want for a transition. While she may have public support, key institutions, including the military, remain in the hands of hard-line charvistas. And within the movement charvistas, like Max Momendoza, are processing how far cooperation

36:03between their government and the US should go. I have contact with family and friends who are very radical. We can't grasp the idea that we can't keep taking up arms and fighting. I think the smartest thing to do is what we do, which is to remain calm, stay at the negotiating table and accept some things that we didn't agree with in the past. Then as well as natural resources remain deeply symbolic for many charvistas. Yet the government has started opening up the economy, passing a law to allow more foreign investment in the oil sector and plans to open up mining too. For many Venezuelans, the economy is a top priority. In Central Caracas, workers and pensioners are protesting years of low salaries and pensions. They want to rise. The minimum wage for a public sector worker and the set pension is less

37:07in a dollar a month. What's the most difficult for you? I ask people at the march. Having enough money to eat one lady answers, health stays another, explaining there's no functioning healthcare system. Where's the money? What happened to it? One protester asked of the government. Many hope new arrangements with Washington will it ease the economic woes in the country and that money might finally reach ordinary people. And there's also the question of how to deal with the deep political divides here, which Corolla says won't be easy. But she says that doesn't mean they shouldn't be represented in Venezuela's political system. For her, that's part of having a true democracy.

38:07Something she now believes may one day soon be possible in Venezuela. And that was Catherine Ellis in Caracas. You're listening to Monaco Radio. 838 AM in Zurich, which is where we head now. For the 13th time, Singapore's Changi Airport has claimed the number one spot in the world's top 10 airports. Not so unique. A story you might argue, but the interesting bits come lower down this year's list. Spotlight on, for example, all the wrong reasons. Poor Zurich. Last year, number nine, this year sees a drop of 10 sports to number 19. Well, we'll get to that in a moment. But first has here from our studio in Zurich. Monaco's editorial director, Tyler Bruley, perusing the list. Good morning, Tyler. How are things are you? Good morning, Emma. Things are fine. It is a kind of a sleety snowy morning here, which probably won't be great for operations at Zurich Airport on a Thursday morning. No, but we'll examine what went wrong or what's going right for other people when it comes to

39:11Zurich in a moment. But first, let's broaden this out. What exactly constitutes a good airport? Oh, listen, this is, yeah, how much time do we have till the end of the program? We can spend a lot of time on this is, you know, is a good airport about about scale and about humanity. And that doesn't mean it all has to be confined in one terminal either. But do you, are you overwhelmed when you walk into a terminal? I mean, this is a good point. I was just looking at this, this ranking because we're talking about this is the Sky Tracks top 100 airports ranking, which came out yesterday. It's causing, of course, a lot of discussion. I boarded the aircraft with my mom yesterday at Savannah Boom in Bangkok. You want to talk about sort of overwhelming. It's got a sense of place. I mean, you're definitely in Bangkok on arrival and departure. It's sort of giving you that sort of last embrace before you leave Thailand. But it is just, it is so massive and people moving everywhere. And you could sort of talk about the overall flow is not fantastic. But you know, does is an airport also supposed to somehow envelop you when you get there. So you

40:15could say, well, maybe that that does work is is a good airport. Emma, you know, reasonably close or or or very well connected to the city center or does it involve, you know, only a taxi or only taking a shuttle bus at great distances, you know, with a lot of traffic. And then of course, it is, it is connectivity as well. How many, of course, how many destinations can you get around the world? You get to around the world. And then I would say public last point is also just a good home carrier. You could say that Singapore does well because Singapore, it is in lockstep. It's a national program. You know, Singapore takes great pride in this. I think if Singapore was knocked to the second or fifth position, heads would rule because so much is at stake. This country markets itself as a hub. And also going back to the home carrier, Singapore Airlines, of course, is a well regarded well respected. And again, often a top rank, if not the number one airline in the world. It's interesting that the the approach that you've just taken is from the connectivity and that there's a logistics aspect. But when you travel, you often cannot choose the

41:18airport that you go to. You have to go to the one which is going to get you get you home or get you to your next destination. But I sometimes wonder whether people kind of forget that the purpose of an airport is to get people from entrance to plain in a seamless and easy way that actually becomes to a certain extent a pleasure. And we've seen so many airports nowadays which are prioritizing self-checking and this and that. Which actually makes you sort of exhausted and angry by the time that you've taken your shoes off and you've gone through the security control. Absolutely. And you could also argue on the other side if it is so seamless and it is so friction-free. And of course, maybe you want 80 or 90% friction-free. But if it's 100% perfect, then does that also remove some sense of where I am? And I'm not saying that you need a bit of chaos. But where are those moments to pause? If it is so efficient that it gets me from curbside to the aircraft in record time and I don't really have a moment to absorb that I'm potentially I'm in Geneva or

42:20I'm in Johannesburg or I'm in Portland, Oregon, maybe that's not great as well. And I think that's also where then the story of great design and good architecture comes into the mix. And I think we talk about design and architecture. Architecturally, Singapore airports, the terminals, I should say, are very respectable. But if you want many, many, many square kilometers of probably the ugliest carpet in the world, that's also Changi Airport as well. Okay, let's talk about the rankings this year. It's no great surprise that Changi is number one and one sometimes one does can something win for 13 years on the trot. Is that actually possible? The top five for all in Asia, we have Seoul, Tokyo, two Tokyo and one Hong Kong as well. What does that say not necessarily about the airports, but also the way that this list is pulled together? Well, I think part of it is volume. Part of it comes back to also home carriers as well. Sometimes I also think in these lists,

43:21is there a little bit of lobbying going on and how active are the airport authorities and the nations? And look at, did K-pop come along because everyone wants to watch groups of seven or nine boys or girls dancing in unison or was a lot of it also a state project brought to you by Korea. And I think that that is maybe also why Seoul Inchon does well. Seoul Inchon, not a great train connection out there. It's a very long drive. And then I find it literally soulless as an airport. I have really no sense of where I am. It is hulking. It is huge. Yes, reasonably efficient, but not great lounge. I don't think the retail offer really speaks to being in Korea. Unless, of course, you want to stock up on hundreds of face masks with various peels involved in them. But that is, you know, so that is, again, I think question marks.

44:22As you said, Singapore, Changi, Tokyo, Haneda, of course, does well. Two of the world's biggest airlines as well. Both Japan Airlines and A&A flying out of there. I would say Haneda does well because it's also close to the city center and serves a number of domestic passengers as, of course, internationally. And when we look at these, what's interesting, I'm up this top 10, largely these are big airports. So when it comes down to just sheer amount of traffic, customer surveys, all of these things, volume is going to win. Parastials to go. I like Air France a lot. I think Air France is a very good airline. But Charles, number six in the world, I mean, have you tried to transfer between terminals? Have you tried to, I mean, never mind, of just trying to drive to the airport in the morning, take your life into your own hands, if you want to take public transport. Now, there's going to be faster connectivity out to the airport, hopefully within the next two years. But again, Emma, it is, that is one where I scratch my

45:23head and say, yes, architecturally, of course, very, very iconic terminal there as well. And it's really sort of one of the modern faces of global transport and infrastructure, but a lot of it doesn't function that well. And heavens forbid, I mean, if you are somewhere past, you know, 68 and your eyes might be failing or you get again a little bit overwhelmed every day, a bit of a challenge. Indeed. I would absolutely echo everything you just said about Paris. But what I found interesting about the latter half of the list, I mean, we mentioned the top half of the list is Asia, the latter half of the top 10. I mean, we haven't even got to the other 90 that we've got a few minutes to talk about, but we have Paris Rome, Istanbul, Munich and Vancouver. Welcome, Vancouver to Vancouver to the list this year up from number 13. But to me, these are actually quite forgettable places and it makes you wonder, again, what people are looking for and it will actually make me wonder at what kind of market research was done. Yeah, well, I think it's interesting because you speak to a lot of Canadians, a lot of people

46:26who who transit through Vancouver, Vancouver was one of the world's most respected airports for a long time, did incredibly well. It's dropped down in the rankings, but it's an airport, which is a bit past its sell-by date. It is not up to speed. As is the case with many Canadian airports, of course, we've heard from Prime Minister Karni recently that Canada does want to roll out the red and white carpet, you can say to the world and they do want to look at improving infrastructure, looking for new partners and operators, but you can say the same for Toronto, Montreal Airport as well, not great ports of entry into one of the world's biggest economies. So the rest, as you said, top five ends with Tokyo. Then it goes six Charles de Gaulle, Rome, Fumichino, number seven, Istanbul at number eight, and then number nine, Munich, and then you have Vancouver at number 10, where I think it starts to get a little bit more interesting, and I think that's where there's definitely probably a bigger discussion to be had.

47:29Helsinki Vanta, yeah, but this is an airport which has been through a lot of construction, much of it is finished. From a connectivity point of view, Russian Aerospace closed. We just had a story in the Monaco minute yesterday about Finair, really relooking at their whole business model, becoming much more focused on Europe putting an emphasis on Europe, because until this conflict is over in the Ukraine and Russian Aerospace reopens, their business model of flying people from Europe quickly, or connecting people from Europe quickly through Helsinki to get to Asia, and vice versa, has been challenged. They become like any other airline because they have to either go over the pole or they have to take the long way round, and we know today the long way round is incredibly long given everything that of course is ongoing in the Gulf. Let's talk about your two local airports, Zurich, down from 10 to 9 to 19, so one wonders what went wrong there, or just other people doing it better, but also your local in Lisbon, number 91.

48:30Exactly, reverse those numbers. Listen, Zurich Airport still does a very good job, but it is, listen, it has had punctuality issues. There is a big discussion, does Zurich want to be a globally connected city or not, meaning that there is an ongoing battle between, of course, local residents, the city of Zurich versus the Canton of Zurich versus the rest of the country as well, where you have a lot of people saying that they don't want aircraft taking off after a certain hour, that there's fines and penalties, of course, if aircraft take off after 11 o'clock at night, where of course you have many other countries in the world, when there are hubs, a hub is a hub, a hub is open around the clock. It is not a 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. operation. Now, that's a whole other story about whether Europe wants to be in a global game or not. Zurich is also suffering from, yeah, there's some real construction woes, so, you know, I don't know why they're really building a massive new extension, so they're basically taking sort of the A gates the airport,

49:37they're working, it's probably going to be one of the biggest timber constructions sites in Europe and so, yeah, they're adding more gates, they're doing this in parallel, this is the good thing, it's not like they've shattered everything, and then they're constructing, they're actually building this in parallel, some gates, of course, had to close, but when the new A gates open, then they will, of course, tear down the existing gates as well. But, you know, to me, and, you know, you come through Zurich many times, you know, if you don't come through on an EU passport, that can also be a pain at the moment as well, or let's say a non-Shangin passport, because the queues have been absolutely horrendous, they've been trying to implement a new security system, there's also been teething issues as well, with also leave your bag in the bin, don't take out your liquids, don't take out your laptop, that's being phased in, I don't quite understand why a country, and a city as wealthy as Zurich has taken so long to get on that bus, so there's just been a number of things that have impacted it, but I think also

50:39other people have been, have been doing it better, but I have to say, I got off the plane from Bangkok last night, and I think this is where we also need to look at other things that make an airport experience great, landed, what, seven, seven-ish, had bags and was able to be on the train by 730, so it was incredible to be able to get off the aircraft, get your eyes, but here is the great bit, of course I'm going home, been away for a while traveling with my mom, so is there milk, is there yogurt, are the basics in the fridge, no, is there a great grocery store right at the airport, right by the train station, yes, so I think these are the other factors that are missing, because I think we have to look at the totality of going back to the point of the e-word experience, that to me is also part of what makes a great airport, it's not just getting to the gate and getting on the plane, what is that sense of arrival, how does it sort of, you know, fulfill and support your daily needs as well, and that's where, you know, I would say that, of course, is worked as well, last point, Lisbon 91, it is, it is a bit chaotic, it is, it's patched together, they're adding,

51:40you know, they're adding maybe 10, 12 new gates to the airport, much needed, a new airport is coming, a lot of people say, will it be in our lifetime, don't know, but the magic about Lisbon airport, and I would rank it higher, it is, what, early in the morning, if you've got a six-am flight, it's probably seven minutes, eight minutes in the city center, incredible, it is just, it's a little bit like Hong Kong used to be, that you're sort of flying in, you know, on your, you know, whatever the aircraft may be, in between people's sort of laundry, it's a little bit like that still, one of the last airports you can do that in the world. Final, very, very quick point from you, Tyler, you've just arrived to check in at your favorite airport, where are you checking in? Oh goodness, I think I'm in Taipei, I think I'm at Changshan Airport in Taipei, or number 20 on the list, Emma, anything in Changshan is like a, is a city center airport, doesn't serve many destinations, but I think actually the one that really needs to do well, and I feel sorry for them because the airport is, in a way, shuttered at the moment, is Minama, is Bahrain Airport, amazing, fantastic airport, and should be higher, perfect scale,

52:42flies to most of the right places, but sadly, of course, a victim of, of course, what's happening in the region? Joining us from Derek, Tyler Bruele, one of our co-editorial director, thank you so much. The time here in London is 752-850-2, if you are in Derek. 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. Finally, let's head to Tokyo to get the design news from Asia. Jeremy Smart is editor-in-chief

53:42of design anthology. He joins us on the line. Ever a good afternoon to you, Jeremy. Hello, Emma. How are you? Nice to be with you. Very well. Good to have you with us. Now, we're just talking about connectivity and hubs. Let's talk about this within design context as well, art bars in Hong Kong. Indeed, good segue. It kicked off yesterday, so it's obviously a big moment for the city, and it's a big moment for the city every year, but I guess the last few years we've really been watching it to, I guess, really take the temperature of the city and see where it's going and see the position that it holds in the region. I think one of the things that I've been hearing is that there's a real lack of European visitors that are showing up, and I think that's maybe more of a consequence of the travel challenges in the Middle East. But it does seem like, from what I'm hearing, I'm obviously not there this week, but my colleagues who are there are telling me that there's a lot going on. The champagne's being opened. There are a lot of openings and late nights, and I guess you've got that movement through the city, which in a place that's so dense and compact really gives it a really lovely energy.

54:47Okay, lovely. Thank you very much indeed for that. Let's whip over to Japan and to Solone Del Mobile coming up. Normally Japan is famous just for the number of people who are visiting the country at the moment, but is that actually shifting at the moment? It is, I mean, I guess it's something that's well reported. The weekend here obviously affects a lot of things throughout the economy, but I find, and I have noticed, one of the biggest consequences that it's stopping Japanese travelers from going overseas. I think a lot of the story has been about people coming to Japan and about it being a cheap place to visit, but for a country, and I guess a contemporary culture that was really built on importing ideas from around the world, and often making them a lot better and improving on them, that's really stopped happening in a lot of ways, because people just can't afford to travel. And so I guess where the design angle in this is. You've got big design fairs. Really the biggest one is Solone Del Mobile,

55:50which takes place next month, so coming up in a few weeks. And when you've got a country where only 17% of citizens are holding passports, you already have a bit of a problem. But if you're a young designer and you're coming up here and your wage has been flat for the last decade, two decades, and now you're seeing 5% inflation, and then you're seeing your year and continue to weaken. It makes it really hard to go and show at these fairs. And so I think for the larger brands and the larger companies, they can still justify that investment. You know, you've got a big brand like Itoki, which are known for their office furniture, so they will of course have a big showing in Milan. And there's a couple of other, I guess, platforms for emerging designers, you've got Alcova and Solone Satellite, which are good and obviously help with that given the support that they provide. But at the end of the day, you need to book a flight and you need to book a hotel, and you need to pitch up in Milan for a good five or six days. And it's really

56:54expensive and it's quite unaffordable for a lot of people. And so many are just choosing to stay home. So I suppose the flip side of that is that a lot of designers are now expecting people to come to them. People can come to Japan so many, obviously, as we know, so many people are visiting Japan. But there's also a lot of, I guess, interest in collaborating with Japanese designers. So, you know, those companies and, you know, both the customer and the brand are coming here looking for talent. So I suppose that's helping to make up for it, but it really is a systemic problem, and it doesn't seem to be getting better any time soon. Indeed, we've got about 30 seconds before we run out of time on our programme. But there's something important here that you mentioned, that the ability for Japanese designers to travel for them to experience other designers globally, as well. It's not just about showcasing Japanese things. That's exactly right. I mean, a big part of this industry is really around sharing ideas and sharing, you know, being inspired and meeting people. It's actually just about relationships. It's also about materials and processes, and you

57:57really need to go and see these things and experience them for yourself. And if you aren't able to do that, you stagnate to a large degree. So yeah, absolutely. It's a really big problem for the industry. It's obviously not unique to Japan, given the challenges around travel generally at the moment, but it's felt acutely here. Jeremy Spard, editor, in chief of design and strategy joining us on the line from our Tokyo Bureau. Thank you so much. And that's all the time we have for today's programme. The warmest of thanks to all my guests and to the producers Angelica Jopson and Carlotta Rebello. Our research was analysed Maynard. Our studio manager was Elliot Greenfield. After the headlines, more music's on the way. The briefings live at Midday Human London. The globalist is back at the same time tomorrow. Hope you can join me for that if you can. But for now, for me, Emma Nelson. Goodbye. Thank you for listening.

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