Weekend Box: UN Disunited, Tea Science a Mug’s Game & More
Welcome to The Weekend Box, Audley’s weekly round-up of interesting or obscure political, business and cultural news from around the world.
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PUTIN CHALLENGER TAKES A STAND
The Russian Presidential election in March might not seem like the most exciting prospect, given the common assumption that it will be a stage-managed plebiscite for President Vladimir Putin’s fifth term.
Yet despite Putin’s efforts to restrict any opposition, a candidate who has openly criticised him and the Ukraine war is attempting to stand, and is mobilising his supporters to register their backing and allow him to run.
Boris Nadezhdin, 60, is a former State Duma MP, Moscow municipal councillor, and ally of murdered opposition politician Boris Nemtsov. He is backed by the tiny Civic Initiative Party but is accruing widespread support.
Nadezhdin came to prominence in May after criticising Putin and the Ukraine war and calling for restored relations with Europe, saying on one state TV talk show, “We need to elect somebody else, and not Putin.” His support has now extended to imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the exiled former oil tycoon and Putin critic, Mikhail Kordorkovsky.
Under Russian election law, a presidential hopeful running from a party not represented in parliament must collect 100,000 signatures of endorsement, with no more than 2,500 from each of Russia's 40 regions. Nadezhdin hit the milestone of 100,000 signatures needed for the Central Election Commission (CEC)’s review on Tuesday, but his campaign said he would aim for 150,000 to avoid any mistakes in the paperwork and surpass the regional quota.
His team are right to be cautious. Last month the CEC cited improper signatures when barring another anti-war presidential hopeful, Yekaterina Duntsova, from running. What’s more, this week Nadezhdin’s website was subject to another Denial-of-Service (DoS) hacking attack, after one in January.
It’s dangerous to be a “principled opponent” of Putin and his policies, as Alexei Navalny and Russian-British national Vladimir Kara-Murza, both poisoned then jailed, will attest from their isolation cells in Siberia.
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UN DISUNITED OVER CHINA
This week China’s human rights record was the focus of intense scrutiny by the U.N. Human Rights Council, particularly over its treatment of Uyghurs, Tibetans, and dissidents in Hong Kong. An extraordinarily high number of more than 160 countries registered to take part in the discussion, leaving each country just 45 seconds to make its case. The UK Ambassador Simon Manley used his platform to call for a halt to the prosecution of Jimmy Lai, a former Hong Kong publisher who is on trial for alleged national security violations. The US Ambassador Michele Taylor was characteristically hawkish, condemning China for its ‘genocide’ against the Uyghur Muslims, an accusation not affirmed by the UN itself.
In the UN’s ranks there were however some voices of support for China. Perhaps surprisingly given that it is a Muslim-majority country, Iran was one of them, praising its “national action plan for human rights.” While the Islamic World has been historically vocal in its condemnation of Islamophobia in the Western world – their reaction to the burning of a Qu’ran in Sweden last year was one example – it has been notably indifferent to the treatment of the Uyghurs in China. For the last few years, China has been courting interests in the Middle East and following October 7th has refused to condemn the Hamas attacks, driving an even deeper wedge with the US which is actively supporting Israel. Also noteworthy is that Beijing is now the largest foreign investor in the Gulf region. China’s increasing hold over the Middle East is not to be underestimated and the US calling on China to rein in Iran-backed Houthi rebels is one example of the influence it is now wielding in the region.
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NATO EXERCISED BY DIPLOMATIC HURDLES
This week, NATO is running its single biggest military exercise since the Cold War. Some 90,000 NATO troops will participate in Steadfast Defender 2024, which will practice the response to hypothetical aggression upon a member country by another state. A key tenet of the Treaty itself is that all member countries consider an attack on one of them an attack on all of them.
It is not difficult to imagine which nation NATO have in mind in these exercises. Russia is the most significant and direct threat to NATO, bar none. However, the actions of Iran in targeting US positions in Syria and Iraq, and on red sea shipping via proxies in the Middle East, means NATO is looking at multiple enemies on different fronts.
At the same time, NATO, now in its 75th year, is in the process of enlargement. After Finland officially joined last April, the focus has been on neighbouring Sweden’s membership bid.
A critical diplomatic hurdle – the objection of Turkey to Sweden joining – has at last been cleared, with the Turkish parliament finally voting in favour of Swedish membership.
The mercurial Viktor Orban, PM of Hungary, has represented another barrier, with repeated foot-dragging in the accession process. Hungary is an outlier in NATO: senior Hungarian officials continue to meet with Russian government representatives, have a habit of criticising western policies towards Russia, and continue to pour sand in the gears of EU attempts to aid Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Orban invited Sweden’s prime minister Ulf Kristersson to Budapest to discuss NATO plans. Mr Kristersson appears to have agreed, with the hope that this will be the final step on the long road to expanding the Alliance in Northern Europe.
TEA SCIENCE: IT’S A MUG’S GAME
The US-UK special relationship stumbled upon an unexpected rough patch this week, as a US scientist hit the nation where it hurts: our tea drinking habits. Michelle Francl, a professor of chemistry at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, published a series of recommendations about tea drinking which drew ire and ridicule from the nation.
Citing years of analysis of research papers and ancient texts, Francl is publishing her conclusions in a new book, Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea. These include: tea is best when drunk with a small pinch of salt, milk should be warmed before addition, and a squeeze of lemon juice should be added to remove scum.
Such was the uproar from the British public that the US Embassy was forced to issue a statement on the subject. In a note released on X, they wrote: “Today’s media reports of an American professor’s recipe for the perfect cup of tea has landed our special bond with the United Kingdom in hot water. Tea is the elixir of camaraderie, a sacred bond that unites our nations. We cannot stand idly by as such an outrageous proposal threatens the very foundation of our special relationship.”
The note concluded, “The US Embassy will continue to make tea in the proper way — by microwaving it.”
The UK Cabinet Office, apparently not strapped for time, duly responded with a post on X, “We appreciate our Special Relationship, however, we must disagree wholeheartedly...Tea can only be made using a kettle.” Another efficient week in global politics.
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FILM FANS THROW BARBS AT OSCARS
And to think, it was all going so well… After enjoying a warm critical and audience reception and grossing over $1bn at the box office, it seemed 2023’s Barbie film was an unstoppable juggernaut – until the Academy had to rain on everyone’s parade.
Tuesday saw the 2024 Oscar nominations announced, and Barbie fans were outraged to learn both that lead Margot Robbie had not been nominated for Best Actress, nor was director Greta Gerwig recognised in the Best Director category (her film is, however, in the running for Best Picture). On the other side of the coin, it was a good day for Robbie’s co-stars, as America Ferrera and Ryan Gosling have been nominated for Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor respectively. As far as the Academy are concerned, he was Kenough after all…
Fans were quick to point out the irony in a film that sends up patriarchy not being recognised for the work of its lead actress and female director, but a male supporting actor. They weren’t the only ones coming out of the gate – Gosling issued a statement to CBS, saying: “there is no Ken without Barbie, and there is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally-celebrated film."
Oscar nominations and wins are an evergreen source of controversy, in no small part due to the Academy choosing winners that seem at odds with both audience and critical expectations, and the cultural climate of their time. Although, some believe that Gerwig and Robbie may simply have been crowded out of the Director and Actress categories in a year of award-worthy films and performances.
In spite of these ‘snubs,’ Gerwig is among three woman directors with films in the running for Best Picture this year, an Oscars first – and something to celebrate.
And that’s it for this week. I hope you found something of interest that you might want to delve into further. If so, please get in touch at cwilkins@audleyadvisors.com.
For now, that’s The Weekend Box officially closed.