US President Donald Trump’s strong leadership and Elon Musk’s mission to slash government spending perceived as wasteful are lessons to be learnt in European democracies, former British prime minister Boris Johnson said at the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Wednesday.
The former leader of the UK Conservatives spoke of the challenges in bringing peace to the Middle East and ending the Ukraine-Russia war, as well as those he now faces in a life away from frontline politics. As political exile continues for Mr Johnson, he refused to rule out a return to leadership, but warned against the rising tide of far-right sentiment.
“I'm sympathetic to many of the things Donald Trump is trying to do, I think that the world is on the whole better when America is providing strong leadership,” Mr Johnson said at the summit on Wednesday.
“You certainly couldn't say that he wasn’t delivering action. It's not for me to try to analyse what the President is suggesting [with proposals to displace million of Palestinians while Gaza is rebuilt]. Gaza is in law, right now, owned and occupied by people who have a right to be there.
"Trump is inviting everybody to say, 'well, look, this place clearly does have great potential'. It does have a wonderful location. But Gaza is a failure of governance, that is the tragedy of Gaza in my view, to put it mildly.”
Leadership scandals
Mr Johnson served as UK prime minister from July 2019 until his resignation in September 2022, after a mass revolt by his ministers resulting from a series of scandals and questions over his leadership. He was also embroiled in a row over gatherings being held behind closed doors during Covid-19 lockdowns.
During his time in office, Mr Johnson visited Ukraine several times and said the Ukraine-Russia war had greater chance of a resolution with Mr Trump in the White House.
“To say Ukraine could be Russian again, you might as well say America could return to the British Empire, it's just not going to happen,” Mr Johnson said. “So far, what's happened with the new administration in Washington has been encouraging. There hasn't been an instant capitulation to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, which would have been a disaster.
“Any kind of solution to the disaster in Ukraine that involves Putin keeping some territory, freezing the conflict but not giving the Ukrainians the security guarantees they need represents a success for Putin – Donald Trump is not going to want that.
“He's being very clever and thinking very hard about how to deliver the right result for the West, for America and for himself. It’s a battle of wills between Putin and Trump.”
Under his leadership, the Conservatives won a landslide victory in the 2019 general election with a huge 80-seat parliamentary majority. Since then, the party has capitulated and conceded power to a Labour government. However, a defiant Mr Johnson said criticism of his time in office was “water off a duck’s back” and hit back at claims the Brexit deal he helped secure, with Britain leaving the EU, was failing.
Cost-cutting support
However, he did support the idea of governments cutting overseas costs to prioritise domestic reform, in similar fashion to Elon Musk as head of the Department of Government Efficiencies aiming to overhaul US spending.
“We did make a lot of change and one of the things we did was take back control of our government, of our national independence, our laws, our borders and our money,” said Mr Johnson, who admitted to being more concerned with building a new kitchen than world affairs.
“As in the US, we need to have a recognition in European democracies, and the UK, that we are spending far too much taxpayers' money without achieving the objectives we promise. To go through budgets line-by-line and take out waste is completely right. If you look at the polls on Donald Trump, they love the fact he's doing what he said he was going to do.
“What Elon Musk has said rang a bell with me – we do have a problem in democracies. The way to defeat the far right is to listen carefully to what people are saying, to answer their concerns and give people what they want. People vote for change. Unless they get that change, they will vote for more extreme parties."
The biog
Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha
Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Holiday destination: Sri Lanka
First car: VW Golf
Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters
Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars
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SPECS
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A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
More from Aya Iskandarani
Studying addiction
This month, Dubai Medical College launched the Middle East’s first master's programme in addiction science.
Together with the Erada Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation, the college offers a two-year master’s course as well as a one-year diploma in the same subject.
The move was announced earlier this year and is part of a new drive to combat drug abuse and increase the region’s capacity for treating drug addiction.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8
Power: 503hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 685Nm at 2,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Price: from Dh850,000
On sale: now
Fund-raising tips for start-ups
Develop an innovative business concept
Have the ability to differentiate yourself from competitors
Put in place a business continuity plan after Covid-19
Prepare for the worst-case scenario (further lockdowns, long wait for a vaccine, etc.)
Have enough cash to stay afloat for the next 12 to 18 months
Be creative and innovative to reduce expenses
Be prepared to use Covid-19 as an opportunity for your business
* Tips from Jassim Al Marzooqi and Walid Hanna
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.
"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."
Dunki
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Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
HAJJAN
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The biog
Name: Mohammed Imtiaz
From: Gujranwala, Pakistan
Arrived in the UAE: 1976
Favourite clothes to make: Suit
Cost of a hand-made suit: From Dh550
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying or online bullying could take many forms such as sending unkind or rude messages to someone, socially isolating people from groups, sharing embarrassing pictures of them, or spreading rumors about them.
Cyberbullying can take place on various platforms such as messages, on social media, on group chats, or games.
Parents should watch out for behavioural changes in their children.
When children are being bullied they they may be feel embarrassed and isolated, so parents should watch out for signs of signs of depression and anxiety
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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