Laurent Fabius, France’s foreign minister, travelled to Tehran yesterday, an exercise that was designed to revive the considerable economic ties France had with pre-sanctions Iran. Much to the chagrin of French business leaders, Mr Fabius had indicated that he would be going without them.
The French government will obviously pass on anything relevant or interesting to captains of industry, but what if the public already had access to their political leaders’ scheduled routines, words and actions? What if they could have watched and heard pretty much all but any security-sensitive detail of Mr Fabius’s interactions with politicians, diplomats and clerics in Tehran? The argument goes that if performance-trackers and digitised recordings are used for police forces in some countries, why not for political leaders?
Intense public scrutiny of those who exercise power is hardly a new idea. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were subject to close attention at all times, not least when they were woken in their separate rooms every morning and washed and dressed by their courtiers in front of anyone with a high enough rank to be present. They had also to eat dinner publicly. These were often hot and sweaty events at which anyone of rank could crowd in to the dining room to gawk at the king and queen.
Across the English Channel, it was not until prudish Victoria became queen that the monarch’s bedroom ceased to be a busy public thoroughfare – the people were entitled to this proximity. Royal babies were born in the watchful presence of those who could vouch that the infant had not been switched.
India’s Mughal rulers typically spent part of the day working within full view of the public. Even the White House was freely open to the public for much of the 19th century.
But security concerns and the professionalisation of politics have in some countries made for a more remote relationship between the leaders and their people, with less chance of close scrutiny.
In many ways, mass media, especially 24-hour television has only made it worse, as the American professor of constitutional law, JM Balkin, observed at the height of the scandal over Bill Clinton’s relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky: “Politicians and political operatives can simulate the political virtues of transparency through rhetorical and media manipulation,” he wrote.
“Television tends to convert coverage of law and politics into forms of entertainment for mass consumption … Political life begins to conform increasingly to the image of politics portrayed on television … In this way the goals of political transparency can be defeated by what appear to be its central mechanisms: proliferating information, holding political officials accountable for their actions, and uncovering secrets.”
In the past decade, accountability was sought through performance-tracker websites though they don’t always do the job of keeping tabs on political rulers. Often, they aren’t updated. Sometimes, they just fade away into a template for good intentioned initiatives.
The Truth Tracker, for example, launched in early 2014 in Pakistan to plot politicians’ past promises alongside post-election performance, was last updated in April that year.
The Buharimeter, created in Nigeria right after Muhammadu Buhari’s election in May, is supposed to hold the president to account and claims thousands of users, but however closely you examine it, there are few clear answers on how well the former general is doing on his key promises of tackling Boko Haram and corruption.
Might websites be really rather old world then for the task of tracking politicians? The tech world is increasingly suggesting that wearable technology might be the solution. If police officers can be required to wear cameras at all times when they’re on duty, why shouldn’t politicians don something that relays a constant feed to the public?
The feed might be a little bit like a parliamentary TV channel, which tracks debate and voting in the legislature.
Ozy, a Silicon Valley digital magazine that is stiff with tech royalty connections including Steve Jobs’s widow, recently fantasised about a politician’s wearable that would be “something between a Fitbit and an ankle bracelet”.
Just as a wearable device tracks heart rate, activity levels and other fitness data, the political performance tracker would compute and display information about the leader’s activities and effectiveness.
It would exclude – by high-tech sleight of programming – any security information that might endanger the leader themselves or affairs of state. One can instantly see the problem with this caveat. National security considerations could be constantly trotted out as a reason to interrupt huge sections of the feed.
After all, they were used to justify the mass surveillance revealed by former US government contractor Edward Snowden. As Fiona Ziblin argues in Ozy: “In a democracy, leaders serve the public, and are accountable to its members. Which is why we should be spying on them instead of them spying on us”.
Fair enough, but it does seem frighteningly like The Circle, Dave Eggers’s 2013 futuristic novel, in which politicians and others are placed under enormous pressure to wear so-called SeeChange cameras manufactured by a powerful technology company.
The tech firm describes it as “going transparent”, a revolution for the greater common good. This basically means that everyone everywhere can see and hear everything that you see and hear and do at all times. The book’s protagonist, Mae Holland, says this sort of access is necessary because “secrets are lies, sharing is caring, privacy is theft”.
But would turning politics into an unending reality TV show really promote good governance? Would a ceaseless stream of unexplained footage, without context and background, really mitigate public ignorance and make politicians more effective and accountable?
On Twitter: @rashmeerl
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Timeline
1947
Ferrari’s road-car company is formed and its first badged car, the 125 S, rolls off the assembly line
1962
250 GTO is unveiled
1969
Fiat becomes a Ferrari shareholder, acquiring 50 per cent of the company
1972
The Fiorano circuit, Ferrari’s racetrack for development and testing, opens
1976
First automatic Ferrari, the 400 Automatic, is made
1987
F40 launched
1988
Enzo Ferrari dies; Fiat expands its stake in the company to 90 per cent
2002
The Enzo model is announced
2010
Ferrari World opens in Abu Dhabi
2011
First four-wheel drive Ferrari, the FF, is unveiled
2013
LaFerrari, the first Ferrari hybrid, arrives
2014
Fiat Chrysler announces the split of Ferrari from the parent company
2015
Ferrari launches on Wall Street
2017
812 Superfast unveiled; Ferrari celebrates its 70th anniversary
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
The Kites
Romain Gary
Penguin Modern Classics
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The%20specs
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The bio
Who inspires you?
I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist
How do you relax?
Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.
What is favourite book?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times
What is your favourite Arabic film?
Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki
What is favourite English film?
Mamma Mia
Best piece of advice to someone looking for a career at Google?
If you’re interested in a career at Google, deep dive into the different career paths and pinpoint the space you want to join. When you know your space, you’re likely to identify the skills you need to develop.
Avatar%3A%20The%20Way%20of%20Water
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Top%2010%20most%20competitive%20economies
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Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
SHAITTAN
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
