Elon Musk has found a rich seam of worldwide division to work with since he took over the Twitter mines.
When treasure maps used to declare that "X marks the spot", I’m not sure political power was the prize but it is now.
Social media creates new channels of these divisions every day and Mr Musk as the proprietor of X, formerly Twitter, has what is proving to be the most effective force to shape the landscape.
It is important to say that this peculiar mix of Mr Musk’s talents and background is a perfect amalgamation to exploit the seams of the new political scene.
When a South African-born serial entrepreneur decided to revive the Maga project this year, he brought not only the powerful X machine, but also a perspective that chimed with the basic Maga grievance of displacement. Mr Musk was practically displaced from his own first country after the rainbow nation took shape in the 1990s and now offers America lessons in holding out against transformational change.
After having helped Donald Trump secure a second term, Mr Musk has in recent weeks seems to want give a shove to Mega (Make Europe Great Again) and Muga (Make UK Great Again).
The tragedy in the town of Magdeburg on Friday gave immediate bite to Mr Musk’s broadcast on X the day before, that only the AfD (the far-right party second placed in the polls) could save Germany.
Never mind that the AfD populists had campaigned against his billion-dollar battery project in Germany. Then came the attack on a Christmas market, allegedly by a Saudi-born doctor who was, among other things, a supporter of the AfD.
Yet the crosscurrents of Taleb A’s views were forged in the rebellion he was carrying out against his own background, religion and culture.
It will be no surprise to anyone that intelligence channels between Saudi Arabia and Germany saw the dangers he posed and Saudi officials warned German police about him. But the idea that he was a dissident granted him wide latitude in the German mind.
Those ignored warnings made headlines after the attack and now frame the public and media reaction to the disaster. Germany mourns Andre Gleissner, the nine year “teddy bear” boy who did no harm to anyone, and four unsuspecting women.
Their loss and the cultural significance of the Christmas market raise the stakes for Germany’s February election.
The AfD can prosecute the argument that a weak state machinery in thrall to a culture of inclusivity was the fundamental cause of the deaths. The basic problem is the origin of the perpetrator and how Germany faces threats brought into its midst. The Magdeburg attack has supercharged the issue of Angela Merkel’s 2015 open-borders policy.
Remember, Mr Trump is promising millions of deportations. And Mr Musk is playing on Mr Trump's idea of America first as well as Europe's open borders. AfD has coined the innocuous-sounding term "remigration" for its deportation policy.
In hosting the UK Reform Party’s Nigel Farage and his treasurer Nick Candy at Mar-a-Lago, under a portrait of a young Mr Trump wearing a Ralph Lauren-style cricket jumper, Mr Musk was open to the possibility of bankrolling the anti-establishment upstart. It is a picture to tell a thousand words.
In the UK, Keir Starmer is a relatively new prime minister with a massive majority. But so too was Boris Johnson in 2019 and that majority got wiped away within five years.
Mr Farage is a veteran of tearing up the political script and Mr Musk clearly has ill will towards the UK. It is said his own English-born grandmother would stand up when Queen Elizabeth II was broadcast on South African television. His grandmother hailed from near Stockport, the town that was the focus of the summer’s race riots.
Mr Musk's intervention has seen him cold-shouldered by Team Starmer. The animus between Downing Street and the businessman runs deep and bitter. This is something that augurs well for Mr Farage but not for the UK's relations with the Trump White House.
Mr Musk may be a South African who made his fortune in the US, but he is deeply engaged at an emotional level with the currents of politics and history in the UK – and, by extension, Europe.
The trends in both places challenge the idea of the country in which he grew up, in a way that acts as motivation to back the political outsiders. For those who hold the levers of power, Mr Musk's interest represents an uncomfortable challenge. In the fallout from Magdeburg and Mr Musk’s doubling down on his intervention over the weekend, the consequences of promoting this type of politics are only just being glimpsed.
A force ripping through politics and society has only just started its work and X indeed hits the spot.
Nick's journey in numbers
Countries so far: 85
Flights: 149
Steps: 3.78 million
Calories: 220,000
Floors climbed: 2,000
Donations: GPB37,300
Prostate checks: 5
Blisters: 15
Bumps on the head: 2
Dog bites: 1
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
The specs: 2018 Dodge Durango SRT
Price, base / as tested: Dh259,000
Engine: 6.4-litre V8
Power: 475hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 640Nm @ 4,300rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.7L / 100km
LAST-16 FIXTURES
Sunday, January 20
3pm: Jordan v Vietnam at Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
6pm: Thailand v China at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: Iran v Oman at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Monday, January 21
3pm: Japan v Saudi Arabia at Sharjah Stadium
6pm: Australia v Uzbekistan at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: UAE v Kyrgyzstan at Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tuesday, January 22
5pm: South Korea v Bahrain at Rashid Stadium, Dubai
8pm: Qatar v Iraq at Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi
THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh234,000 - Dh329,000
On sale: now
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 Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
