Armin Laschet went on the offensive in a TV debate on Sunday as he sought to revive his bid to be Germany’s next chancellor.
With four weeks left to the election day, Mr Laschet berated rival candidate Olaf Scholz for not ruling out a coalition with the far left. He also attacked Green candidate Annalena Baerbock over her climate policies.
But a snap opinion poll suggested that Mr Laschet had failed to make a breakthrough, with only 25 per cent of viewers saying he won the debate. Mr Scholz was first with 36 per cent, ahead of Ms Baerbock on 30 per cent.
Mr Laschet, the candidate of Angela Merkel’s centre-right bloc, used his closing statement to offer voters “stability and reliability in difficult times”.
But Mr Scholz, a Social Democrat, is threatening to steal his thunder with his own pragmatic pitch – leading Mr Laschet to remark that his rival was “playing at being Merkel”.
The Social Democrats (SPD) have led recent polls in a closely-fought campaign, which has seen Mr Laschet and Ms Baerbock plagued by personal gaffes.
Mr Laschet sought to reverse the slide in Sunday’s debate. He accused Ms Baerbock of a prescriptive green agenda which would hurt the economy.
“You’re putting shackles on the feet of industry and then telling it to run faster,” said Mr Laschet, the leader of the Christian Democrats (CDU).
He accused Mr Scholz of equivocating over whether he would work with the Linke, a far-left party descended from East Germany’s former ruling Communists.
“I can’t understand why it’s so difficult for you to say you won’t work with this party,” he said. “I can say this – I won’t work with them.”
A new chancellor will take office once a coalition is agreed following the September 26 election. Ms Merkel is not seeking another term.
Mr Scholz said any coalition deal would have to accept Germany’s membership of Nato. The Linke wants to dissolve the alliance.
The SPD candidate, who remained typically calm during the debate, used his closing pitch to promise a higher minimum wage and stable pensions.
Ms Baerbock called for renewal, highlighting the fact that the parties of her two rivals had been in government together for the past eight years.
She accused the CDU and SPD of doing too little to fight climate change, especially after this summer’s devastating floods.
Mr Laschet was badly damaged by the floods after cameras caught him chuckling with colleagues during a sombre speech by Germany’s president.
“You obviously don’t have a plan,” Ms Baerbock said of her two rivals. She promised to install solar panels on every new roof.
All three candidates said no further coronavirus lockdowns should be necessary, but called for efforts to increase vaccine uptake.
Mr Laschet and Ms Baerbock were critical of the government’s response to the Afghanistan crisis, after the Nato withdrawal led to the fall of Kabul.
The Taliban victory was a “disaster for the west, and also a disaster for the federal government,” said Mr Laschet, who is currently a regional governor.
“We have to strengthen Europe, so that one day we can secure an airport like Kabul even without the Americans.”
Ms Baerbock accused CDU and SPD ministers of failing to co-ordinate a response to rescue people from Afghanistan.
“We Germans have a responsibility in the world. If our options are limited, we at least have to rescue people we promised to bring to safety,” she said.
Mr Scholz highlighted increased military spending during his term as Finance Minister, a role he has held since 2018.
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi
Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.
The biog
Favourite pet: cats. She has two: Eva and Bito
Favourite city: Cape Town, South Africa
Hobby: Running. "I like to think I’m artsy but I’m not".
Favourite move: Romantic comedies, specifically Return to me. "I cry every time".
Favourite spot in Abu Dhabi: Saadiyat beach
The%20Sandman
%3Cp%3ECreators%3A%20Neil%20Gaiman%2C%20David%20Goyer%2C%20Allan%20Heinberg%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Tom%20Sturridge%2C%20Boyd%20Holbrook%2C%20Jenna%20Coleman%20and%20Gwendoline%20Christie%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
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 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.
Cases of coronavirus in the GCC as of March 15
Saudi Arabia – 103 infected, 0 dead, 1 recovered
UAE – 86 infected, 0 dead, 23 recovered
Bahrain – 210 infected, 0 dead, 44 recovered
Kuwait – 104 infected, 0 dead, 5 recovered
Qatar – 337 infected, 0 dead, 4 recovered
Oman – 19 infected, 0 dead, 9 recovered
