Sean Aylmer, Michael Thompson and Adam Lang each nominate their top international story from the year - and choose a winner.
Welcome to the Fear and Greed Summer series, brought to you by VANTA specialists in compliance led growth. I'm Michael Thompson, and good morning, Sean Aylmer. Good morning Michael, and good morning Adam Lange.
Good morning Michael and Sean.
Now, gentlemen, in just five minutes, we are each going to put forward a big story from international news. Really, that's what we're looking for today and global, Yeah, global stories, because we are a global podcast. At the end, we are going to decide which story was the biggest. There is no judge. We decided between the between the three of us. So it's kind of like democracy at its very worst. Let me see, Sean, you go first today, I've drawn you out of the hat.
More than half the world's population was eligible to vote in a national election this year. I think that's the biggest international story. The US, of course, was the most influential. Three hundred and thirty four million people were eligible to vote. The biggest was India one point four billion people over six weeks. In what I think was a logistical nightmare. We had countries like Indonesia two hundred and seventy seven million. Pakistan's got about two hundred and forty million people, bangaledesq Abut one hundred and seventy three million. They all went to the polls. Throw in South Africa, the European Parliament, France, for Lanka, Japan, Portugal, South Korea, Mexico, UK, you know, you get the gist. According to International Idea, seventy four elections were held in twenty twenty four. Voto turnout was about sixty one percent. Now only one in ten countries ten percent actually has compulsory voting, so turnout at sixty one percent is pretty good. Trends According to Pew Research, toughy if the incumbents think the US think the UK. Trend number two. Right wing populism showed some staying power, so countries like France, Austria, Romania, particularly in Europe, right wing populism seems to be hanging around. Trend number three polarized battles over tradition and change. The US is a great example of that. France was another one where the kind of old style politics versus the new style politics and the final trend more than normal. International conflicts played a role, particularly in Europe because of Russia and Ukraine. Really big story that lasted the whole year Michael.
Yeah, and in terms of the number of people that were affected by that, it is a hugely significant story for me. The big story this year, global story is China.
Right.
So it's all about China, right for Australia, I suppose, at least because Australia's relationship with China has improved hugely, significantly dramatically this year. There's been meetings between ministers, key ministers, even face to face chats between Prime Minister Anthony Albanezi and China's President Jijuin Ping. Yes, we still have diplomatic disputes, some big disagreements over big kind of humanitarian issues, but on a trade base, right. The end result of this improving of the relationship between the two countries was that the twenty billion dollars in tariffs that have been imposed on Australia have now all been lifted, everything from our wine to our lobsters and everything in between. Actually, there's not a huge amount of ground between wine and lobsters. It's one of other things elsewhere.
And I like a lobster being lifted.
Yeah, quite a nice image, isn't it. The thing is, though, China's economy is slowing, not helped at all by a massive debt crisis involving property giants in that country. Beijing has this year announced a number of big stimulus measures designed to try and boost its growth. Now these measures, you'd.
Call that stimuli, I think, Michael, did I interrupt you? Sure? But I'm getting a bit bored, So keep going.
How can you be bored by this story? This story is so significant because that matters to Australia. Stay strong, make because China needs our resources, chiefly iron ore, but coal, everything else that we have to offer China needs it. China is our largest trading partner, the world's second largest economy. A slow down in China is big news all round, and it affects Australia disproportionately. So I got a little bit worked out. My story is only a minute long, and yet you still managed to really get under my skin. Shoan.
Apologies, Adam, your biggest story of the year.
Okay? One word Trump. As Sean said, over fifty percent of the world population went to the election polls this year. The USA is the biggest economy in the world, and this year it also gave us the biggest election result on the planet if self belief was a measure. Donald Trump has always been a world contender, but this year he defied the predictions of many polling companies, if not the gamblers, to see off Joe Biden and then Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee. Criminal charges, the occasional bending of the truth and spectacular self confidence got the support of the American people, and he will become the leader of the free world again. In twenty twenty five. Markets worldwide surged on the back of the result as we attempted to assess what Trump claims were rhetoric and which would become fact. So for me, it's just one word, the biggest international story of the year. Trump.
Michael, we've been trumped by Trump.
I think we have. And you know what, Unfortunately, I suspect you get second place because yours kind of ties into that as well.
Hmmm yeah, but I'm sort of off the coattails. I think I'm going to give it to you. China Australia relationship probably bigger for we here in Australia than the Bangladeshi election.
Oh, I just snatched myself a silver medal. I will take that. Thank you very much, Sean, Thanks Michael, Thank you.
Adam, Thank you Michael.
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