GZERO Daily is a free newsletter!

{{ subpage.title }}

Why Netanyahu relented to protests, but Macron didn't | World In :60 | GZERO Media

Why Netanyahu relented to protests in Israel, but France's Macron didn't

Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week on World In :60.

Why did Netanyahu end up backing down to protests in Israel, but not Macron in France?

Well, they are two different countries. But really, in Israel, they hadn't yet pushed the reform through. At this point, Netanyahu hasn't said he is given up on it. He said he's waiting for 30 days. Now, he might not be able to get it through, but still, it wasn't like it was passed and then he said, "Too much. Now, I've got to undo it." Where in the case of Macron, he had already gotten the vote in the upper house. He'd already forced it through, avoiding the lower house through a constitutional measure, which meant that essentially he had already gotten the agreement and then he was dealing with massive demonstrations. Which, by the way, the demonstrations themselves not super popular in France, even though the pension reform is strongly opposed, so I'm not surprised by that.

Read moreShow less
Political turmoil in Israel | Quick Take | GZERO Media

Political turmoil in Israel

Ian Bremmer's Quick Take:

So much happening in the world right now. I think I want to focus in on Israel. Why? Well, because it is unprecedented in scale, the demonstrations, people's power taking to the streets, particularly in Tel Aviv. This is a population of less than 10 million in Israel, and hundreds of thousands are saying that they strongly oppose the efforts by Bibi Netanyahu and his coalition government to rest control of the judiciary, allowing the parliament to overturn judicial decisions from the Supreme Court and also allowing more control of executive appointments to Supreme Court justices. This is not just about opposition from the population at large. It's also been the Minister of Defense who publicly opposed the first cabinet official to do so, in part because large numbers of enlisted men and women are saying that they will not serve in the military if this judicial reform passes, unprecedented in a country where you have an enormous patriotism around mandatory national service that all Israeli men and women participate in.

Read moreShow less
Israel's new government and the battle for constitutional change | Europe In :60 | GZERO Media

Israeli constitutional crisis despite compromise attempts

Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden, shares his perspective from Jerusalem on the protests in Israel and France.

What is really happening in Israel?

Well, it is really a profound crisis. It is cultural. We might argue it is political. It's got to be constitutional. The new government of Prime Minister Netanyahu, very much to the right, is trying to change the constitutional legal order of the country, and that is heavily opposed by large segments of Israeli society. The president has been trying to broker compromises failed, the crisis was only deepened to the detriment of the society and strength of Israel.

Read moreShow less

Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia's Wagner mercenary force, speaks in Paraskoviivka, Ukraine, in this still image from an undated video released on March 3.

Concord Press Service/via REUTERS

What We’re Watching: Prigozhin’s precarious position, Israeli reservists vs. Bibi, Iran seeks schoolgirl poisoning culprits

The Russian warlord shaking his fist toward Moscow

Yevgeny Prigozhin is angry, and he wants the world to know about it. In a recent video that’s now making international news, the owner of the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary force fighting in Ukraine, complains his men are not receiving ammunition he personally requested from Russian military chief Valery Gerasimov, and that the reason might be “betrayal.” He speculates his men are being “set up” as scapegoats in case Russia loses the war. Whatever the truth, Russian public infighting over the war looks to be intensifying. Russian forces have been “closing in” on Bakhmut for months, and Ukrainian troops still appear to be holding most of their ground. It may be a sign that Russia’s current advance won't accomplish much. According to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, “The Russian offensive to capture Bakhmut will likely culminate whether Russian forces capture the city or not, and the Russian military will likely struggle to maintain any subsequent offensive operations for some months.” Ukraine, meanwhile, continues to gear up for an expected counteroffensive in the coming weeks as Russian forces are depleted and new weapons arrive in Ukrainian hands from Western allies.

Read moreShow less

US President Joe Biden delivers a speech in Warsaw, Poland on February 21, 2023.

Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect

What We’re Watching: Fiery rhetoric and a Ukraine “peace plan,” Israel’s economy v. judicial reforms, SCOTUS social media cases

Dueling speeches on Ukraine

A lot of players (and potential players) in the war on Ukraine have used the looming one-year anniversary of the invasion to position themselves for the months ahead. On Monday, President Vladimir Putin used his annual state of the nation address to insist that Russia would continue to fight a war he blames on Western aggression, and he announced that Russia would suspend participation in the New START nuclear arms control treaty, which binds Russia and the United States to limit their strategic nuclear stockpiles and to share information and access to weapons facilities. (Note: Inspections have already been suspended for more than a year, and Russia is in no position to finance a new arms race.) President Joe Biden, meanwhile, followed up his surprise visit with Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv by meeting in Warsaw with Polish President Andrzej Duda and asserting during a speech that “Appetites of the autocrat cannot be appeased. They must be opposed. Autocrats only understand one word: no, no, no.” In listing what he called Russia’s “atrocities,” he said its forces have “targeted civilians with death and destruction; used rape as a weapon of war… stolen Ukrainian children in an attempt to steal Ukraine's future, bombed train stations, maternity hospitals, schools and orphanages.” Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to make news on Friday with a speech of his own in which he’ll lay out the specifics of a peace plan which, given the distance between the Russian and Ukrainian positions, has virtually no chance of success. The war grinds on.

Read moreShow less
Munich Security Conference 2023 top priority: war in Europe | World In :60 | GZERO Media

War in Europe is top priority at Munich Security Conference

Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week on World In :60.

Will Russia-Ukraine dominate the conversations at this year's Munich Security Conference?

I think absolutely it will be not just the topic of conversation that's keeping everyone anxious, but it will be the top priority. Again, it's in Europe. 50 members of a US congressional delegation showing up. That's a record like by a large number. I'm kind of shocked that many people will be there. The Russians of course won't be there, but the top priority is a war in Europe. Everyone's deeply worried about it as they should. It's the largest risk out there by a factor of magnitude. Balloon gate is not close.

Read moreShow less

Israeli forces stand near the scene of a shooting attack in Neve Yaacov, Jerusalem

REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

Deadly attack at Jerusalem synagogue

A Palestinian gunman opened fire near a synagogue in east Jerusalem on Friday night, killing seven Israelis, including a 70-year-old woman, and wounding three. The assailant was shot dead by police. The attack, one of the deadliest within Israel in recent years, punctuated a week of rising violence and came just a day after seven Palestinian gunmen and two civilians were killed during an Israeli Defense Forces raid in the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin, which targeted suspected terrorists. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad vowed revenge, and subsequent rocket launches from the Gaza Strip were followed by limited Israeli strikes.

Read moreShow less

Protesters wave flags during a demonstration in Tel Aviv.

Reuters.

Israel’s looming constitutional crisis: What’s the tech sector going to do about it?

Israeli governments have long boasted about their country being an international tech haven. Israeli leaders across the political spectrum brag about national feats including the invention of the gastrointestinal pill camera, USB sticks, and even cherry tomatoes (though many argue the small fruits cannot be attributed to Israeli prowess).

Nonetheless, the Israeli government won’t be feeling tender toward the technology sector this week after hundreds of tech workers in Tel Aviv held a strike Tuesday to protest the Netanyahu coalition’s democratic backsliding. This comes after more than 120,000 Israelis took to the streets in Tel Aviv – and thousands more across the country – on Saturday night to protest the government’s proposed judicial reforms.

With many from the robust tech sector joining the anti-government cause, what's at stake for Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu’s government – and the country?

Read moreShow less

Subscribe to our free newsletter, GZERO Daily

Latest