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“GZERO World with Ian Bremmer” season 5 highlights
“GZERO World with Ian Bremmer,” our weekly global affairs program, is now in its fifth season on US public television. Over the past five years, the program has brought you interviews with heads of state, newsmakers, and leaders of industry. Our mission is to help you make sense of the world and the people and events shaping politics today, and there’s no better place to do that than on public television. For two decades, PBS has been named the most trusted brand in US television.
Here are some highlights from recent interviews, stories from the field, and, of course, Puppet Regime. Be sure to check out Ian’s interview with Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, which begins airing this Friday, Feb. 3, all over the US. Check your local listings for our program schedule.
Tony Blair: 3 challenges will define geopolitics in the near future
Over 48 hours in early September, the United Kingdom got a new prime minister and a new monarch. Liz Truss and Charles III take over at a turbulent time in British politics: UK is suffering from a stagnant economy, sky-high energy prices aggravated by Russia's war in Ukraine, more Brexit fallout with the EU over the Northern Ireland protocol, and Scots demanding a fresh independence vote.
(Note: This interview appeared as part of an episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, Upheaval in UK: the sobering challenges facing new PM Truss & new King Charles III, on October 3, 2022, prior to Liz Truss' resignation as prime minister.)
In an in-depth interview for GZERO World, Ian Bremmer talks about all of these issues with former prime minister Tony Blair, who recalls what it was like to meet Queen Elizabeth II for the first time. (His first impression: deep respect for her historical experience.)
To those who view the monarchy as an outdated institution, he says: don't worry, it's (pretty) safe. How about the economy? Blair believes there will be a lot of uncertainty over the next year or two if Truss insists on big tax cuts and big borrowing.
Blair, who wanted UK to remain in the EU, doesn't think Brexit will end up fragmenting the country. But he admits Brexit has given fresh impetus to both Scottish nationalists and those who want a united Republic of Ireland.
For Blair, three challenges will define geopolitics in the near future: the Western relationship with China, making democracy more effective, and harnessing the tech revolution. How can we address them? “We need to return to the center to match challenges that'll be more practical than ideological,” he says.
Populism vs. moderate politics
For Tony Blair three challenges will define geopolitics in the near future: the Western relationship with China, making democracy more effective, and harnessing the tech revolution.
How can we address them? The former British PM — who along with then-US President Bill Clinton led the centrist "Third Way" of politics in the 1990s — says that we need to return to the center to match challenges that'll be more practical than ideological.
Speaking to Ian Bremmer on GZERO World, Blair acknowledges that populism wins when voters believe that centrism can't solve their problems.
His solution? More politicians with experience beyond politics who can "understand the world, embrace it, and then change it."
The video above is an excerpt from the weekly show, GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, which airs weekly on US public television. Watch the episode on "upheaval in UK" here.
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Will UK survive Brexit "hangover"?
More than six years after the UK voted to leave the EU, you'd think the process would be over by now. Think again.
Unfortunately, the Northern Ireland protocol — no hard border with the Republic of Ireland, an EU member state — remains a Brexit "hangover" that's causing a lot of frustration across the English Channel, former British PM Tony Blair tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.
What's getting in the way of a constructive relationship between Brussels and London? For Blair, the very anti-European politics of part of the UK right.
Blair, who wanted to remain in the EU, doesn't think Brexit will end up fragmenting the country. But he admits Brexit has given fresh impetus to both Scottish nationalists and those who want a united Republic of Ireland.
The video above is an excerpt from the weekly show, GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, which airs weekly on US public television. Watch the episode on "upheaval in UK" here.
- Is Brexit breaking Britain? - GZERO Media ›
- Northern Ireland's post-Brexit troubles - GZERO Media ›
- Upheaval in UK: the sobering challenges facing new PM Truss ... ›
- Tony Blair on Liz Truss & a post-Brexit UK on the brink - GZERO Media ›
- Northern Ireland trade deal ends Brexit but not UK's economic woes - GZERO Media ›
Upheaval in UK: the sobering challenges facing new PM Truss & new King Charles III
In early September, in just 48 hours the UK got a new prime minister (Liz Truss) and a new king (Charles III, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II).
Both take over at a turbulent time in British politics, with no shortage of current and future challenges. To name just a few: a stagnant economy, sky-high energy prices, more Brexit fallout with the EU, and Scots demanding a fresh independence vote.
On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer speaks to former British PM Tony Blair (1997-2007), who believes there will be a lot of uncertainty over the next year or two if Truss insists on big tax cuts and big borrowing.
Blair also looks back at the queen's legacy and the future of the monarchy, explains why Brexit will hurt but probably not fragment the UK, and defends why we need to return to his comfort zone of the political center to fix today's problems.
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- Remembering Queen Elizabeth II - GZERO Media ›
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- Liz Truss' unenviable new gig - GZERO Media ›
- Tony Blair on Liz Truss & a post-Brexit UK on the brink - GZERO Media ›
- US debt limit: default unlikely, dysfunction probable - GZERO Media ›
Podcast: "United" Kingdom? Tony Blair on Truss, Charles, Brexit, and division in UK & beyond
Listen: In the span of just 48 hours in early September, the United Kingdom got a new prime minister, Liz Truss, and a new monarch, King Charles III. Both face big challenges in their new roles. For Truss, the Tory leader: a range of issues from inflation to the ongoing fallout of Brexit. For Charles: the relevance of the monarchy itself, now that Britain's longest-serving and much-beloved queen is gone. The United Kingdom also faces staggering inflation and a looming energy crunch. On the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer talks with a man who occupied 10 Downing Street for a decade - former prime minister Tony Blair - about the road ahead for his country. Blair believes there will be a lot of uncertainty over the next year or two if Truss insists on big tax cuts and big borrowing. He also looks back at the queen's legacy and the future of the monarchy, explains why Brexit will hurt - but probably not fragment - the UK, and argues that we need to return to his comfort zone of the political center to fix today's problems.
Tony Blair: UK monarchy is "unifying" & "supported in British society"
Tony Blair has fond memories of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Speaking to Ian Bremmer on GZERO World, the former British PM recalls what it was like to meet her for the first time. His first impression: deep respect for her historical experience.
For Blair, the queen was pretty much the only constant feature of life in the UK throughout all the social changes the country has seen since she was crowned in the 1950s.
To those who view the monarchy as an outdated institution, the former British PM says: don't worry, it's safe.
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- Remembering Queen Elizabeth II - GZERO Media ›
- The end of an era: Queen Elizabeth II dies - GZERO Media ›
- Liz Truss' unenviable new gig - GZERO Media ›
- Tony Blair on Liz Truss & a post-Brexit UK on the brink - GZERO Media ›
Tony Blair on Liz Truss & a post-Brexit UK on the brink
Despite sky-high inflation and a plummeting pound, the UK’s newly installed PM Liz Truss has introduced tax cuts — requiring a lot more government borrowing — that she says will boost the UK’s sluggish growth rate.
This approach, which could result in the Bank of England increasing interest rates even more to tackle inflation, is ruffling feathers in Westminster and negatively impacting markets around the globe. On the sidelines of the UN general Assembly, Ian Bremmer sat down with former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair on GZERO World to discuss Britain’s economic woes and recent change in leadership.
“I think it's going to be a very uncertain period over the next year or so,” Blair said. “And I talk to a range of different people about this, which is always a problem when you're trying to make economic policy in government, and no one agrees with each other.”
The two discussed whether this controversial approach of using tax cuts to spur growth might succeed in pulling a post-Brexit UK away from the brink.
But Blair believes growth depends upon more than tax cuts. “Personally, I think the big questions around growth, long term, for Britain are around the technology revolution, infrastructure, and education.”
Catch the full interview on GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, airing on US public televisionbeginning on Friday, Sept 30.
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- How new UK PM Liz Truss will impact UK/EU relations - GZERO Media ›
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- Truss resigns in continued Tory meltdown - GZERO Media ›
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