Andelman Unleashed

Andelman Unleashed

Share this post

Andelman Unleashed
Andelman Unleashed
TWTW: The World This Week #146

TWTW: The World This Week #146

Grudge match for the ages...Elections: Poland, South Korea, Mexico, Netherlands ... French to make drones in Ukraine...Gaza collapse...For our paid: saving rare birds plus our global cartoons

David A. Andelman's avatar
David A. Andelman
Jun 08, 2025
∙ Paid
10

Share this post

Andelman Unleashed
Andelman Unleashed
TWTW: The World This Week #146
3
5
Share

In this weekly feature for Andelman Unleashed, we continue to explore how the media of other nations are reporting and commenting on the United States, and how they are viewing the rest of the world.

To emphasize, we cover lots of ground—diving each week through 30+ newspapers & 100+ websites on every continent to distill the world. So, you may not want to read it all, but it's all here for you!

Coming to you this week again from Paris….

How others see America

The world is transfixed by one down-and-dirty cage match (or grudge match depending on your p-o-v)—and with an unrelenting dollop of schadenfreude. That’s the social network smackdown between one individual with arguably boundless power and another with apparently boundless wealth who, if the Forbes real-time billionaires list going into the weekend is to be believed, maintains a comfortable lead:

Or as Le Figaro in Paris led its weekend edition Saturday morning:

Donald Trump—Elon Musk: the clash that stuns the world

After months of overt friendship, the break is spectacular between the richest man in the world and the most powerful president on the planet, who have publicly exchanged insults and threats.

Share

Followed by the next four pages on Trump’s troubles ….

Before Le Figaro finally got around to a dilemma closer to home—the disintegration of France’s venerable Socialist Party.

Congress of the PS: Prisoner of its divisions, the Socialist Party laboriously turns itself toward the presidential election

Narrowly reelected secretary, Olivier Faure inherits a party still divided between two camps which do not share the same strategy for 2027.

Le Monde also put the Washington breakup on page one:

Between Trump and Musk, nothing is going well

With name-calling, threats, and accusations, the American president’s relationship with the Space X boss exploded on their social networks

Even in Asia, Singapore’s Straits Times led with the brouhaha….

That’s online, but for its local audience, even the print paper can’t resist putting it on page 1…

South Africa is still smarting over Donald Trump’s Oval Office confrontation with the nation’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa, during a tense exchange and video of questionable origin played in front of cameras as Trump ranted about a series of contested claims of killings of white farmers in South Africa. So hardly surprising leading newspapers there went all out, like The Sowetan, splashing a Reuters story atop its homepage:

Incidentally, that car sliver displayed in the above photo is Musk’s cybertruck on the South Lawn in better times.

In Switzerland, the leading daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung:

Even in Ukraine, The Kyiv Independent seemed just delighted to trumpet another possible resolution of this imbroglio….

The offer, Tim Zadorozhnyy reported, came from Dmitry Novikov, deputy chair of the State Duma [Parliament] Committee on International Affairs:

"I think Musk is playing a completely different game, that he won't need political asylum, although if he did, Russia could certainly provide it."

And then in Moscow, Pravda somehow just couldn’t restrain itself [again, that Tesla cybertruck]….

Konstantin Blokhin, an expert at the Russian Academy of Sciences' Center for Security Studies, recalled in an interview with Pravda.Ru that Elon Musk's inclusion in the administration of US President Donald Trump gave the businessman unlimited financial and administrative resources. And given that his own fortune is $400 billion, "this made the tandem politically indestructible."

After that, Democrats accused the tandem of a conflict of interest. And "radical US citizens" began to beat and set fire to Tesla cars and stopped buying them in order to force Musk to leave the US government.

"Being officially in the Trump administration, Musk began to lose multi-billion dollar profits for this reason. The stock price fell. And, therefore, Trump became toxic to him, despite the fact that the friendship lasted for years," the Americanist noted.

According to him, the scandal is a public demonstration of bad relations to justify Musk's exit from the administration, distancing Musk and Trump (although it is not a fact that this distancing is happening). And also to restore the profitability of Musk's business.

But then comes the caveat (and just when we were beginning to worry):

Konstantin Blokhin noted that the scandal between the US President and Musk will not affect Russia in any way.

And of course, there’s the Economy

Hardly a comfortable subject at all these days around the world, and especially during the extraordinary Unleashed Conversation we held on Friday for our (lightly) paid members, with celebrity guest Benjamin Friedman, the William Joseph Maier Professor of Political Economy, former Chairman of the Department of Economics at Harvard, in the hot seat as Andelman asked him about his view of the prospects of the economy going forward under Donald Trump….

The full video of our hour-long conversation is available below for all our paid members. And for more of Professor Friedman’s extraordinary thinking, don’t miss his books, especially: Religion and the Rise of Capitalism and The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth, which as Friedman tells us "many people think was prescient in anticipating the Trump phenomenon."

Beyond the Economy, it’s [still] America’s tariffs…

…roiling the global landscape. As Natalie Sherman of the BBC reported:

Goods brought into the US plunged by 20% in April, recording their largest ever monthly drop in the face of a wave of tariffs unleashed by US President Donald Trump. The retreat reflects the abrupt hit to trade, after firms had rushed products into the country earlier this year to try to get ahead of new taxes on imports Trump had promised.

US purchases from major trade partners such as Canada and China fell to their lowest levels since 2021 and 2020 respectively, the Commerce Department said. The collapse helped to cut the US trade deficit—the gap between exports and imports—in goods by almost half, a record decline, according to the report.

"The April trade report indicates the impact from tariffs has well and truly arrived," said Oxford Economics, while noting that the latest figures should be interpreted with caution, given the surge in activity earlier this year.

Trump and Xijinping did actually pick up the phone and talk this week. Now their top trade folks will be meeting to chart a way forward. Still, the front page editors of Renmin Ribao [ People’s Daily ] thought there just might be a better story brewing ….

Back home in Washington, Trump’s been just a little distracted, so in Bejing, Xi thought his time might be better spent cozying up to Vladimir Putin’s bff, Belarus dictator Alexander Lukasenko who dropped into Beijing after a little 4,000 mile trip from Minsk.

But it was not a bad time for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to make his maiden voyage to the Oval Office, bringing with him the 1869 birth certificate of Trump’s German grandfather Friedrich Trump in a gilded frame suitable for display in the gilt-encrusted Oval Office.

Merz got a whole lot better reception than several world leaders who’d sat in that chair before him. But still no give on trade or tariffs. Sorry.

Special for our Paid !

Andelman Unleashed has unleashed new, (lightly) paid tiers. For new paid subscribers, an inscribed copy of my latest book, A Red Line in the Sand. Along with a weekly portfolio of cartoons, largely from Cartooning for Peace … and Friday a weekly live conversation with Andelman. Back next Friday, June 13, with another very special guest

So do sign up here and get the zoom link to Andelman Unleashed Conversation, cheaper than a monthly mocha grande.

This will also help us support great journalism across the globe.

Elections 2025: Poland, South Korea, Mexico, Netherlands

Poland more things change….

…the more they remain the same. Polish voters just couldn’t manage to tear themselves free from the “cohabitation” that’s been the norm—with a liberal prime minister (Donald Tusk) forced to rule alongside a far-right president. As Deutsche Welle in neighboring Germany warned:

Poland’s State Election Commission announced the right-wing conservative historian and euroskeptic Karol Nawrocki won narrowly over his liberal-conservative, pro-European rival, Rafal Trzaskowski.

Nawrocki, a 42-year-old historian from Gdansk, was nominated by the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party. "We have succeeded in uniting the entire patriotic camp," said Nawrocki, who went on to say that a "Poland without migrants" was his political objective….Most supporters of Grzegorz Braun, a hard-right, antisemitic politician, backed Nawrocki at the ballot box.

Trzaskowski was the candidate of the liberal-conservative Civic Platform (PO) of Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The 53-year-old mayor of Warsaw was also backed by other parties in the ruling coalition, the Third Way (TD) and the New Left.

His surprising defeat is a major blow for Tusk's government. During his campaign, Nawrocki made no bones of the fact that he intends to continue executing President Duda's policy of obstructing the government. In the 18 months since Tusk returned to power, Duda has often used his veto powers to block government reforms, especially those relating to the restoration of the rule of law.

Nawrocki's stance on core foreign policy issues clashes with those of the government. During his election campaign, he spoke out against Ukraine joining NATO and in favor of attaching conditions to the country's EU accession. In terms of security, the president-elect favors relying on the US, is a euroskeptic and mistrusts Berlin. He also wants to continue efforts to get Germany to pay war reparations to Poland.

"Poland is facing the Hungarian scenario," said sociologist Robert Sobiech, who warned that with Nawrocki, Poland will distance itself from Europe, as Hungary has under Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

South Korea…back to the future?

As the South China Morning Post put it:

New South Korea leader faces tightrope act between US alliance, stronger China ties

Hours after Lee Jae-myung was sworn in as the president of South Korea early on Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping extended a congratulatory message, emphasising China placed “great importance” on strengthening ties with its neighbour amid an increasingly uncertain global landscape.

During his campaign, Lee pledged to repair strained ties with China and North Korea and underscored China’s role as a vital trading partner.

Analysts predicted more stable China-South Korea relations to come, saying Lee’s foreign policy would be marked by “pragmatism”, flexibility and economic urgency—a departure from former president Yoon Suk-yeol, who steered the country to align more with the United States.

However, diplomatic observers also cautioned that any improvement might be constrained by South Korea’s delicate position within two “triangles”: the China-South Korea-Japan dynamic and the South Korea-Japan-US alliance. His ambition to maintain a balanced approach between Beijing and Washington would be tested.

Mexico….did anyone care?

Barely 13% of the nation’s voters turned out for the first-ever vote for all of the previously-appointed judges in Mexico’s judiciary, as Carmen Morán Breña reported in El Pais:

The low presence of citizens at the polling stations throughout the day foreshadowed such an outcome, further calling into question the electoral reform that led to this election.

The thousands of candidates running to fill 2,681 positions were complete unknowns to the vast majority of voters, and the complexity of having to fill out more than six different ballots discouraged participation—even more so given that people couldn’t simply vote for a party without considering individual names.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who just a year ago achieved a sweeping victory, has called the election a “success” and celebrated the fact that 13 million voters took part, emphasizing that if the government had wanted to appoint judges of its choosing, it wouldn’t have allowed the people to decide. She also criticized the judiciary, accusing it of having “favored organized crime” and of committing “economic crimes,” adding, however, that “Mexico is the most democratic country in the world.”

Netherlands: rinse repeat?

The election won’t happen until October 29, but a Trump lookalike has already worked his magic, ending the rule of the Dutch coalition government that had welcomed him into its ranks with some trepidation less than a year ago, as Senay Boztas in Amsterdam reported for The Guardian:

Far-right populist Geert Wilders collapsed his first government after failing to break open the coalition agreement to add 10 new policies on asylum—including deporting Syrians with temporary residency within six months, forcibly if necessary.

Eleven months into a four-party coalition described by Dutch media as an “unhappy marriage,” Wilders walked out [taking with him] all of his ministers. His former coalition partners reacted with fury, saying there was no disagreement about reducing asylum and labelling Wilders a political footballer faking a foul.

A snap online poll of 16,117 voters found 60% were happy that Wilders had exited government. Supporters of leftwing parties were glad to see the end of the hard right coalition but [Wilder’s] Freedom party’s (PVV) own voters were divided, said pollster Rozemarijn Lubbe.

“Two-thirds of them say it’s a good thing that he stepped away: they agree with the points that he wanted, like these 10 asylum points,” she said. “They feel that he was sabotaged … actively opposed by the European Union, by opposition parties but also by other coalition parties.”

Trust in politics, which has for some years been at historic lows, slumped from 34% after the government was installed to just 23% today.

How others see the World

Who’s making whose drones anyway?

The world was electrified this week by what some were quickly calling Russia’s Pearl Harbor [ignoring the reality that Vladimir Putin was the one who started the war]. But right after the surprise raid that shredded Russia’s strategic bombing fleet came a stunning and barely-noticed disclosure that could alter the balance even more quickly with equally dramatic results. We learned about it in an exclusive interview on LCI/TF1 television:

  • These drones, the type of which he did not specify, will be intended for the Ukrainians, "but we will also provide them to our own French armies," he added.

Lecornu, describing it as a “win-win” partnership with Kyiv, added: "A major French car company—I won't name it because it's up to them to announce it—will partner with a French defense SME to equip production lines in Ukraine to produce drones.” These drones, the type of which he did not specify, will be intended for the Ukrainians, "but we will also provide them to our own French armed forces to ensure ongoing tactical and operational training that reflects the reality" of the conflict in Ukraine, he added. The Ukrainians, for their part, will provide feedback on how they use drones in this war.

"There's no need to ask French citizens" to work on the production line that will be installed in Ukraine, he said. For Lecornu, the Ukrainians "are better than us in their ability to design drones and, above all, in developing the necessary doctrine."

Ukraine intends to use more than 4.5 million drones by 2025, which are responsible for 70% of the destruction of enemy equipment on the front lines.

Furthermore, the minister reiterated Paris's "clear" position , which is not to sell arms to Israel, declared the Minister of the Armed Forces, after dockers at the port of Marseille refused to load a container filled with military components onto a ship bound for Haifa. "France's position could not be clearer. There are no arms sold to Israel. And for good reason, Israel is one of the main competitors of French industries," he concluded.

As for mediation…China throws in its hat

Ever wonder how vast Xi Jinping’s ambitions (and motives) could reach? Just glance at what Andrew Cainey and Xie Chengkai wrote in the South China Morning Post….

China as global conflict mediator: from ambition to action

From Saudi-Iran rapprochement to Myanmar ceasefires, China’s conflict diplomacy also aims to protect its own interests.

China has increasingly taken on the role of conflict mediator on the world stage—hosting negotiations, proposing peace plans and even deploying personnel to oversee ceasefires. Once reluctant to engage in United Nations peacekeeping activities, China now provides more troops than any other permanent member of the Security Council.

These are dramatic shifts for a country that was once a staunch advocate of non-interference. As its economic and security interests now reach far beyond its borders, China’s engagement on the world stage has understandably grown accordingly. It has a strong incentive to resolve conflicts that threaten its trade, overseas investments, citizens abroad or simply regional stability.

And in Israel, not to mention Gaza, from bad to worse

As Israeli armed forces continued to pound Gaza, Jack Khoury and Liza Rozovsky writing in Ha’aretz suggested even more dire consequences:

Gazan Authorities Warn of Total Collapse of Medical Services in the Southern Gaza Strip

Hospitals in the Gaza Strip rely on generators which only have fuel for three more days, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The crisis comes alongside increased IDF shelling and the closure of food distribution centers

The ministry emphasized that only one functioning hospital remained in Khan Yunis—the Nasser Hospital—since the European Hospital closed down due to Israeli shelling, and access to Al-Amal Hospital has been blocked because it is located in an area that the IDF has ordered residents to evacuate. "If the Nasser Hospital stops functioning, we will face a humanitarian disaster with unpredictable consequences," said the ministry.

The remaining hospitals in the enclave are totally dependent on generators, which only have fuel for three more days, and Israel is preventing the United Nations and other international humanitarian organizations from accessing fuel depots that are designated for the enclave's hospitals, claiming that they are located in combat zones which the IDF has ordered people to evacuate.

Meanwhile, Haaretz is warning of more potential trouble ahead:

Israel's attorney general announced the Israel Defense Forces plans to issue over 50,000 draft orders to ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students in July.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said she was informed of the plan during a meeting with senior military officials, including the head of the IDF's Manpower Directorate, Major General David Bar Kalifa. According to Baharav-Miara, the IDF also committed to presenting an enforcement mechanism targeting individuals who fail to comply with the draft orders.

Since July 2024, the IDF has issued approximately 25,000 draft orders to yeshiva students, but only a few hundred have reported to induction centers

And then if you wonder if Israel is a true democracy….and why Unleashed leans so heavily on Haaretz’s utterly professional reporting:

A panel of three High Court justices issued a conditional injunction on Friday, instructing the Israeli government to explain why it should not annul a decision made last November to sever commercial ties with the Haaretz newspaper.

The state is also required to justify why it should not overturn directives issued by various government ministries to cease placing advertisements in Haaretz and cancel state employees' subscriptions to the paper.

Incidentally, a coda, reported by Haaretz on Sunday:

Israeli Government Votes to Begin Process to Dismiss Attorney General

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara warns the cabinet's attempt to oust her bypasses legal safeguards and violates a High Court ruling. Her office says the move aims to sidestep established rules after months of failed efforts to remove her.

What’s new on ‘paid’?

Now, for our most highly valued, but lightly paid, members .... Races in Europe and Asia to save and understand the world’s rarest birds….the full video of our Friday zooomversation with Harvard’s Benjamin Friedman … winding up with a bonus gallery from cartoonists around the world riffing on Trump, Musk, Ukraine, and tutti quanti, courtesy of Cartooning for Peace and Le Monde….

  • —Editing by Pamela Title

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Andelman Unleashed to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 David A. Andelman
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share