What I'm Reading
November 29 : Five reads that piqued my interest this week
‘It is sublime’
There are so many reasons to get irritated by the French but then they express themselves in the most magnificent way that you sigh and thank God that they exist.
Emmanuel Macron’s praise for the restored and reworked Notre Dame Cathedral is a case in point. ‘It is sublime,’ he declared, as he went on a televised tour (of course he did!) of the iconic church.
It’s odd but Notre Dame catching fire is one of those ‘I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news’ moments and as it’s one of my lesser-favourite European Cathedrals, I have no idea why I cared so much about it but it tugged my heart and I’ve been avidly awaiting its reopening ever since.
That day comes very soon.
Huge props to the French. I live in a country that has spent more than a decade trying to work out where to start and end a high-speed railway line, so Macron making good on his Presidential promise that the Cathedral would be repaired and reopened within five years is truly something to admire, envy and celebrate.
I’m also so relieved that those in charge of the restoration resisted the temptation to modernise the building with a clear ceiling, a green eco-roof, replacing the spire with a flame or even installing a laser. Yes, really.
An estimated 2000 masons, carpenters, restorers, roofers, foundry-workers, art experts, sculptors and engineers worked on the project - providing a huge boost for French arts and crafts.
Many trades - such as stone-carving - have seen a big increase in apprenticeships as a result of the publicity.
‘[The Notre Dame project] has been the equivalent of a World Fair, in the way it has been a showcase for our craftsmanship. It is a superb shop-window internationally,’ said Pascal Payen-Appenzeller, whose association promotes traditional building skills.
….
Early on a decision had to be made about the nature of renovation: whether to faithfully recreate the medieval building and the 19th Century neo-Gothic changes wrought by architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, or to use the opportunity to mark the building with a modern imprint.
An appeal for new designs produced unusual ideas, including a glass roof, a green ‘eco-roof’, a massive flame instead of a spire, and a spire topped by a vertical laser shooting into the firmament.
In the face of opposition from experts and the public, all were abandoned and the reconstruction is essentially true to the original - though with some concessions to modern materials and safety requirements. The roof timbers, for example, are now protected with sprinklers and partitioning.
The only remaining point of contention is over Macron’s desire for a modern design for stained-glass windows in six side-chapels. Artists have submitted entries for a competition, but there is stiff opposition from many in the French arts world.
How geopolitical is the EU?
This week I’ve been writing for The Nightly about the death of the EU-Australia trade relationship.
Immediately after taking office, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese claimed that his predecessor Scott Morrison was to blame for the talks stalling because of AUKUS, which upset the French, and climate change.
This was always an unwise line of attack. The EU’s protectionism is famed and beef farmers in France can stop the entire 27-member states from benefitting from freer trade with other parts of the world including South America and Australia, both rich in critical minerals required for the transition to net zero.
My coverage was kicked off by an interview I conducted with Czechia’s Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky at the GLOBSEC security conference in Prague earlier this year.
Czechia’s President Petr Pavel followed Lipavsky in visiting Australia this week — the country is trying to boost bilateral and EU ties with the Indo-Pacific in recognition that the security threat we face is indivisible from geography.
Which is why Lipavsky wants a trade deal with Australia, but that’s no longer a priority for the EU.
It’s a great shame and in my view, represents a failure by Europe’s leaders to tell their farmers that the strategic reasons for diversifying trade bolsters our collective strength and far outweighs a few thousand tonnes of beef.
It is an assessment shared by Bryce Wakefield, CEO of the Australian Institute of International Affairs who I invited to sit in on my interview with Mr Lipavsky.
The EU has a friendlier face to show to the world.
Under the ‘friendly face’, do you mean the EU has to focus on diplomatic actions?
Yes, but I don’t mean the kind of soft power diplomacy that the EU sometimes thinks is quite important. Crucially, what’s more important is that I think the EU can bolster its presence and connections through trade. Unfortunately, it hasn’t developed an attitude that allows it to approach trade deals in the region strategically.
It needs to actually be clear about what its intentions are. It also needs politicians who understand that they need to moderate the excesses of the protectionist sentiments of their populations when it comes to creating trade arrangements.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of sitting in on an interview with Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky by my good friend, British-Australian journalist Latika Bourke.
I was impressed that Lipavsky strongly acknowledged the need to think about trade more strategically and stressed the need to ensure that strategy trumps sectoral interests in Europe from time to time. I’ll be more convinced that the EU can be a serious player in the Indo-Pacific when French foreign ministers tell their farmers the same thing.
Questions for TikTok after surprise Romanian result
It’s notable, and in the eyes of a growing number of parliamentarians, not-so-coincidental how many far-right figures are surging in elections as a result of TikTok stardom.
TikTok is Chinese-owned and the outgoing President Joe Biden has approved its forced divestment from Chinese ownership or its closure in the United States. TikTok is banned in India.
Following the first-round victory of Romanian ultra-nationalist and pro-Russian Călin Georgescu, parliamentarians are questioning if TikTok’s algorithm is compliant with EU law.
Renew MEP Valérie Hayer has called for the CEO of TikTok to face the European Parliament for questioning.
"Romania is a warning bell: Radicalization and disinformation can happen all over Europe with harmful consequences," added Hayer, an ally of French President Emmanuel Macron.
Hayer's appeal comes only two days after Georgescu's shock victory. He had no party backing and polls had failed to pick up on his popularity — though researchers are now zeroing on a major TikTok campaign he led in the days leading up to the election.
"We believed that Tiktok was misused and was led to be misused by him and an army of fake accounts that were used for his purpose," said Bogdan Manolea, executive director of the Romanian campaign group, Association for Technology and Internet.
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu on Tuesday said funding for Georgescu's campaign on TikTok needed to be reviewed. "It's a system, I don't know how legal it is, I understood how the system was used. The source of financing, in my opinion, is to be followed, 'follow the money.'"
There is, however, no proof at this stage of involvement by Russia or other state actors.
Elon’s turns customers off Telsa
I’ve been wondering if this would happen.
Telsa made electric cars sexy but does Elon Musk’s new status as quasi-oligarch to US President-elect Donald Trump — aided by his takeover of X which promotes right-wing accounts and narratives over left-wing ones — including Musk’s personal missives, turn off those who have no truck with politics but are in the market for a new car?
When does driving a Telsa no longer mean futuristic, progressive even, but denote Elonism?
The tipping point may be near, with plenty of anecdotal evidence to go around, of course, the proof will only be clear in sales down the track.
‘I thought Elon was progressing our country, but he’s turned out to be kind of an evil person. It’s scary for someone with that sort of money to be so close to a politician,’ said Mika Houston, a gymnastics teacher in Las Vegas who has had a Tesla Model 3 for the past three years.
‘I still love my car, but I think about whether I’m endorsing that sort of behaviour when I drive it. I’m embarrassed driving this car around after the election, thinking about the man behind it,’ said Houston, who has bought an ‘Anti Elon Tesla Club’ magnet for her car and is mulling whether to sell it.
Pamela Perkins, a photographer who lives in the Tesla heartland of California’s Silicon Valley, has a Model Y but is among a group of friends who are all considering ditching their Teslas.
‘I’m turning 80 in January so I thought I’d have a sporty car that I could race anyone when the light turns green,’ Perkins said of her purchase. ‘There was a time I thought Elon Musk was a genius but he went bad very quickly. I remember saying to my husband I should sell this car and send a message, for my own conscience.
‘A lot of people have asked if I’m going to sell the car, I have a friend who was about to get a Tesla but decided not to because of him. But [Musk] doesn’t care about us, he has bigger fish to fry. He wants to colonise Mars.’
Boris at his (serious) best
I was stunned by how brilliant Boris Johnson was in this interview with my friends Francis Dearnley and Dom Nicholls who host one of my favourite podcasts Ukraine: The Latest.
Serious, at times emotional, full of conviction and moral clarity I was gripped by every moment and was left wondering why there wasn’t more of that during his chaotic Prime Ministership.
A must-listen on all podcast apps or watch here on YouTube. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Turns out serious suits Boris.
And that’s my list for this week. On Sunday I joined Times Radio to discuss the day’s news.
Please do send me anything that’s caught your eye, I enjoy knowing what you’ve been reading.
Some of you have started to offer me copies of your books etc. Please email me at latika@latikambourke.com for a forwarding address for hard copies.
There was not more passion and clarity from Boris as PM because it is all an act - more class comic than Shakespearean lead. An act to promote his self-interested entitlement.