What Actually Mattered This Week: Trudeau in Hot Water

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WHAT ACTUALLY MATTERED THIS WEEK

Canada’s finance minister resigns as unpopular Trudeau faces biggest test of his political career

Thanks to cost of living and immigration concerns, the popularity of Canada’s prime minister (of nearly ten years) has been in freefall for a while.

But now that one of his most powerful and loyal ministers resigned from his cabinet, Trudeau faces a massive new wave of pressure to resign…from both his party and the opposition.

Regardless of what he does next, discontent with Trudeau’s government means conservatives are poised to make massive new gains when the next election comes around.

South Korean President Yoon faces impeachment

Yoon Suk Yeol is officially South Korea’s former president after being impeached over the weekend, 11 days after unlawfully (and briefly) plunging the country into martial law.

I say good riddance: he’s my top candidate for the biggest political buffoon of the year. And that’s a pretty high bar.

The bad news: Yoon actively subverted the country’s constitution.

The good news: the country’s checks and balances systems functioned exactly as they should.

That shows that South Korean democracy is very much functional and representative of its people (which is more than the United States can say at the moment).

In reversal, key House panel votes to release Matt Gaetz ethics report

You would think this was bad news for Matt Gaetz…

But it will only boost his show ratings, I’m sure.

Vladimir Putin denies Russia was defeated in Syria

That’s kind of like a New Yorker saying the Yankees didn’t lose the World Series this year.

TRUTHS, DAMNED TRUTHS, AND STATISTICS

A helpful visualization of Elon Musk’s influence over X users (compared to the entirety of United States Congress):

- The Washington Post

THE GZERO WORLD WE’RE JUST LIVING IN

YOUR GZERO WORLD

America’s adversaries are looking to exploit the transition period between the Biden and Trump Administrations, China has a fateful choice to make about its own role in the world, and the biggest challenge for US foreign policy might have more to do with clean energy than hard power, according to outgoing US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. In our recent interview, he shared his views on key US foreign policy issues at what he said was “a huge, plastic moment of turbulence and transition” in global politics.

Sullivan and I caught up in front of a live audience at 92Y in New York on Tuesday as part of a special episode of my nationally syndicated television show “GZERO World with Ian Bremmer.” Tune in to PBS-affiliates nationwide starting today to catch the full interview. More info here.

WORLD IN 60

Ukraine assassinated a top Russian general on a Moscow sidewalk. Is this a significant or dangerous escalation?

With the recent collapse of both France and Germany's governments what kind of turmoil does it create for the EU bloc?

Why does Trump say Turkey "holds the key" to Syria's future?

Find out in this week’s World in 60 Seconds!

DIG DEEPER: GZERO DAILY BY IAN BREMMER

China’s Population Collapse, Mysterious Drone Sightings, Post-war Ukraine, and more: Your questions, answered

As 2024 winds down, I turned to my weekly column to answer some of my audience’s most pressing questions throughout December. For the final installment, you get to find out my thoughts on those mysterious drone sightings across the US, what comes after a ceasefire in Ukraine, and most importantly, what my dog Moose wants for Christmas.

Do you like what you’ve seen? Sign up for GZERO Daily by Ian Bremmer

BECAUSE THE INTERNET

Leaked photos of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz losing the no-confidence vote in the Bundestag:

WHAT TO READ THIS WEEK

Why War? By Richard Overy

Can’t we all just get along? In "Why War," historian Richard Overy asks the perennial question: why are humans so obsessed with killing each other? Overy’s expert ability to weave findings from anthropology, psychology, economics, political science, and biology into a fresh examination of human nature makes for an exciting (if sometimes uncomfortable) read.

DEEP THOUGHTS

"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.” - Hamilton Wright Mabie

Editor’s Note: "Stay Tuned with Ian Bremmer" will be back in the new year. Happy Holidays!

Thanks for reading! Please subscribe to GZERO Daily for coverage of global politics. And make sure to read my latest book The Power of Crisis for a roadmap of this decade's great crises and how they might help us build a better world.

I am president of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media and foreign affairs columnist at TIME. I currently teach at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and previously was a professor at New York University. You can follow me on X, Bluesky, Threads, Facebook, and Instagram.