The World in 60 Seconds - October 24, 2016

Hey, it’s Ian Bremmer and I’m right here at NYU campus, my home campus! Going to talk to the students shortly. First I’m going to answer your World in 60 Seconds questions. I got them lined up right here; let’s do it.

Venezuela: Will Maduro ever leave office voluntarily?

Uh…no. No, no. He’s going to be forced out, but he’s not raising his hand to leave anytime soon.

Wikileaks: Will Julian Assange ever leave the Ecuadorian embassy voluntarily?

Uh…no. No. They shut off his internet, but he doesn’t have much choice at this point. Ecuadorians would have to give him up; he ain’t walking.

Philippines: Does Duterte know what he’s doing?

I think he does actually! If you’re going to bolt from the United States and you know China is taking over, you do it early, you don’t do it late so you can actually leverage something with the Chinese. He’s very popular domestically right now, he’s making political points.

China: Will Xi Jinping change Politburo retirement ages?

I bet he does. It’s a massive question. This is a guy who’s the strongest Chinese leader since Mao, he’s not going to behave the same way that all those faceless bureaucrats have the last few decades.

Russia: Who will they hack next?

Oh, I don’t know. How about the incoming Clinton administration? That sounds like a lot of fun.

Refugees: Will shutting down the Calais “jungle” deter new arrivals?

From the Calais jungle, yes. But other places, no. That’s more about the falling apart of the Schengen agreement. That’s more structural than the Calais jungle issue.

That’s it! That’s 60 seconds. I’ll talk to you guys next week.