00:00:00 Claudia: Great that we can be here together in person and just compare and share again a little bit. What's been up here, what has been going on, Dan. Look at this backdrop. I mean it's hard to actually concentrate when you're, you know, in the heart of London at a great pub and things are so lively, but yet I want to know what has been going on in Great Britain.
00:01:05 Dan: Great Britain. Well, Andy Burnham has become UK prime Minister. He's been there now for a few months which is great. And his initiatives are basically to to summarize increase democracy, decentralize government. This Manchester-ism moving things up north. He's trying to really affect the common man more so and improve and women improve their living standards. That's really what he's really after. He's done several initiatives, so far, which we can talk about, that's pretty much what he's been doing and his popularity is quite high. So that is significant. So he's able to do that, keep his popularity, keep the honeymoon going, and that we can see how that compares to Germany and the United States and what's happening there. But so far, so good for Andy Burnham. But it's it's tough sledding ahead with the budget, and he doesn't have much to work with, much to play with. So he's got to be creative in how he funds this, his various initiatives.
00:02:18 Claudia: Okay. Yeah. Well, you've probably heard about the federal elections in Germany and how the AfD gained momentum there. I mean, it was not entirely surprising because the polls had already, showed that they are on the rise in a way. Yet the results were shocking that over forty percent, for example, in Saxony-Anhalt, voted for this far extremist party. And the question that I still have in my head is, why are people so unhappy, so deeply unhappy in their lives that they opt for an extreme party rather than try and address things to be improved over time, because all the parties that are still on a democratic scale offer ideas and they have a possibility to do so. But you just have to give them time and opportunity to do so. And why opt for a party that will disrupt and just put everything down and at the cost of so, so many. And, I just don't know why people are so desperate or slash aggressive, aggressively dismantling democracy. And I think that we've more and more people are just detached from what democracy really means on a day to day basis. The fact that the two of us can sit here, enjoy London, have a day out, have a have an open discussion about how we compare and share things. That is actually thanks to democracy, because otherwise I wouldn't be able to travel.
00:04:00 Dan: Well, can I, maybe, respond to that? Obviously, we're a pro-democratic podcast. We believe in democracy, but a lot of people don't. They don't trust it and they don't trust the government. Uh, in Western societies nowadays. And I think the fundamental thing that's hurting democracies right now and is results, you know, the guy in the street. We've seen that the guy in the street doesn't care so much. We've seen parties come and go in and out. So what does that tell you? Are they loyal? No. The loyalty has gone down in politics. The trust has gone down. So. But they want to see is results. And what they're seeing is corruption. Um, we're seeing, uh, in a sense, we're seeing these tech grows or globalization not benefiting them. So whether you got democracy, liberal or otherwise, uh, a benevolent dictator, a dictator, communism, socialism, whatever you call it, the government in power. Really, it has to produce results and say, so you're a benevolent dictator. Well, you're a benevolent dictator. You can stay in power, but you've got to do it. You know, you got to deliver results. And if you if you do, you probably could in this day and age, you could keep it. You can keep it, keep it, keep hold of power. But democracy is having trouble because a lot of issues around it as far as the electoral system, campaign financing, um, and then get into the cost of living, you know, it's just not delivering for the man on the street.
00:05:43 Claudia: So it's not just a feeling because to be honest, I think that people are expecting results fairly quickly. And, uh, politics is a long game in a way. And when I compare my life, my current life, and I'm just, you know, one of the workers, I'm not, I'm not rich. I'm, I don't have a fancy job that I'm not in a …, I'm in a bus and not in a Jaguar or in any luxury brand car. But anyway, what I'm saying is, if I compare my life to the life of my grandparents and the forefathers, I live like a queen. You know, I have safety, I have freedom, I can go out and dine and wine occasionally with friends. I can come here to London, I can travel. So all of that is not too bad, is it? And I can feel, yeah, you know, that, uh, so many people are not counting their blessings in a way.
00:06:39 Dan: I think that's true, especially because we've had this discussion with the likes of Dirk Steffens and things like that, as far as optimism goes. And, like in Germany, people in the East are complaining, but they really don't. But they don't realize how good their social net really is. It's still they're complaining, I think as far as comparing, though, what do they compare? Are they comparing ten, twenty, thirty years ago? No, they're comparing today. They see what's happening today.
00:07:06 Claudia: Comparing to what they see in their inbox. Yeah. On social media or email or whatever. And that is flooding, flooding you with the brightest pictures of everyone else, and you feel like you're missing out.
00:07:17 Dan: Yeah. Through social media. And yeah, it definitely is. So, so it really is just fostering this very negativism as far as making comparisons go with one another. And it's …, we got to get better control over that. And it's, and it's impact on society.
00:07:35 Claudia: So be aware of what they are doing, why they are doing it. Yeah. Then can I ask you a personal question? Because yesterday I met friends from overseas and the first thing they asked me was AfD, Germany. What's going on? How do you perceive Germany at the moment? Do you see us becoming all Nazis?
00:07:56 Dan: Yeah. And you want me to answer that?
00:08:00 Claudia: Yeah.
00:08:02 Dan: I would say no, but it's a worry. It's a worry because we know what's going on in the United States. And it seems to have, as you mentioned, at the very top, gaining momentum. And this is the king who has the momentum. In Germany, the AFC has the momentum. Here in the UK it's Andy Burnham who has the momentum. And so we have countries at different stages. And of course Donald Trump. His poll ratings are in in the in the cellar. So and we're going to see what's going to happen with the various elections in twenty twenty six and twenty twenty eight. So, you know, does it does it as far as pursuing Germany? I don't see it as, uh, probably I don't worry about it as much as probably you do because you're living it day by day. Mhm. But I am concerned. I am very concerned. I want to see that momentum stopped. And I think what we've seen in both UK with Andy Burnham's election that he has been elected but appointment he took over for Keir Starmer. But in his initiatives and what he's doing he's addressing the need. He's trying to produce all these different results. Mhm. Yeah. And and and in the US there's nothing happening. Congress is not even acting. They're not even legislating. There's nothing going on. It's just executive order. And, um, let's face it, you know, a lot of, uh, you know, chaos and some corruption and things like that. It's their poll ratings. The momentum going into the midterms is poor. They're going to right now, they're in for a shellacking. But we'll see. We'll see. So, uh, countries are at different stages at this moment. And but you got to go into Italy and France and the rest of Europe and, you know, Australia, those Western democracies and see how healthy they are. And that's something we can talk about in another, another time, because we have a, a model that we can share that will help tell all, you know, who's going to stay in power and who's not. It's going to be, you know, we're going to call it the dump o meter. So who's going to be dumped out of office if they don't deliver results. And that's what's going to happen. So stay tuned.
00:10:19 Claudia: A must have for every politician.
00:10:21 Dan: Everyone.
00:10:21 Claudia: Oh, yes. Climb the ladder.
00:10:23 Dan: Yeah! It'll be.
00:10:23 Claudia: Ah.
00:10:24 Dan: Christmas special.
00:10:26 Claudia: Yeah. Oh, right, right. So shall we leave it at that?
00:14:03 Dan: Let's leave it at that. We're enjoying we're just about to order a pint.
00:14:06 Claudia: Oh yes please.
00:14:09 Dan: So stay tuned. Please like share subscribe. You know what to do. We'd appreciate it. Add your comments down below and anything. London is the backdrop. We'll see you soon.
00:14:20 Claudia: See you.
00:14:21 Dan: Thank you for being Over Here, Over There.
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