Who were the people who with their presence and their interventions sealed the international developments in 2021?
1. Donald Trump
Donald Trump lost the 2020 election in the USA, but he managed to be one of the persons of 2021 first and foremost because the way he questioned the result of the election until the last moment led his followers to the unprecedented for the American data deviations of the 6th January 2021, one of the most traumatic moments in recent history.
Although he will be disowned in various ways, he still retains a real influence within the Republican party and their electoral audience even though it has been deprived of the basic means of communication with "its people", ie social media. He still wants to run for the presidency again, but in the meantime he has to face the investigation into what happened on 6η January 2021 and the possibility of being found accused of being in fact the instigator of the diversions.
2. Joe Biden
The president of the USA is one of the persons of the year. At the same time, inheriting all the blows to the prestige of the presidency from the Trump administration, but also all the open questions about the future of America itself and its place in the world. His first steps were more towards an attempt to connect with the "progressive" tradition of the Democrats, through large packages of state interventions in the economy. But then the complicated US decision-making system and the marginal correlation in the Senate have led to delays and compromises, at a time when the pandemic continues to make things more difficult. Abroad it tries to manage the "withdrawal" of the US from certain fronts (in some cases with the result that it is almost humiliating for the US such as in Afghanistan) by escalating the confrontation with Russia and China (even with the parallel search for dialog boxes). In any case, America remains in a transitional state, with the horizon not clear.
3. Xi Jinping
In 2021, the Communist Party of China celebrated its 100th anniversary, and Xi Jinping asserted that it's a position (and power) similar to that held by Mao and Deg. The previous restrictions will not apply to his term and his "thought" was added to the official party ideology. In 2021, Xi placed particular emphasis on securing his own vision for the economy, sending the message that he would not tolerate billionaires like Jack Ma claiming an autonomous role and that he would not offer state aid to companies investing in bubbles. However, the question remains whether the combination of capitalism and social cohesion, which at this stage is the necessary step for socialism with Chinese characteristics, can be achieved. ». At the same time, Xi insisted on stimulating a patriotic (and nationalist) element and further strengthening the Chinese armed forces in the wake of an escalating confrontation with the United States.
4. Vladimir Putin
In 2021, Vladimir Putin decided to raise the tone towards a West that chooses to escalate the confrontation with Russia, on the verge of a "New Cold War". His proposals for a return to collective security perceptions based on avoiding the expansion of weapons systems and organizations such as NATO were combined with the clear position that Russia is ready to face an armed escalation, especially in Europe. At the same time, this year Russia has managed to assert that it remains an equalizer and power broker on a number of fronts, at a time when the possibility of a wider "Eurasian convergence" with China - a convergence that would be exacerbated by new European sanctions. In defiance of a Western focus on the Navalny affair, inside Russia the discontent it faces is mainly social issues, at a time when Russia is being plagued by a pandemic.
5. Recep Tayyip Erdogan
2021 is the year that Recep Tayyip Erdogan was most discussed about his views on the economy. The reason is his insistence on keeping interest rates in Turkey at low levels, with successive reductions, at a time when the country is facing rising inflation. As a result, the Turkish lira's exchange rate continues to plummet, threatening to be the starting point for serious problems in the Turkish economy. He insists his strategy could ultimately lead to growth, through the provision of "cheap money", a development that is a key part of his strategy for the 2023 elections. rising prices and how incomes, especially low ones, are being vented, without the various "power projections" of a Turkish-regional power being able to offset these day-to-day problems.
6. Christine Lagarde
The head of the ECB is credited with a first and significant change in the Bank's philosophy, namely the increased tolerance for rising inflation before the activation of restrictive measures. This is due to the awareness that growth remains fragile and that any "cannula tightening" would mean a return to recessionary dynamics. Of course, with the persistence of inflation, it is a question of how long the ECB will stick to its current line, given that a significant number of countries are still inspired by a more traditional conception of both austerity and strict monetary policy.
7. Angela Merkel
It was the year of the great departure. The politician who sealed the course of Germany for 16 years and offered the feeling of a "steady hand at the helm" left the chancellery and active politics. It leaves behind a contradictory legacy where the ability to act as a point of consensus or the guarantee of stability has been combined with strategic questions for both Germany and Europe that remain unanswered, as substantial confrontation with them has long been avoided.
8. Jacinda Ardern
The Prime Minister of New Zealand first became known for the particularly cool way in which she dealt with the massacre at the Christchurch mosque, but also for the fact that she tried to raise a barrier to racist hatred. Now, however, it serves as a reference point for terms insisting that there was room for a Zero-Covid policy with its country having so far enviable pandemic statistics. However, there are also critical voices that I emphasize that New Zealand has achieved all this by taking advantage of the fact that as an island country it had much more scope to impose (like Australia) large restrictions on those who would like to enter the country.
9. Gabriel Boric
The newly elected President of Chile represents a new dynamic, more radical, left-wing but also youthful in Latin American politics. With the presidential election the latest act of the political impact of the 2019 popular upheaval, along with the process of drafting a new Constitution without the legacy of the Pinochet dictatorship, the youngest president in Chilean history is called upon to demonstrate if there can be real social change. in a country where the policies that many years later we will become accustomed to call "neoliberals" were first tested.
10. Mohammed bin Zayed
The prince - successor of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and a de facto strong man of the United Arab Emirates showed in 2021 that he is one of the most agile politicians in the Middle East. An architect of UAE foreign policy and a more "intrusive logic" that led to the involvement in the conflict in Libya and Yemen, he has shown that he can show considerable flexibility when needed. In the vacuum left by the relative withdrawal of the United States from the Middle East, the UAE has shown particular mobility in conciliation practices. Without undoing the normalization with Israel, however, they have sought forms of reconciliation with Turkey but also more stable communication with Iran.
11. Abdul Ghani Garadar
He is not formally the leader of the Taliban and has been widely criticized for failing to take over as caretaker Prime Minister. However, he was the head of the Taliban's political office in Qatar, where much of the negotiations leading to the agreement on the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan took place, as well as a significant part of the diplomatic contacts that led to a de facto recognition of Taliban as part of the next day in Afghanistan. In any case, the Taliban are among last year's winners, gaining power more easily than they themselves might have estimated.
12. Naftali Bennett
Naftali Bennett is one of the persons of the year, primarily because his presence means that Benjamin Netanyahu is not one of the persons of the year, as his long term as Prime Minister of Israel ended, after successive elections and a deep political crisis. which is slow to resolve. So far, his government, which continues to face the pandemic, has managed to survive, although its key cohesive element is preventing a new Netanyahu prime minister. Without being less "tough" than its predecessor, it is trying to show a ton of realism as Israel seeks to ensure that the US withdrawal from the Middle East does not translate into reduced support for it.
13. Alexander Lukashenko
He has been called "the last European dictator", but he has been in power for 27 years and at the moment it does not seem easy to relinquish power, despite sanctions against Belarus and the fact that most Western countries do not recognize him. blaming him for rigging the 2020 elections, human rights abuses and instrumentalizing immigration and refugee flows. One of Moscow's closest allies, although Russian diplomacy has avoided identifying with all its options, is well aware that in the midst of the "New Cold War" Russia has no chance of eliminating a critical ally in the region.
14. Julian Assange
For many people around the world, including intellectuals, humanitarian organizations, journalists' associations, Julian Assange is a hero of our time, since founding Wikileaks enabled the world to gain insight into critical aspects of US wars, including crime. . For the US authorities this is a very serious crime that can be punished even with 175 years in prison. This explains the great charge around whether or not it will be issued in the US. Recently, the campaign not to be extradited to the USA and to be released has been escalating after the decision of a British high court that paves the way for extradition, in contrast to a previous decision that had refused extradition due to the risk to his life due to of his mental state and the conditions he would face.
15. Greta Thunberg
The young Swedish activist spoiled the climate in Glasgow when, in defiance of the assurances of the international community, she stressed that the Conference was ultimately a failure and that not enough measures were being taken to radically reduce emissions leading to climate change. The young activist who once managed to inspire a global movement with her lonely "school climate strike" every Friday, remains just as angry if not more so. Which makes sense given that he represents a generation that sees the possibility of living on a planet where entire regions have become lifeless as a result of climate change.
16. Ebrahim Raisi
The winner of the presidential election in Iran, expresses the most "hardline" wing of the Islamic Republic, which means a more conservative stance on cultural issues, greater determination in negotiations with the West, and greater social sensitivity in matters of the economy. His election represents dissatisfaction with the "moderates", especially in relation to the management of the social situation, and at the same time reflects the logic that the negotiation with the West and the US over the nuclear program can only be done in terms that reflect the recognition that Iran is a strong regional power, with an active "axis of resistance" and so far resilience to "regime change" plans.
17. Mario Draghi
With a legacy of a long tenure as a banker but also as governor of the ECB, where the rescue of the euro is credited through insisting on "whatever it takes" and introducing "quantitative easing" practices, Mario Draghi emerged in 2021 as the figure to be could help Italy avoid a lasting government crisis and became prime minister with the support of a wide range of parties, at a time when the post-pandemic recovery and the management of large Recovery Fund funds were emerging as crucial issues. The co-signing with Emanuel Macron of a treaty on Franco-Italian cooperation in November 2021 was seen as paving the way not only for a Franco-Italian axis (replacing the previous Franco-German one) but also for Draghi to emerge as a leading figure in any European renaissance. .
18. Olaf Solts
The leader of the German Social Democrats was originally the outsider in the German elections of September 2021. However, with the Christian Democrats unable to nominate a figure worthy of a successor to Angela Merkel and the Greens having a dynamic with specific boundaries, he had as a good "manager" helped the Social Democrats to come out first party and he to enter the negotiations for the new government with an advantage. Of course, the difficulties for the new government lie ahead, from the question of recovery combined with the green transition to the difficult balances with the US and Russia that are summarized in the question of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, at a time when it is not a given that place the same emphasis on renewing Germany's leadership role within the EU.
19. Ursula von der Leyen
The President of the European Commission is credited with completing the process of setting up the "Recovery Fund" or, as it is officially known, the NextGenerationEU, as well as clarifying how the pan-European version of the Covid Green Pass was organized. However, despite the feeling that the EU can fundamentally avoid paralysis, questions about the future and the physiognomy of the EU remain open, especially since the debate around them has been constantly postponed for several years.
20. Elon Musk
The South African businessman also had a significant share of publicity in 2021. Besides, he can combine the figure of the bold investor with that of the inventor, renewing the figure of the "captain of industry" - to remember the old terminology of the early 20'sth century. After all, for the previous similar renewal, we need to go back to the 1980s and Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. This was due not only to the success of Space - X but also to the fact that from electrification to space travel, Musk restored the aesthetics of the "visionary" in business.
in.gr