Weekend Box: Bor-exit, Wimbledon & more
Welcome to The Weekend Box, Audley’s weekly round-up of interesting or obscure political, business, and cultural news from around the world.
BOR-EXIT
This week we said goodbye to the prime minister who broke all the rules – well, at least until he’s hosted his wedding party at Chequers. The rollercoaster that has been Boris Johnson’s tenure has come to a stop, and the Conservative Party can take a moment to breathe a sigh of relief; but only a moment, as it seems the wheels are already turning to elect a new leader.
As the party regroups after this eventful week, time would be well spent understanding exactly how it got to this point, and why. For the past few days, the now-caretaker Prime Minister has been hauled over the coals for his leadership style. As Mayor of London, this was masked somewhat as he built a strong team around him that could deliver, in contrast to his cabinet which appears at times to have been appointed more on the basis of allegiance to Brexit. Integrity and innovative policy-making must be restored in the House of Commons, and the desire to keep a grip on power which has characterised the final days of Johnson’s premiership replaced by a determination to serve the British people, who have emerged from a pandemic into a cost-of-living crisis.
Johnson’s government and his appointments have been defined by Brexit and as a result, we found ourselves with a Brexit prime minister, rather than a leader prepared to navigate the storms of the past three years. Now, the real work must start to outline a future for the UK beyond Brexit. Only then can the redemption arc of the government begin.
KLM-ITY
Air travel opened up our world, linking people and places like never before. Its convenience, however, means it is one of the major conundrums in the sustainable living debate. There are actions airlines can take to lower their environmental impact, but these must be sincere, as KLM is quickly discovering.
A number of environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the Dutch subsidiary of Air France, KLM, over claims of greenwashing. Activist groups Fossielvrij and Reclame Fossielvrij, along with environmental law charity ClientEarth, accuse the airline of misleading the public about how sustainable its flights truly are. The “Fly Responsibly” advertising campaign declares that the airline is "creating a more sustainable future" and is on track to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. Although it offers carbon offsetting and commits to using greener fuel, the environmentalists argue that the sustainability claim is completely at odds with the airline’s ambitious plans to return to pre-pandemic numbers of flights, saying that a continual reduction in flights is necessary to lower carbon emissions enough to reach their stated goal.
In a statement, KLM said it would not be in its interest "to misinform customers" and that it understood the role airlines have to play in sustainable travel. If the case in the District Court of Amsterdam is successful, the airline will have to stop this campaign, avoid similar advertising in the future, and issue corrections.
It’s not the first airline to be taken to court over the issue. In 2020 Ryanair was accused of greenwashing after the UK Advertising Standards Authority banned a campaign claiming that the airline has the lowest CO2 emissions of any major airline in Europe. It was ordered to withdraw the misleading claims about its 'green' credentials.
An example of more effective sustainability commitment can be found on the other side of the world. Australian airline Qantas has partnered with Airbus to jointly invest US$200mn to escalate the establishment of a local sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry in Australia. Under the partnership, Airbus and Qantas will jointly invest in local initiatives to produce SAF in Australia, should they meet “strict” criteria around commercial viability and environmental sustainability. With its commitment to using 10% SAF in its overall fuel mix by 2030, Qantas is, hopefully, unlikely to fall foul of any advertising watchdogs.
CHAMPION GRINER'S GUILTY PLEA
On Thursday US basketball champion Brittney Griner pled guilty to drug charges in Moscow, following months of calls for her release after she was detained by the Russian Federal Security Service in February. While Griner prepares to give her testimony on an as-of-yet undecided date, the world waits to see if the US and Russia will come to an agreement on her release.
The Olympic gold medallist and Women’s National Basketball Association trophy-winner was arrested while travelling to Russia to play during the off-season. Griner faces up to 10 years in prison for transporting vape cartridges containing cannabis oil into the country, which she argues were “accidentally” packed in her luggage and were not brought into Russia with “intent” on her part. Her arrest occurred as Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, and some to believe that her continued detainment is an act of retaliation towards the West for its response to the war. Speaking to Yahoo Sports in March, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia Evelyn Farkas suggested that Griner could be a “high-profile hostage” for Russia to gain some form of advantage during the conflict.
While Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has argued against “formal steps” for release being made while the trial is ongoing, there is already speculation that Griner will be ‘swapped’ for a Russian prisoner in the US. Steve Zissou, attorney for the infamous arms dealer Viktor Bout, claims that Russia is considering releasing Griner and American prisoner Paul Whelan in exchange for Bout, who is being held in the United States Penitentiary, Marion.
The next hearing of Griner’s trial is scheduled for July 14th. While it remains to be seen if a prisoner swap will take place, President Joe Biden has reportedly informed Griner’s wife Cherelle that they are sparing no effort to bring the basketball champion home.
WIMBLEDON: COURTS AND CONTROVERSIES
Tennis ‘bad boy’ Nick Kyrgios has been gifted a ticket to the Wimbledon final after Rafael Nadal withdrew from their scheduled semi-final due to an abdominal tear that left him unable to serve. This unusual turn of events would attract attention in any circumstances, but with Kyrgios in the hot seat sports pundits and social media commenters have been gifted their own moment of excitement.
Despite being an inarguably good tennis player, ranked 40th in the world, Kyrgios is most famous for his behaviour on and off court. Examples of such behaviour include threatening to refuse to play and walking off the court, ranting at umpires and calling a line judge a ‘snitch with no fans’, and spitting at a ‘disrespectful’ member of the crowd. And that’s just in the last week.
Kyrgios’ performance at Wimbledon 2022 marks the latest in a lengthy series of incidents, which have earnt the player nearly £700,000 in fines over the years. Off the court, Kyrgios was also charged with domestic assault of ex-girlfriend Chiara Passari in December of last year.
One might argue that we expect too much of our sports stars, if we feel it is their job to be an example for the next generation and stay whiter than the white (whites that, incidentally, Kyrgios has refused to wear). Perhaps, but basic respect, courtesy, and appropriate behaviour are expected from most of society, not just those in the spotlight.
At a press conference, Kyrgios defended his reaction to the fan, saying: "Just pure disrespect…I don’t go into Argos and just start smashing someone at the counter when they’re doing their job. I’ve never done that in my life." Confusingly, after losing a match in 2019, Kyrgios spat at an umpire (an umpire who, presumably, was just doing his job?) before branding him a "tool."
King of the analogy he is not. King of the Court? Let’s see what Sunday brings.
CONSTABULARY TO CONSTABLE'S RESCUE
On Monday, art lovers were horrified to see Just Stop Oil activists target the National Gallery, and specifically Constable’s The Hay Wain, in yet another adhesive incident that saw two protestors cover the original artwork with a print depicting an dystopian version of the painting before gluing themselves to the picture's frame. One of the latest in an escalating series of stunts, the protestors have appeared at galleries from Glasgow to Manchester to London in recent weeks, targeting prominent artists including Van Gogh and Turner with their adhesive antics.
Many have voiced not only their consternation towards the protestors, but concern that this was so easy for the protestors to achieve. In each case, the activists simply walked into the gallery, stepped over the rope barrier and proceeded to get to work on their fixative-focussed protest. Surely these historic pieces must have some better security in place to prevent such potentially damaging demonstrations?
The protestors were soon arrested by the MET police on suspicion of criminal damage to the 200-year-old artwork, though they have since been released on bail pending further inquiries. The Just Stop Oil group said that they had targeted the National Gallery because they had “no choice but to continue to target major cultural events and locations in order to gain attention for the biggest crime against humanity." Of course, the group have many valid arguments as to why new oil and gas projects are contributing to the climate crisis, but whether gluing themselves to priceless artworks is the best way of sharing this message remains open to debate.
The National Gallery released a statement after the incident, stating that the frame had suffered minor damage, as had the painting's varnish, but these were both promptly repaired and the painting rehung. However, there was no word on any increase in security measures. Questions remain on quite how easy it was for the protestors to pull off such a potentially damaging demonstration and whether the next piece they target will be so lucky to escape relatively unscathed as The Hay Wain did.
And that’s it for this week. I hope you found something of interest that you might want to delve into further. If so, please get in touch at cwilkins@audley.uk.com.
For now, that’s the weekend box officially closed.