The long view

1.
Colin I Bradford Jr
Non-resident senior fellow, Brookings Institute
Washington DC, USA

Who would you like to see more of over the coming year?
Barack Obama represents the best shift in direction that the country and world could hope for in terms of the US starting again.

And less?
Chávez. Most concerning is what he can do internally to tighten control, and it’s having a hugely damaging effect around the region and on Venezuelan society.

What themes do you anticipate dominating the headlines?
Energy. The scale of challenge, investment and international cooperation needed over the next 45 years is enormous.

What countries will be in the news for good reasons?
India copes well with social, political and technological issues in a democratic framework. Chile also: they show tremendous political and social stability and manage their economy and country well.

And for bad?
Putin’s way of consolidating power internally and projecting it abroad is dangerous. He’s using Russia’s energy for political purposes when we need cooperative international behaviour.

2.
Ilkka Kanerva
Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs
Helsinki, Finland

Who would you like to see more of over the coming year?
Those who promote human rights, democracy and peace. And leaders committed to supporting them.

And less?
I would like to see less of those leaders who bring misery to their own people, as well as those who ignore them.

What themes do you anticipate dominating the headlines?
Climate change, Kosovo, Russia’s power change, the Middle East and Finland’s glorious Olympic athletes.

What countries will be in the news for good reasons?
Darfur, Iraq, Iran and other world hot spots, I hope…

And for bad?
…But I am afraid that it will not be the case for all of them.

3.
Simon Anholt
Government adviser
London, UK

Who would you like to see more of over the coming year?
Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia. Rest-oring the monarchy is Serbia’s best hope of rectifying its reputation. Though a fantasy event, a benign head of state is a great way of turning round a country’s image.

And less?
Al Gore has exceeded his usefulness. He has become increasingly counter-productive to the central issues of climate change. Climate change should be about solutions not problems. His sole function at the moment is to merely stamp over and over on a raw nerve until a kind of terror fatigue sets in.

What themes do you anticipate dominating the headlines?
Following King Wangchuck’s ideas of Gross National Happiness in Bhutan, national contentment is coming into focus. In the West, nations are beginning to question what happens after they achieve a certain state of material success.

What countries will be in the news for good reasons?
I think eventually we are going to see the civilised, decent people of Pakistan, Iran and Iraq getting more and more hacked off with their public perception as bloodthirsty barbarians. They will stand up and fight back against their worldwide reputation, created mostly by the US media and government. I also believe that the current anti-Americanism is only a fad and will pass when the Republicans lose their grip on the country.

And for bad?
China is struggling against its worsening representation. Its reputation has flipped catastrophically recently based on its environmental and foreign policies, and now they are pinning everything on the Beijing Olympics to rectify that.

4.
Paula Scher
Principal at Pentagram
New York, USA

Who would you like to see more of over the coming year?
I would like to see more of Al Gore, not as a candidate but as a smart voice helping to steer us in the right direction. He has an opportunity to become a voice and a conscience. I think he can talk about broader issues than just green; I think he could talk about world security.

And less?
I would like to see less of the rhetoric of our current [Bush] administration and I am afraid I am not going to, as they are just spewing out ridiculous nonsense either about Iran or Cuba. They’re inflammatory and they are warmongers. What themes do you anticipate dominating the headlines? Unfortunately the same themes – I think it is going to be terrorism. Terrorism is going to be something we are going to have to define, as one man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist. There will be focus again on the Middle East, on Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and also on Cuba and Turkey.

What countries will be in the news for good reasons?
If we get optimistic about it I think Cuba is poised for a change for the better. If we don’t stand in their way I think there will be more foreign investment there, it will begin to become a more powerful economy and they will ultimately change their government.

And for bad?
The same old suspects: the US, the continual problems with the Middle Eastern countries.