The Monocle Minute

As the last 2025 Munich Security Conference lanyard is tossed into the dusty desk drawer of history, Europe awakens blinking in the light of a continent transformed. The organisers of events such as these rely on headlines to remain relevant but surely Dr Christoph Heusgen, chairman of MSC (as it’s known), can’t have wished for such a storm to be cooked up at the annual foreign-policy jamboree that has become the Davos of a rearming world. Europe’s leaders were already bruised and battered following an enfilade of Trumpian pronouncements on Ukraine when they arrived in Bavaria on Friday. At a press conference at 09.00, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen looked in desperate need of a few days R&R in the Voralpenland – then came US vice president JD Vance.

The most high-profile attendee at MSC used his opening-morning speech to decry the continent’s leaders as an out-of-touch elite “running in fear from its own voters”. During an event specifically intended to deal with matters of defence and security, the author of Hillbilly Elegy brought America’s culture wars to the Bayerischer Hof. He diagnosed Europe’s largest threat as the “enemy within” while wading into an already highly charged German election campaign that concludes this Sunday. Reactions from the lobbies and coffee zones of the conference were notable for their use of the letter B: I heard “bonkers”, “bewildering”, “bananas” and a few others of a more profane nature.

Still, despite an almost complete disavowal of their country’s post-war diplomatic principles, America’s leaders maintain an unrivalled zeal for the pageantry of high protocol. I failed to count exactly how many cars the veep had in his armoured motorcade but it was more than 25. As my colleague Anita endured yet another long wait in the bitter Bavarian cold while the barking Polizei secured the perimeter, a seasoned US foreign correspondent was heard to remark: “Well this is one way to Make America Unpopular Again.” Vance used his speech to try out another way. The past week may well have been the most damaging for US-European relations in decades.

Alexis Self is Monocle’s foreign editor. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.

When Donald Trump announced last week that “we’re going back to plastic straws”, revoking a ban on their use by the US government with an executive order, I received a litany of messages from friends asking how I’d be celebrating (writes Fernando Augusto Pacheco). The truth is I never – not for one sip – sucked up to the idea of paper straws. I’ve tried most alternatives, from flimsy paper tubes to those odd metallic ones, and found them almost universally lacking. They suck, or more to the point, they don’t. I confess to keeping a not-so-secret stash of my favoured plastic variety in my office drawer; they cost more and are hard to find but it’s a true guilty pleasure.

I recognise, of course, that too much plastic ends up in oceans and, increasingly, in our bodies. But I’m a believer in the power of science to innovate: I would happily swap my plastic straws for a newer, environmentally friendly version that’s usable. And I believe others would do the same. After all, researchers at the University of Antwerp have shown that there are more “forever chemicals” in paper straws than in plastic ones; chemicals that end up in the environment for decades. In 2024, Starbucks in Japan announced that they were replacing paper straws for a plant-based biomass plastic alternative. I’m certainly willing to give them a go. But if they’re not up to scratch, there’s a multi-million dollar business still waiting for somebody to get it right.

In the latest issue of Monocle, we visit the newly opened University Children’s Hospital Zürich, a masterclass in how architecture can help to encourage good health and recovery. Nicknamed Kispi, it was designed by Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron as an alternative to purely functional medical facilities. “Wherever possible, we wanted to use wood,” says Christine Binswanger, a senior partner at Herzog & de Meuron, who helmed the project. “Timber’s ability to support healing is well documented.”

The hospital’s architecture also helps to make the stay of its young patients easier: the building’s low profile creates a welcoming, accessible feel, while courtyards offer moments of respite for children and their carers. This inviting atmosphere extends to the windows in the lift cabins, which are placed at child’s height so that the little ones can see something that the adults might not notice. It sets a new benchmark for what a children’s hospital should be: a place where architecture helps to support the care and wellbeing of everyone inside.

In need of some inspiration for 2025? Monocle’s February issue is on newsstands now.

The Japanese government is responding to record numbers of visitors by making its first foray into a booming consumer market: collectables. In a bid to lure tourists away from the bustling cities and out to Japan’s national parks, the Ministry of the Environment has launched a series of 35 goshuin stamps, which are traditionally obtained at temples and shrines around Japan and collected by pilgrims as a token of their journey. The new stamps are calligraphic and feature the names of each national park in thick, distinct brushstrokes. They can be collected from visitor centres and kept by tourists as an artful memento of their time in the great outdoors.

By tapping into the collectors’ urge and promoting traditional design, the move intends to exact a more gentle tourism in 2025. There has been concern in Japan about overtourism, so the ministry hopes that visitors will find a path less trodden to alleviate pressure on cities and generate more wealth for countryside businesses – it has our stamp of approval.

Joe Wright is the acclaimed director behind Pride & Prejudice, Atonement and Darkest Hour. His latest and perhaps most ambitious project is eight-part series Mussolini: Son of the Century, which documents the rise of the Italian dictator. Since its release on Sky Atlantic this month, it has been regarded by many critics as a contender for the TV show of the year.

Why did you decide to tell the story of Benito Mussolini?
As a kid, I didn’t really understand what fascism meant. I was going on nuclear-disarmament marches and watching gigs organised by [anti-Thatcher music movement] Red Wedge and fascism became this kind of pejorative term you’d throw at people in authority. But with the recent rise of the populist far-right across the world, I felt that it was incumbent upon me to try to understand what fascism really means. Like all my work, it was about educating myself.

How did you work with historical texts in writing the script?
Antonio Scurati’s book [M: Son Of The Century] was monumental. It’s all in there, from the facts to the aesthetic. It combines text, newspaper articles, fictional scenes, telegrams – and this kind of collage effect was what we sought to reflect in the show. Being in Italy for two years also meant that I was talking to people constantly about Mussolini and his legacy, from taxi drivers to academics. Italy never really dealt with its fascist past. There were no Nuremberg trials, no truth and reconciliation after the war. They almost just pretended that it hadn’t happened.

You make it very clear in the series that fascism is still a live and relevant topic today.
When I set out to make the show, I was trying to draw parallels with our time but the deeper I went the more I realised that actually I didn’t need to be didactic. I just needed to present the facts and the feelings as cinematically as possible, allowing the audience to draw parallels for themselves. We left one in just because we couldn’t resist it, which was “Make Italy great again”.

We journey down the banks of the Danube to get a taste of Eastern European cuisine with Romanian food writer Irina Georgescu. Plus: Paige Reynolds heads to Leydi, a new Turkish opening in London and Maisie Ringer explores the revival of absinthe.