Dear Colleagues,

Although I’m not exactly a ‘glass half-full’ person, I used to think Stephen Hawking’s dire warnings on the existential threats mankind faces for this century  and  beyond (see also here ) were a bit, well, dire. For a number of reasons, I no longer think so.   Apparently, the Elders think so too.      

Back in the 90s, when studying political science, I also couldn’t get my head around why so many Germans had been voting in the early 30s for a screaming madman with silly moustache, frantically raising his right arm at every other turn. By now, that has changed too.  And not just because of that MAGA (annex /MAHA) cult and their ‘God-chosen leader’ in the US.

I won’t spend much words on the US presidential election next Tuesday, as everything has been said I guess. Too bad we don’t have a say in this, though, as the superpower in decline still heavily impacts billions. But no, the rest of the world can just watch –  wavering between despair and a bit of...