🇩🇰Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that 🇫🇮Finnish President Alexander Stubb and 🇳🇴Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store had gone “solo” by calling Vladimir Putin. Is the action by Finland and Norway: A) Practical and useful diplomacy; B) Appeasement / normalisation of the Kremlin’s behaviour, influencing the global optics on Russia; C) Other?

During a visit to 🇸🇬Singapore, 🇩🇪German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said 🇪🇺Europe and Germany want to increase “free trade with open competition, reliability and a rules-based order”. Merz also encouraged the “middle powers in Asia to assert their interests”. Is that the German encouragement of the “poison shrimp” among Asian countries vis-à-vis 🇨🇳China: A) Yes; B) No? xitter.cf/dovydas44444/status/21…

🇳🇱The Dutch government plans to cut 25,000 jobs in AI-led overhaul, targeting an efficiency drive to make the central administration smaller, smarter, and simpler. The plan is phase out roughly 16% of the central government’s total workforce of around 160,000 over the coming years leading up to 2035. The plan targets savings of €900 million per year by 2027, rising to €3.5 billion annually from 2035. Thw cuts will be supported by an AI-led efficiency drive and administrative overhauls to boost productivity. Detailed action plans and targets for deploying AI will be presented by the cabinet in the first quarter of 2027. Police and defense personnel are exempt from the reductions, meaning the impact will be concentrated primarily within ministries, inspectorates, and various implementing agencies. The Dutch strategy also involves simplifying rules - aiming to cut 500 rules a year - and selling off surplus government buildings. Are the Dutch the first in the Western world to take seriously the potential impact of AI on the public sector governance: A) Yes; B) No?

🇮🇱As voters head to the polls in Israel today, final forecasts and opinion trends indicate a profound political shift and a highly anticipated coalition deadlock. Mainstream tracking and market data indicate that neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing right-wing coalition nor the main opposition bloc is projected to secure the definitive 61-seat Knesset majority required to form a government outright. A breakdown of predictions from leading forecasting platforms, polling aggregators, and betting markets outlines the expectations for the vote: • Poliwave seat projection: models a neck-and-neck tie for the top spot, predicting 24 seats for Likud (Netanyahu) and 24 seats for Yashar (Gadi Eisenkot); Naftali Bennett’s Together Party follows with a projected 12 seats, and Yair Golan’s The Democrats at 9 seats; • PolitPro aggregated election trend places the incumbent Likud at 18.7% of the vote intention and the newly surged Yashar at 17.0%; • Major Israeli Broadcasters (Channels 11, 12, & 13 Consolidated) project Netanyahu’s bloc to capture roughly 50 seats, while the main opposition bloc led by Eisenkot is tracking toward 54 seats, leaving both sides short of the 61-seat threshold; • Polymarket strongly favours a shift in leadership; Gadi Eisenkot’s probability of becoming the next prime minister stands at 58%, compared to Benjamin Netanyahu’s 27%. Key variables & potential “Kingmakers”: • Arab-led parties are projected to capture a combined 16 seats: the Alhurra network reports that Mansour Abbas, leader of the Ra’am party, has publicly stated an intent to replace Netanyahu, while the Joint List has signaled a willingness to conditionally support an opposition government from the outside. A core campaign issue driving secular swing voters toward the opposition is the ongoing controversy regarding ultra-Orthodox military exemptions, an arrangement Netanyahu has defended to preserve his alliance with religious factions. What is Israel looking at post-election: A) Quick and smooth transition to a new coalition government led by Eisenkot; B) Long post-election cattle trading, leaving in the country in a political limbo for months; C) Netanyahu retaining power; D) Other?

🇻🇪Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez - in her position since the removal of the Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January 2026 - stated that the opposition leader María Corina Machado must show “regret, remorse and a change of course” following her return to the country from months in exile. Rodríguez rejected what she termed a “show” or spectacle surrounding Machado’s arrival, and denied that the opposition faces political persecution. Following months in exile - which included a clandestine escape from Venezuela and accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway in December 2025 - Machado returned to jubilant crowds of thousands demanding new elections. Following the 🇺🇸US military capture of Maduro, his longtime ally Delcy Rodríguez took over as acting president with the blessing of the Trump administration. Though initially supposed to serve a 90-day transitional term, Rodríguez has remained in office, and has not yet called for a new vote. Rodríguez has granted Washington access to massive Venezuelan crude reserves and signed major extraction agreements with foreign firms. US President Donald Trump publicly acknowledged that US is “doing really well in Venezuela” under the current political and contractual arrangements. Machado and her party, Vente Venezuela, are actively pushing for a firm presidential election date for 2027 and demanding that she be permitted to legally run on the ballot. Is Machado’s return a risk to the fresh US interests and arrangements in post-Maduro Venezuela: A) Yes; B) No? xitter.cf/dovydas44444/status/20…

Microsoft is asking 60,000 employees to quit voluntarily. The company has launched a Voluntary Exit Offer, making 60,000 employees eligible for “voluntary buyouts”. The massive initiative represents about 27% of Microsoft’s global workforce of 223,000. The company is implementing this program to trim costs and reallocate resource budgets for its $190 billion AI capital expenditure push. Staff at Level 70 and below (including positions up to the Vice President level) are eligible across 4 countries: 🇺🇸US, 🇨🇦Canada, 🇮🇳India, and 🇬🇧UK. Unlike previous plans, eligibility is not restricted by age or years of service. Key affected units include AI Experiences, Copilot, Windows + Devices, Xbox, Finance, and Human Resources. Employees working in Data Centres, Sales, Marketing, and Security are excluded from the offer. Eligible employees have until early December 2026 to make a decision, with participating workers officially exiting the company on 32 December 2026. While Microsoft has not detailed the exact package for this specific wave, it noted the packages are similar to standard severance. Past severance packages at the company ranged from 8 to 39 weeks of base pay depending on internal level and tenure. This is Microsoft’s second major voluntary reduction program of 2026. In April, the company rolled out a Voluntary Retirement Program targeting 9,000 US workers, which saw a 30% adoption rate and reduced the need for forced layoffs earlier in the year. Management at Microsoft anticipates a much lower take-rate for this current offer since it targets a broader pool of standard tech workers rather than retirement-ready staff. This year alone Oracle cut 20% of its workforce, Intel 15%, Meta 10%, Uber 10%. Amazon and Google underwent much smaller cuts. Is the Big Tech pivot from the human workforce to the AI Infrastructure paying off: A) Yes; B) No?