Originally published by Ian Bremmer on LinkedIn: #Winners and #Losers: The Art of Irony
The Week in Kettles Calling Pots Black
Winner: Russia—in response to Russian media outlet RT America being branded a “foreign agent” by the US congress, Russia’s Justice Ministry responded in kind this week by registering nine media outlets—including Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty—as foreign agents as well. #TwoCanPlay
Loser: Democratic Senator Al Franken—announces his intention to resign following numerous sexual harassment allegations. The right thing to do, but undercut by his pointing out how “ironic” it was that Donald Trump still gets to be president. We’re all aware of the irony, Al. #UnFunny
The Week in Surprise Reveals
Winner: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman—turns out that the anonymous buyer of the $450.3 million “Salvator Mundi” da Vinci is almost-king Mohammed bin Salman, who has spent the last month purging rivals as part of an “anti-corruption” drive. That’s what irony looks like, Al. #Multitasking
Loser: Russian President Vladimir Putin—drops a surprise announcement this week that he’s running for reelection at a car-making factory. #HomoSovieticus
The Week in Take-Backs
Winner: Rejected asylum seekers in Germany—Germany’s Interior Ministry floated a proposal this week to give rejected asylum seekers up to $3,570 to voluntarily return home. #NoOneLeavesEmptyHanded
Loser: Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri—rescinds the resignation he announced last month from Riyadh. Now he gets to (again) preside over a country that’s a battleground for Saudi-Iran proxy wars. #LateralMove
The Week in Surprise Settings
Winner: Australian Member of Parliament Tim Wilson— while addressing the House of Representatives during the final debate to legalize same-sex marriage in Australia, Wilson popped the question to his long-term partner. He said yes. #TheYaysHaveIt
Loser: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan—visited Greece this week, the first time in 65 years that a sitting Turkish president has done so. Erdogan took the opportunity to… complain about the Treaty of Lausanne, which was signed in 1923. #LausanneTiming
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Ian Bremmer is president of Eurasia Group, foreign affairs columnist at TIME and Global Research Professor at New York University. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.