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Future

From China To Sweden, Volvo's Electric Car Challenge To Tesla

A Geely auto assembly line in China
A Geely auto assembly line in China

Finally some serious competition for Tesla. Just days after Elon Musk said his American multi-billion dollar electric automobile startup would start producing its Model 3, the brand's first mass-market electric car, a heavyweight automaker from the past declared "the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car." By 2019, all new Volvo models will come with an electric motor (either pure electric or hybrid), making the Swedish company the first traditional carmaker with precise plans to go all electric.

Wednesday's move is a bold one, given global sales of electric vehicles represented less than 1% of all auto sales last year. But, says Volvo's head of R&D, (the appropriately named) Henrik Green: "The technology is ripe, the price is right and our customers are ready."

That all remains to be seen, but the question is on everyone's mind, two days before a G20 summit, in the northern German city of Hamburg, that will focus on climate change. After Donald Trump's decision to take the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord, the world must figure out how to reboot the global effort to combat carbon emissions. The world's most populous country, China, has made a point of showing its commitment to the agreement and, together with the EU, it forged a green alliance to "lead the energy transition."

Beyond the long-term boost for its image on the world stage, China also has a clear and present national interest in drastically reducing its pollution levels. Its recently appointed new environment minister has vowed to wage a "protracted battle" against pollution, while China is aggressively building green-technology-driven businesses.

Indeed, China is already the world's leader for electric car sales and it is the main driving force behind the sector's boom. That even reaches all the way to … Sweden: Volvo is owned by a Chinese company, Geely, which acquired the Swedish brand in 2010 from Ford Motors.

American automakers, from Henry Ford to Elon Musk, have helped lead the world into the future. That a new (and green) challenge is arriving from China, via Sweden, can only be a good thing.

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Economy

Lex Tusk? How Poland’s Controversial "Russian Influence" Law Will Subvert Democracy

The new “lex Tusk” includes language about companies and their management. But is this likely to be a fair investigation into breaking sanctions on Russia, or a political witch-hunt in the business sphere?

Photo of President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda

Polish President Andrzej Duda

Piotr Miaczynski, Leszek Kostrzewski

-Analysis-

WARSAW — Poland’s new Commission for investigating Russian influence, which President Andrzej Duda signed into law on Monday, will be able to summon representatives of any company for inquiry. It has sparked a major controversy in Polish politics, as political opponents of the government warn that the Commission has been given near absolute power to investigate and punish any citizen, business or organization.

And opposition politicians are expected to be high on the list of would-be suspects, starting with Donald Tusk, who is challenging the ruling PiS government to return to the presidency next fall. For that reason, it has been sardonically dubbed: Lex Tusk.

University of Warsaw law professor Michal Romanowski notes that the interests of any firm can be considered favorable to Russia. “These are instruments which the likes of Putin and Orban would not be ashamed of," Romanowski said.

The law on the Commission for examining Russian influences has "atomic" prerogatives sewn into it. Nine members of the Commission with the rank of secretary of state will be able to summon virtually anyone, with the powers of severe punishment.

Under the new law, these Commissioners will become arbiters of nearly absolute power, and will be able to use the resources of nearly any organ of the state, including the secret services, in order to demand access to every available document. They will be able to prosecute people for acts which were not prohibited at the time they were committed.

Their prerogatives are broader than that of the President or the Prime Minister, wider than those of any court. And there is virtually no oversight over their actions.

Nobody can feel safe. This includes companies, their management, lawyers, journalists, and trade unionists.

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