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Quest Means Business
Police: Two Killed, Six Injured, Shooter Dead at Wisconsin K-12 School; Source: Trump to Meet with TikTok CEO Today; Softbank CEO Announces $100 Billion Investment in US; Royal Mail Set To Have Foreign Owner; Law Enforcement Official: Suspect In Madison Shooting Is A Teenage Girl; Syrian Presidency telegram Account: Assad Says Departure Was Unplanned. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired December 16, 2024 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00]
CHIEF SHON BARNES, MADISON, WISCONSIN POLICE: -- more right now. It is about the safety of everyone.
This is going to be a long day for the Madison Police Department. I just want some of your patience.
REPORTER: Did the school have any prior threats? And then just, you know, jumping off of that, do you know if the shooter had had any prior contact
with law enforcement?
BARNES: We do not know that the shooter had any prior contact with law enforcement, but I did do a check of the school. There were some calls, but
they were like 911 hang ups, things of that nature. There was nothing that suggested that the school was a place that violence would occur.
REPORTER: Chief, I know that you mentioned that the shooter died of a self- inflicted gunshot wound. Did that happen before officers arrived at the school? Or when the shooter saw officers coming into the school?
BARNES: Yes, so let me say that the cause and manner in which the shooter died will be determined by the ME. But what I can tell you is the shooter
was dead upon our arrival, police department arrival, and no officers fired their weapons, okay.
REPORTER: What are these search warrants you're executing? Are they at the residence on like the device the shooter had?
BARNES: What do you -- I'm sorry.
REPORTER: You did a search warrant?
BARNES: Yes, so the extent of the search warrant is to be able to go in a place that we don't have permission to be in and make sure that everyone is
okay, and then if there's any evidence that we think we need to collect, we could only do that with the use of a search warrant.
And so again, we have to determine if there is evidence that we will need. Everyone wants to know what led up to this. Are there any additional
threats to public safety? Is this person or was this person by themselves? There are a lot of questions that we want to answer, but we have to answer
the safety questions first, and then we will move on to some of the more investigatory questions.
REPORTER: Are you in possession of any of the shooter's devices.
BARNES: I am not, no.
REPORTER: I'm wondering about the metal detectors. You mentioned in the first meeting that you were not a fan, but -- and that this school probably
doesn't have them. And do you know other schools that do? Do you think that that's something we should start talking about? Metal detectors in schools?
BARNES: I guess, the question is, would you want your child to go to a school with or without metal detectors?
REPORTER: I can't answer that. I am asking right now --
BARNES: I can't -- yes.
REPORTER: -- the schools without them.
BARNES: Yes, yes. Absolutely. So the idea is to create the safest environment that we can without metal detectors. That is my answer.
Hey.
REPORTER: -- a shooting at a Christian school right before the Christmas holiday. Can you address the impact of that? And is the Christmas holiday
at all in your belief related to as a motivation for the shooting?
BARNES: Yes, so to again, to the question of motivation, we don't know why, but to the question of so close to Christmas, we have a lot of people who
are going to be impacted.
It is a Christian school, then obviously our holidays, our Christian holidays are very important. To the students, very important. It is a time
for family. Students probably getting ready to go out on break, and now, the break will be a little less about celebrating Christmas, they are more
about celebrating perhaps friends and loved ones and staff members who perhaps lost their life.
That's why I am asking everyone to of course, keep Abundant Life Christian School in your thoughts, and in your prayers. And we will get a couple
more, okay?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. Real quick --
REPORTER: So it is private school that (INAUDIBLE) system, so what has this revealed about the gaps in security or training for staff? Is that
something that you're thinking about now whether for the schools that are private (INAUDIBLE) public schools, when it comes to safety?
BARNES: Well, what I am telling you is, is that in 1997, I began my professional career as a public school teacher. I taught History for four
years before becoming a police officer, so I did not get far enough to take courses in administration and budgeting of schools.
I don't know what governs private schools if they receive money, where that comes from, that would probably be a question that you would probably need
to ask someone who is more intimately involved in the school system and what their requirements are if they do receive that.
But you could probably compare what has happened or what goes on their security measures with the security measures of any school in MMSD and then
that will may give you your answer.
It is a very --
REPORTER: A very quick follow up.
BARNES: Okay.
REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) to these school shooting incidents (INAUDIBLE). How did that inform your game plan today and hopefully, with your officers in
getting to the school. What were they told to do?
BARNES: Sure. We train on this as I spoke about earlier. When officers arrive on the scene, they immediately go in, which we did in this case.
Stop the threat, stop the killing, find the killer. That's how we train, and that's exactly what we did today.
There is no waiting. There is no coordination of who is in charge. Everyone knows exactly what to do.
I spoke about this earlier.
[16:05:09]
We train on this constantly. Our commanders, including the fire chief, and I was in a commanders' training less than two weeks ago, going over this
exact same scenario for another fictional location.
And so all of that came into play today, and our officers performed extremely well based on their training and based on the expectations that
they know exactly what to do to, stop the threat, stop the killing, find the threat.
Mayor --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can we just do one more?
Hold on right here.
MAYOR SATYA RHODES-CONWAY, MADISON, WISCONSIN: Thank you all.
I think the questions have been asked and we are straying a little far from what's most important at this point in time and that is the victims and
their families.
I have three things to add. First of all, there is a lot that our community can and will do in the coming days to support the victims and their
families, and we will have more information at future briefings.
If anyone and I would urge you all to include this in your stories, if anyone needs mental health support as a result of this incident and the
coverage of it, I encourage them to reach out to 988 by phone or text, and to get the mental health support that they need. It is incredibly important
that we take care of our community in this very difficult time.
We all have a role in preventing gun violence. Our entire community needs to be part of the solution here. There are many things that we can do, and
we can have those conversations in coming days.
But first and foremost, what needs to be the priority for all of us is supporting our young people, and that is where our community's attention
needs to turn at this point in time.
The police department, the fire department, the city, the county will share additional information about the investigation as it becomes available. But
I urge you all to help our community find resources to support their mental health and to find resources to support the victims and families at this
time.
Thank you all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE). Me, Stephanie, and Cynthia will stick around to answer any other questions, folks. That's all.
BARNES: Let me -- let me just say, let me say just before I go because, the mayor mentioned that this was a whole of government response. It certainly
was. And there are so many people that we want to thank. We cannot thank everyone. But this is also a whole of law enforcement response.
Even though we are in different agencies, we all have the same training, and so I want to thank our partners with the FBI who are here with me
today, partners with the ATF, Dane County Emergency Management. Of course, we already talked about --
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": So there we have the chief of police, along with the mayor in Madison, Wisconsin giving
us what few details they have, one teacher, one student is known to have died, several more people are in hospital with life threatening injuries.
The gunman, the gun boy, gun teenager, we don't know, we don't know. We haven't been given any identification on that, is also dead.
Veronica Miracle is with me in Los Angeles and has been following closely what we've heard. What did we learn?
VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Richard, you're right that we don't know the gender or the age of the suspect. But the police chief did
say that the suspect was a teenager who was able to obtain somehow, a handgun.
According to sources who spoke with CNN's Josh Campbell. That gun was a nine-millimeter handgun. And important to note here that federal law
prohibits a dealer from selling a handgun to anyone under the age of 21. But in the state of Wisconsin, where the shooting took place, they do allow
the private sale to someone 18 or older to obtain a handgun.
So if the individual is 18, we don't know, we just know that they're a teenager, it is possible that they were able to obtain this handgun
legally. That is still to be determined as we learn more throughout this investigation.
The police chief would not comment on a motive. They are really holding a lot of information tightly right now, but they did say that the shooter's
family is cooperating with this investigation.
Just because students and young children were involved in this, one of the dead, one of the individuals who was killed was a teenage student, the
other person was a staff member and then there are multiple people who have been injured with, as you said, life threatening injuries. So the number of
dead could, of course, fluctuate. That number could go up. So they're keeping things very, very tight right now.
They did say that the shooting was located to a small section of the school.
[16:10:10]
It is a very small Christian private school that serves students from K through 12, just a few hundred students. Only 55 staff members.
And then they said that, of course, they are still working to determine a motive. However, the students and the parents who are safe, they have been
reunified. We have seen video throughout this morning of just small young children going to be reunified with their parents. Absolutely tragic.
QUEST: All right, Veronica, grateful. Thank you. Veronica in Los Angeles joining me.
Just to those of you who may not be as familiar when we talk about K-12, we are talking about up to 18 years old from kindergarten.
Daniel Brunner is there. There you have him. Daniel Brunner is the retired FBI special agent and president of The Brunner Sierra Group. He is with me
now.
I was much taken with the sort of the comments made by the police chief that we shouldn't have to be doing this, but we are and there is -- and
even when he talked about the procedures for reunification of children with parents, he said, you know, we know how to do this. We shouldn't have to,
but we've practiced it a lot.
DANIEL BRUNNER, RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT, PRESIDENT OF THE BRUNNER SIERRA GROUP: Yes, it is unfortunate that we are here again, talking about this
situation, another mass shooting, especially at a children's school. My heart goes out to the family and to everyone involved and that's this -- as
the chief said, this is going to be a rippling effect, not only are the families of the victims, but the other victims are those that are not even
shot.
Everyone in that school is going to have some problems, you know, either mental or sleeping at night. There are going to be after effects of this
and that's why there are trained individuals at the FBI that are victims specialists. They will be there. They will be supporting the Madison Police
Department, the state of Wisconsin, and they will be all coming together as a community to support everyone else.
The fact that a shooting has occurred again, it is an unfortunate situation that we have here in the United States, the Second Amendment, and we need
to find out why and how this pathway to violence of this individual, this student went along this way and find out why they started, how he was able
to obtain the gun and make it more difficult for those students to -- individuals to get guns, and there has to be proper training at home.
QUEST: To a large extent we can, you know, and I am not in any sense you'll appreciate, minimizing, but it is a very simple set of circumstances, note
I say not easy, but it is a simple set of circumstances. Who this person was and how he or she came off the rails to such an extent? How they got
the gun? And of course, we've had those cases, of course, where recently of who is liable for the person getting the gun and that will be something
else.
And then the procedures that need to be taking place within a school. The chief of police there saying he doesn't favor metal detectors in schools.
BRUNNER: That's again-- this is an unfortunate situation. You're right. I don't particularly think that it is considered simple. I think that this is
a very difficult situation. You know, any shooting, whether it be at a school or whether it be at a nightclub or whether it be, you know, racially
motivated, any type of shooting, no matter what, if it is gang related.
I worked in the gang unit for 15 years. I've been involved with many of these shootings. Every single one of them are complicated. And to
understand why this pathway to violence and this individual got there, getting the metal detector --
QUEST: Sorry. Forgive me. No, no -- but what I mean by simple, sir, is in these cases, we always end up going back to the same core questions that
are at the heart. How did they get the gun? Which part of the system failed?
I mean, you know, the second amendment or whatever aspect of it, the family relationship that took place. But there is no question tonight, a week
before Christmas, that the heartache and misery that this has brought upon this relatively small community is quite -- is quite extraordinary.
BRUNNER: And this conversation will continue to be had undoubtedly beyond today. And every time we have an incident like this, this conversation is
had in our homes, at the political level, in offices around the United States of how did we let this happen again? How do we not prevent this? Is
it metal detectors? Is it better training? Is it more gun control? Is it less gun control?
Is it putting more guns in the hands of people? Those are the conversations that have to be had. Saying hearts and prayers is not the right answer. We
have to have a constructive conversation regarding weapons and guns in this country.
[16:15:10]
Getting rid of all guns is not the answer.
QUEST: As just a final brief one question to you, Daniel, you know, as an FBI specialist, a retired specialist, you never get used to this, do you?
You never get used to it and it is downright depressing.
BRUNNER: It is. It really is very sad. I've been involved with many homicides, many shootings throughout my 20 years in New Jersey, I saw
families that are still, you know, treating and dealing with these, with the homicide of their son and their daughter having been shot by MS-13 gang
members.
I understand their pain. I've never been a victim of this and my family have fortunately never been a victim of shootings, but I've seen the pain
firsthand of someone being a victim of a shooting. So I understand that it is not easy.
QUEST: Thank you, sir. I am grateful that you've come to talk to us tonight. Thank you.
Other news now, a source is telling us that Donald Trump is meeting the chief executive of TikTok this afternoon. The president-elect addressed the
impending ban on TikTok under a law on January the 19th.
Well, he had a news conference, he said he had a warm spot for TikTok saying it helped him win over young voters, and he said he would take a
look at the decision to ban it.
Kristen Holmes is with me.
Does he -- does -- you're an expert at Trump speak by now. Does it look like he wants to get involved or is he hoping this goes away?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, I think he certainly wants to get involved, particularly if you look at some of the people that he
surrounds himself with.
Kellyanne Conway, one of his former advisers, is a huge lobbyist for TikTok. There are a number of other people who have worked with him who
work for TikTok as well, who are close with the president-elect, so I think it would be surprising if he didn't get involved.
Plus, just the fact that we have just learned that he is meeting with, as you said, the head of TikTok today as he kind of embraces this new era of
big tech. And by new era, I mean this idea that big tech is now embracing Donald Trump, something that he said himself was very different than the
last time he was in office.
He said it might be because his personality changed, but I think that overall, there is a better understanding in Washington and around
Washington of how to get in Donald Trump's ear, and Donald Trump himself has a better understanding of Washington, meaning that these companies like
TikTok are looking at these lobbyists and people that are close to Donald Trump, and they understand that they need to work Donald Trump the same way
they would work any other administration and that's not something that they really understood how to do the first time around.
This time, it seems as though they certainly do, and I think that we will see Donald Trump get involved in this.
QUEST: And we had a good example. Stay with me. Because at the beginning of the news conference, Mr. Trump brought in the Softbank chief executive,
$100 billion investment in the US. Masayoshi Son's decision to pour more money into AI. Well, that's not a surprise.
He talked about that when I met him in Riyadh a couple of months ago. You remember he says big investments will reap even bigger results.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MASAYOSHI SON, CEO, SOFTBANK GROUP: If the five percent of GDP in ten years from today replaced by ASI, what is the number? Five percent of global GDP
is $9 trillion. $9 trillion per year.
If the ASI produce you $9 trillion per year, cumulative investment of $9 trillion, small money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: And that is the sort of language that Donald Trump will love to hear, particularly as it sort of with the prospect of investments into the
United States.
HOLMES: Yes, and that's clearly what this press conference was all about. It was kind of Donald Trump out there talking about how it is already going
to see a change in the US economy and on the global stage because of the fact that he had been elected.
One of the things that we saw him talking about was this investment in the US and really trying to hammer home that the reason that he was making this
investment in the United States and in American workers and American economy was because of the fact that Donald Trump had been elected. He kind
of used this announcement as a jumping off point in order to talk about several things on his agenda.
So it was not surprising that he wanted to make a press conference out of this. But I think also, as you know, this is a time where foreign leaders,
foreign business leaders as well, everyone wants to try and figure out how to get on Donald Trump's good side as he is about to enter office in just a
number of weeks, and part of that is showcasing some of the things and making investments and some of the things that he has said are campaign
priorities and administration priorities and this was an example of that, for sure.
QUEST: Fascinating. We've got -- we could go on for hours. We probably will on another occasion. I am grateful to you.
[16:20:10]
Thank you so much, Kristen Holmes.
Talking of the ways in which companies are making money, the airlines never far from us on this program. IATA says airlines will make more than a
trillion dollars in revenue next year.
Good news for Willie Walsh. That's the director general. We will be talking to him in a moment, but Willie no doubt will remind me in terms of
percentage and return on capital, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: The President-elect Donald Trump says the military should tell the truth about the mysterious drone sightings in the past weeks. Drones have
been seen in at least six US states. Authorities have made arrests related to activity in California and Massachusetts, and there are reported
sightings that have forced the Stewart Airport, a relatively small airport in Upstate New York, to temporarily close runways on Friday night.
Airspace above an Ohio air force base was at one point restricted.
Mr. Trump says he thinks the government is intentionally keeping people in the dark.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: The government knows what is happening.
Look, our military knows where they took off from. If it is a garage, they can go right into that garage. They know where it came from and where it
went. And for some reason, they don't want to comment.
And I think they'd be better off saying what it is. Our military knows and our president knows.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Polo Sandoval is with me.
Look, what would be the motive for government and military not to reveal whether it be National Security or whatever, because the president-elect is
basically saying they know and they're not telling you. They're keeping you in the dark.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a good question and really, there isn't an answer right now, Richard, because the president-elect just said
that without offering any sort of evidence or substance, when he made that claim earlier today.
I will say this, though, he did echo something that we heard from the current administration, which is that Donald Trump does not believe that
there was a foreign actor. You'll recall last week, and there was a claim made that it was possibly an Iranian mothership off the Eastern Coast,
something that was quickly denied by the Pentagon. So at least there is that.
But he was also specifically asked Donald Trump, that is, if he has been briefed on this investigation into trying to find out the source of these
and he basically said, no comment. But nonetheless, it is significant that the next US president is acknowledging the situation here.
[16:25:10]
Believe it or not, it was four weeks ago today that the first drone sightings happened in New Jersey. Here we are a month later, and there are
two big questions that are being asked here in the tristate, which is, does the government know more than its not saying? Or do they simply not know?
Which one is worse?
QUEST: That's a very good question.
Polo, I am very glad. Thank you for joining us.
Now for the airline industry, those questions and disruptions are nothing new. Drones have disrupted flights at airports on both sides of the
Atlantic, and the incidents go back many years.
For instance, in 2018, drone sightings over a 36-hour period forced hundreds of delays and cancellations at Gatwick Airport outside London.
Just days before Christmas, more than 140,000 passengers were disrupted.
Willie Walsh is the director general of IATA, the group that represents the world's airlines. Willie is with me now. Good to see you, Willie.
We will talk economics in just a second. Let's do drones.
Look, it is a serious problem for airports and for airlines. And once again, the airlines seem to be the victims of it all.
WILLIE WALSH, DIRECTOR GENERAL, IATA: Yes. Drones operating in the vicinity of an airport are dangerous. And clearly, we don't want to see any risk
associated with it. It is unfortunate that operations do have to stop until the drone can be tracked, or that we have certainty that the drone is
outside the operating environment of the aircraft. But yes, it can significantly increase risk on takeoff and the approach. So obviously, it
is something that we have to take very seriously.
QUEST: On the question of the economics of the industry, two milestones, more than a trillion dollars in rev and more than five billion passengers
carried. Both are laudable and extraordinary. But I wonder, it is not -- you're not making enough money on those numbers.
WALSH: No. And you said it yourself, Richard. You know, I don't think I need to remind you that with net margins of 3.6 percent, these are wafer-
thin compared to most industries. So it is great to see the industry heading in the right direction.
We are expecting record revenues and record passengers, and demand remains strong despite all of the fears that people had expressed for at least the
last 12, if not 18 months. And we see strong demand continuing right through 2025.
So I think the environment is generally positive and we remain cautiously optimistic about the outlook.
QUEST: I made some notes about sort of old favorites, for example, goodies, but oldies. For example, are you seeing any better access to SAF,
Sustainable Aviation Fuel, such that it will make a meaningful difference, rather than a systemic one?
WALSH: No, not at this stage. In fact, we are disappointed with the rate at which it is ramping up. Still optimistic for the longer term, but what is
frustrating, I think, is that governments continue to provide significant subsidies for the production of fossil fuel and have not yet figured out
what it is they want to do with sustainable fuel.
And I should say, when we call it Sustainable Aviation Fuel, it is a sustainable fuel that can be used for road transport, for the chemical
industry. It is not just designed for the aviation industry. So it is important that, you know, this will help in the transition for all
industries to net zero in 2050.
QUEST: Do you see a difference in the years ahead between US aviation and, say, European aviation, particularly bearing in mind arguably a lighter
touch by the incoming Trump administration?
Yes, there will be investments in infrastructure, but consolidation is still on the cards on both sides of the Atlantic. Is it more likely now in
the US with the US administration under Trump, do you think?
WALSH: Yes, I think so. I think the Trump administration is a positive for aviation. Certainly, if we can take anything from the first time Trump was
president, he was very supportive of the industry and the comments about removing unnecessary regulation, I think is very welcome, particularly
given what we've seen in the later stages of the current administration, where I think there were very heavy handed in terms of additional
regulation.
And your question is very important because we need Europe to change as well. And I think Europe is beginning to recognize the need to address its
competitiveness on a global scale rather than its fixation, if you like, on competition within the single market in Europe.
So I am optimistic that 2025 will be a positive year for, you know, rolling back on some of the unnecessary regulations we've seen.
QUEST: Willie, let me wish you and the family a very, very good Season's Greetings, sir. Thank you. Have a good new year. We will talk many times
next year. Thank you.
WALSH: Thanks, Richard.
QUEST: Now, as we continue tonight, the Royal Mail has been run by the British for 500 years. Well, soon they will have a foreign owner for the
first time. A Czech billionaire who is by appointment by His Majesty, The King, well something like that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: More on the making news that we told you at the top of the (INAUDIBLE) law enforcement official now tells CNN that the suspected
school shooter in Madison, Wisconsin, is -- was -- is female and we reported she has died. Two people were killed in the shooting, a student
and a teacher. Six others are injured, and as we already know, there have been -- there are life-threatening injuries.
Syria's deposed leader appears to have broken his silence. The statement attributed to Bashar al-Assad was posted Monday on his official Telegram
account. It claims that his departure from Syria was unplanned. The statement says that Syria had fallen into the hands of terrorists and that
the presidency had no further purpose. It's not entirely clear whether the post came from Assad himself. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is in Moscow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): As Syrians celebrate the demise of the Assad regime, the deposed dictator,
seemingly delusional, apparently speaking out for the first time since fleeing to Russia. His statement on the social media page of the former
Syrian presidency, appearing to be from Assad himself, datelined Moscow.
I have never sought positions for personal gain, but have always considered myself as a custodian of a national project, the statement says. This,
after Syrians ransacking Assad's palace discovered the luxury the dictator and his family were living in.
[16:35:06]
Including a garage with dozens of luxury cars including Ferraris and a Lamborghini. Assad's wife, Asma, also known for her lavish outfits, once
called, "a rose in the desert by Vogue magazine." But Assad also admitting as rebels were closing in on his palace, it was Russian leader Vladimir
Putin who bailed him out. Assad fleeing to Russia's air base in Syria, as he claims to oversee combat operations. But then "it became clear that our
forces had completely withdrawn from the battle lines and that the last army positions had fallen," his statement reads.
With no viable means of leaving the base, Moscow requested that the base's command arrange for an immediate evacuation to Russia on the evening of
Sunday, December 8th. That was not only the end of Assad's rule in Syria but possibly also the beginning of the end of Russia's military footprint
in Syria. As Russian forces have been seen apparently flying some of their equipment out of their air force base.
And Israel is now busy bombing Syrian military installations like this naval base in Latakia. Russian Middle East experts warning about the huge
loss to Russia in the wake of Assad's fall.
When I saw these ships with our weapons burning, I simply felt like crying, this expert says. These are our weapons, our gear, after all, and our help
to the Syrians to protect their statehood.
But those now in charge in Syria are working on a new statehood without Assad. The former dictator, seemingly grappling with his loss of power.
When the state falls into the hands of terrorism and the ability to make a meaningful contribution is lost, the statement says, any position becomes
void of purpose, rendering its occupation meaningless.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Now there's Fred who's with us from Moscow tonight. Fred, thank you for that report. But normally, of course, you are our man in Berlin, where
you will be returning to and where a political crisis is unfolding. Fred, Germany, as you know, is facing snap elections after Olaf Scholz,
chancellor lost a confidence vote. Tensions between Scholz and his finance minister doomed the governing coalition last month.
The two disagreed over how to revive the economy. The political uncertainty has left Europe's largest economy adrift. Fred is with me. Fred, I know
that Scholz wanted to lose. He wants the election. He believes he can win in February. Is he in danger of doing a Macron?
PLEITGEN: Yes. First of all, I think he is very much in danger. And it's also quite interesting, though, I just did a report on Syria and the
instability there, and we're speaking about the instability in Germany because you're right, there is a real political crisis going on in that
country. And there's very few people who believe Richard that Olaf Scholz is going to make a comeback and is going to be able to win that election.
Right now, if you look at the polls for his party, the Social Democrats, they're at around, I would say 14, maybe 15 percent but even more important
than that, the confidence in Olaf Scholz, the confidence in the government that he has led is virtually at zero. So, there's very few people that he -
- that believe that he is going to be able to win that economy. At the same time, you have the conservative candidate Friedrich Merz who looks like he
could indeed win that election.
But really, it's unclear who's going to be able to form a coalition, because there's very few people in the whole political sphere where Germans
trust them to solve the problems of the country, Richard.
QUEST: Now briefly, though, this could not be happening at a worse time for both Germany and the E.U. New emboldened president in Washington, tariffs
coming down the road, Germany cannot lead in this scenario. Right or wrong?
PLEITGEN: No. Yes. First of all, you absolutely right. There are people who believe that if Friedrich, the conservative, becomes the chancellor, that
he would have a better time dealing with Donald Trump. But there's no doubt, Richard, that Germany is in a lot weaker position than many people
think. They don't know where their energy is going to come from. Their economies and tatters.
They suffer from bureaucratic red tape. They suffer from a lot of migration. At the same time, they have a lot of unemployment and they have
a lot of jobs that can't be filled. So, on the whole Germany in a very weak position at this point, Richard.
QUEST: The correspondent for all season, Fred Pleitgen, I am most grateful all seasons, all capitals. Thank you, sir.
Now I'm back in London. I've been away for a few weeks. And this is it. Envelopes, envelopes, envelopes delivered by the Royal Mail, U.K. mail,
Royal Mail. Now it's been an institution for hundreds of years. The Royal Mail traces its origins to 1516. That's when King Henry VIII set up the
master of the posts run by His Majesty's government for half a millennium. The mail went private in 2013 and now it's going to change ownership again.
[16:40:08]
CNN's Anna Stewart has been reading the post.
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Could there be anything more British than the iconic red post box? Well, soon, for the first time in history, it will
have a foreign owner. Royal Mail was privatized a decade ago. Since then, its financial performance has been poor, to say the least. Now, Czech
billionaire Daniel Kretinsky is buying it for the princely sum of $4-1/2 billion. Now he made his money in energy, but he has a few U.K. interests
already.
He owns a 27 percent stake in the West Ham United Football Club and a 10 percent stake in the British supermarket chain Sainsbury's. His mysterious
personality and reluctance to talk about business dealings in the nickname of the Czech Sphinx in 2019. Now he won't be able to do anything he likes
with Royal Mail. This takeover comes with strings attached. Royal Mail will still have to deliver letters six days a week, Monday through Saturday and
parcels Monday through Friday.
And the U.K. Government will hold a so-called Golden share in the company, because this is vital British infrastructure. So, they'll get final
approval on things like a change in ownership of the company, a change in headquarter location or tax residency. This takeover is expected to
complete next year. Richard, I'm very sorry I can't join you tonight, but I am going to send you a Christmas card.
Now, I hope it's going to make it to you in a timely fashion. Earlier this month, Royal Mail was fined $13 million for not delivering letters on time,
right? Merry Christmas.
QUEST: Oh. I'm looking forward to receiving it, probably. But no, no, I'm not going to be rude about the Royal Mail. I am not going to rude. I'm not
happy bye next week. And that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight. I'm Richard Quest in London. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, I hope
it's profitable. Connecting Africa is next. I'll see you tomorrow.
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