Behind the Curtain: The era of "normal" is over

"That's the unmistakable takeaway from polling of 20,000 people across the U.S., U.K., Canada, the European Union and Japan, coupled with individual interviews with 175 leaders in those countries. The strategic advisory firm FGS Global shared that research, "Global Radar 2026," exclusively with us for this column. The polling was conducted in November and the report will be out Thursday. The big picture: We plan to focus this year's "Behind the Curtain" columns on helping you better understand the tectonic plates shifting under our feet, and showing how the shifts are durable, global and navigable."

"Stop thinking about this as a disruption or brief retreat from "normal," or as a uniquely American or Trumpian moment. It's a living rewiring of societies, business and our way of life - and it's rapidly accelerating across the globe. You can't understand politics or investing, or even your own anxiety and opportunities, without reckoning with this. You see this in: The fall of a common reality, based on broadly agreed-upon facts. People distrust everyone with power or legacy. The surge of AI as an unrivaled, but polarizing, economic and political force."

"A big spike in public pessimism about government, economics, politics and life. A fast shift in what leaders need to know, do and master to survive. What's most striking is how these trends seem to be hitting every nation in very similar ways. A great example: The top political issue in every nation surveyed by FGS was inflation/cost of living. Health care was second in all but Japan (housing) and Canada (taxes). Just as inequality, migration and institutional decay foretold the explosion of populism across America and Europe, the reverberations are landing similarly across the nations surveyed."

Polling of 20,000 people across the U.S., U.K., Canada, the European Union and Japan, plus interviews with 175 leaders, identifies durable global shifts reshaping societies and business. Shared reality is fracturing as trust in institutions and legacy power erodes. AI is emerging as an unrivaled but polarizing economic and political force. Public pessimism about government, economics, politics and life has spiked. Leadership requirements are shifting rapidly to contend with these changes. Inflation and the cost of living rank as the top political issue across surveyed nations, with health care, housing and taxes also prominent concerns. Inequality, migration and institutional decay are driving populist reverberations globally.

Read at Axios