A static variable is actually a global variable. There is a minor difference: static variables are not linked. I.e. you can use the same name in different compiler units/.cpp with static.
There are situations I've encountered where a dynamic library is loaded unitialized on certain platforms. Indeed, one of the "issues" with dynamic libraries is that objects aren't initialized by calling constructors when in global scope. I would expect such pointer to be zeroed, as you do, yet you must admit, it LOOKS uninitialized, and it's just comforting to see it explicated.