The soft underbelly of Europe before Putin are the “pro-Europeans” Paris and Berlin, not London and Warsaw
The Ukrainian crisis is all in flux, it does not necessarily lead to a war or is limited to remaining a test of ostentation of military muscle. But it should already have served to dismantle a series of myths, through which, as Italians, we usually read international politics.
The first myth that collapsed is certainly the one about Brexit . The choice made by British voters in 2016 has always been judged, in these latitudes, as conditioned by Russian propaganda to divide the West. Zealous European patriots traveling to London, supported by the intelligentsia of the capital, even consider the Conservative Party as a formation now full of "Moscow puppets". It is no mystery that the wealthiest Russians have a lot of investment in the UK and there is no doubt about the truth about Russia Connection . But an ocean passes from here to define Prime Minister Johnson and his party as the “puppets” of the Kremlin. Reality has shown us that, even after completing Brexit , the UK was the first NATO country to send military aid to Ukraine, facing the prospect of a Russian invasion. The reality also shows us that the Johnson government was the first to ask for and carry out a deployment of backup forces on the eastern flank of NATO. What does this mean? Quite simply, Brexit was not intended to "divide the West". If anything, to ask for autonomy from the European Union, which is a supranational quasi-government so intrusive on internal affairs, when it is embarrassing on foreign ones. Yes, the EU, how is it behaving in this crisis?
And here we come to the second point. “Either you are with the EU or with Putin” has always been the core of the rhetoric of the pro-European left parties, not just Italians. The Russian trolls are popping up like mushrooms, according to them, they would be behind every electoral campaign of the right-wing parties, or every leak of news that puts the left in difficulty. In practice, the French pro-European left, on behalf of Europe, is the one that went to dialogue with Putin, formally to avoid the risk of a war, practically to prepare us to make concessions. Central European countries, which live close to Russia, fear being traded in exchange for some Russian concessions in Africa, a land where Paris and Moscow are in direct competition.
The German pro-European left is the one that refuses to send arms to Ukraine, which also prevents Latvia from supplying German-made weapons to the threatened country, which also prevents allied aircraft from flying over its territory to bring aid to Ukraine, which at most it provides helmets and the promise of beds for the wounded in the event of a conflict, which is cautious about economic sanctions because it depends on Russian gas (via Nord Stream and soon Nord Stream 2 too). Germany is governed by Chancellor Scholz, a Social Democrat, the same party as Schroeder, who is joining the board of directors of Gazprom , a Russian state-owned company.
If you talk about pro-Russians, then, the images of Salvini on Red Square wearing Putin's shirt come to mind, Trump and his endless Russiagate story (never demonstrated, by the way), or Berlusconi inviting Putin to his home before Expo 2015 , during the war in the Donbass. But the men who have created asymmetrical ties (we are dependent on them) and now inseparable with Putin's Russia, such as Schroeder, in fact, or Prodi, counted among the founders of the European Union, never come to mind. In spite of commonplaces, Poland, Eurosceptic, reactionary, "Putinian" on immigration, gay and abortion issues, is instead the only country on the front line that is clamoring for the unity of Europe in the face of the Russian threat , is preparing to materially assist the Ukrainian people, gearing up for an eventual wave of one million refugees.
Of course, not all clichés are unfounded. For example, it is true that the Italian right is still absolutely Putinian, even if the League (silently, so as not to be discovered by its militants) is perhaps repositioning itself in the European Parliament. Something changes, but culturally, the Italian right (all) is anchored to the idea that it is Moscow that must save the West from its decline. It is an ideal that has been patiently cultivated for more than a decade, has now penetrated the masses, and it will be impossible to change it with a command from the top. But this crisis, in fact, should also serve to dismantle the myths of the right: Russia and China are on the same side. It is useless to continue to plead the Russian cause because "the real enemy is the Beijing regime", since Beijing and Moscow are allies. The meeting between Putin and Xi Jinping, before the start of the Olympics in China, clarified, or at least should have clarified, this serious misunderstanding of the Italian parties: the Kremlin promises its Chinese ally support for the definitive annexation of Taiwan, Xi he responds by supporting the Russian cause against NATO. There are no half tones, on this the two authoritarian leaders have been very clear, their enemy is one and it is the democratic West.
The only question remains, if anything, why in Italy we live in a bubble of disinformation that prevents us from seeing international events for what they are. And the answer must be sought in those who narrate foreign policy, which state industrial groups sponsor think tanks and study centers, what are the interests of the parties and their foundations, such as those of the publishers of the major newspapers. And above all, what are their objectives in internal politics. Because we never talk about foreign policy, at least until it directly affects domestic politics.
The post Soft underbelly of Europe in front of Putin are the “pro-Europeans” Paris and Berlin, not London and Warsaw appeared first on Atlantico Quotidiano .
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Atlantico Quotidiano at the URL https://www.atlanticoquotidiano.it/quotidiano/ventre-molle-deuropa-davanti-a-putin-sono-le-europeiste-parigi-e-berlino-non-londra-e-varsavia/ on Fri, 11 Feb 2022 03:51:00 +0000.