23 January 2024
Give Thermonuclear World War a Chance
Russia’s conspicuous failure to make much westward progress through Ukraine appears not to have discouraged European leaders who are keen to stoke war fever and fear of ‘barbarians at the gates’ among their own citizens.
In aspiring NATO member Sweden, a minister declared ‘there could be war in Sweden’, and the head of the armed forces told Swedes they must ‘prepare mentally for war’, leading to an increase in calls to a children’s helpline.
The press leapt on the suggestion by a Dutch admiral that war with Russia may come within 20 years and that ‘We need public and private actors to change their mindset’. The German defence minister narrowed down the Russian assault on NATO to within five to eight years, Estonia’s prime minister puts it at three to five years, while the head of Poland’s National Security Bureau reckons that we only have three.
Our own Defence Secretary recently gave a speech about ‘Moving from a post-war to a pre-war world’ as the government sends 16,000 British soldiers to Eastern Europe for the largest Nato military exercise since the Cold War. Unelected Remainer baron Lord Cameron, at a Davos breakfast meeting, compared the situation in Europe to the 1930s and – of course – equated scepticism about the desirability of a third world war with ‘appeasement’. A more reasonable perspective on history and Britain’s national interest may be unlikely to come in with Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who recently described Putin as representing a ‘new form of fascism’ – although at least this means he is not as bad as Brexiteers, who are, of course, worse than the Nazis.
Meanwhile in EUtopia…
- Germany: There is a campaign to ban the country’s second most popular party after it emerged that members had discussed mass deportations at a meeting.
- Germany’s non-EU exports dropped 9.2% during 2023, though they rose by 19.7% to the UK, according to the Federal Statistics Office.
- The Federation of German Industry forecast national economic growth of 0.3% for 2024; ‘Germany’s economy is at a standstill’, said its president. ‘Compared to most other industrialised countries, our country is falling further behind.’
- Italy: Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has declined to address controversy around footage of large numbers of Italians giving fascist salutes outside the Rome headquarters of one of her party’s predecessor organisations.
The Embers, 23rd January 2024
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