Big time im Oval Office
Imagine Peter Zwegat were German Chancellor and bankrupt investor René Benko were visiting him to borrow money. What did you think Zwegat would tell him? Perhaps that he should first get his own finances in order before borrowing any more money, or would he even refuse to help him, especially if Benko acted demandingly and disrespectfully? It was a similar feeling when Ukrainian President Zelensky sat across from his financier and supporter, Donald Trump, and his staff to sign a deal guaranteeing natural resources to the Americans and, in return, financial and weapons aid to Ukraine. We now know how the story ended.
by Serdar Somuncu
by Serdar Somuncu
Zelensky was ousted from the Oval Office, and the Americans achieved what they wanted: No more negotiations with Zelensky, and instead, peace efforts and talks with Putin. Even if one cannot help but get the impression that Donald Trump is reenacting his former TV show, in which he acted in a similar manner, the consequences remain neither new nor unusual, and are even logical. The fact that behind this unprecedented public scandal, whether staged or not, lies nothing other than a quintessentially American calculation, or rather the openly stated motto of the new US President, "America First!", is obvious to any outsider and, frankly, comes as no surprise. Above all, despite all the paradox and almost ridiculous embarrassment, it is more reason to hope that this war will end soon and as quickly as possible than an invitation to become even more engrossed in war fantasies.
But that is precisely what is happening in the reactions of the internally divided European states. While one half is pushing for even more financial and military aid for Ukraine, such as the current German government, France, and England, solidarity is crumbling among the Italians, the Hungarians, and surely soon among some other European states. Above all, support among the population, which for three years has had to listen to the same old justifications for ever more cuts, higher prices, rising inflation, and taxes, is dwindling. The much-vaunted solidarity with Ukraine, which is heroically defending itself in this "brutal war of aggression" against the "aggressor" from Russia in the fight for Western values, is nothing more than lip service whose shelf life has long since expired. In reality, Europeans are not interested in supporting Ukraine, but rather in asserting their imperialist power, which is based on supporting regimes and supplying weapons as long as they thereby boost their own economy and profit from the consequences. If the whole thing is reversed, however, the narratives can quickly change and former allies become enemies.
That's exactly what happened in Iraq or Libya, in the Arab Spring, or most recently in Syria. Apart from these power-political considerations, however, the dominant nations in Europe also seem to have lost touch with reality if they now believe that rearmament could protect them from being drawn into a war that is not only taking place on existing fronts but could also spread internally. Public support for further arms deliveries or spending on the arms industry is zero. People can no longer understand why it seems more important to European governments to participate in a completely senseless war than to advocate for peace, which most people want and which, above all, would guarantee internal stability. After all, no one benefits more from these misguided decisions than the European right. Whether in Hungary, Austria, the Netherlands, or soon also in Germany. The right-wing parties, which have sworn to an anti-war stance, even though nothing in their chauvinistic programs corresponds to pacifist ideology, essentially have nothing left to do but wait. Because as long as this strange consensus on the question of forming fronts exists, the ball will remain on the penalty spot for the populists, and will be converted with ease. We can only hope that this all ends well and that the warmongers will wake up from their stupor. Because being for war has nothing to do with peace, just as advocating for peace has nothing to do with surrender, but only with realism and reason.
02.03.25
©Serdar Somuncu
Current program "Seelenheil" now available for download in the shop
*Serdar Somuncu is an actor and director
CLICK HERE FOR THE NEW BOOK
TICKETS FOR THE SHOW "SONGS & STORIES"
TICKETS FOR THE SHOW "HE\\\\\\'S BACK"
But that is precisely what is happening in the reactions of the internally divided European states. While one half is pushing for even more financial and military aid for Ukraine, such as the current German government, France, and England, solidarity is crumbling among the Italians, the Hungarians, and surely soon among some other European states. Above all, support among the population, which for three years has had to listen to the same old justifications for ever more cuts, higher prices, rising inflation, and taxes, is dwindling. The much-vaunted solidarity with Ukraine, which is heroically defending itself in this "brutal war of aggression" against the "aggressor" from Russia in the fight for Western values, is nothing more than lip service whose shelf life has long since expired. In reality, Europeans are not interested in supporting Ukraine, but rather in asserting their imperialist power, which is based on supporting regimes and supplying weapons as long as they thereby boost their own economy and profit from the consequences. If the whole thing is reversed, however, the narratives can quickly change and former allies become enemies.
That's exactly what happened in Iraq or Libya, in the Arab Spring, or most recently in Syria. Apart from these power-political considerations, however, the dominant nations in Europe also seem to have lost touch with reality if they now believe that rearmament could protect them from being drawn into a war that is not only taking place on existing fronts but could also spread internally. Public support for further arms deliveries or spending on the arms industry is zero. People can no longer understand why it seems more important to European governments to participate in a completely senseless war than to advocate for peace, which most people want and which, above all, would guarantee internal stability. After all, no one benefits more from these misguided decisions than the European right. Whether in Hungary, Austria, the Netherlands, or soon also in Germany. The right-wing parties, which have sworn to an anti-war stance, even though nothing in their chauvinistic programs corresponds to pacifist ideology, essentially have nothing left to do but wait. Because as long as this strange consensus on the question of forming fronts exists, the ball will remain on the penalty spot for the populists, and will be converted with ease. We can only hope that this all ends well and that the warmongers will wake up from their stupor. Because being for war has nothing to do with peace, just as advocating for peace has nothing to do with surrender, but only with realism and reason.
02.03.25
©Serdar Somuncu
Current program "Seelenheil" now available for download in the shop
*Serdar Somuncu is an actor and director
CLICK HERE FOR THE NEW BOOK
TICKETS FOR THE SHOW "SONGS & STORIES"
TICKETS FOR THE SHOW "HE\\\\\\'S BACK"
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