Vladimir Putin, who yesterday announced his unsurprising candidacy for the March elections to remain president, has many gifts piling up under the Christmas tree. He has several Santa Clauses: Viktor Orbán, Donald Trump and the Republicans, Xi Jinping, the Polish truckers and the double standards of the West, among others. Let’s see.
Orbán. The Hungarian prime minister has repeatedly been an obstacle to the EU moving forward in its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Now, facing the important European Council next week, Budapest is waving its veto power over two fundamental initiatives: the budget update necessary to guarantee new funds – 50 billion euros between aid and loans – to Kiev, and the opening of negotiations for Ukraine’s accession to the EU. Without a doubt, to a large extent it is a maneuver to obtain in exchange the release of European funds frozen due to their undemocratic excesses. But it’s not just that, there is more: a strategic vision that may be what he believes is best for Hungary, but it looks very similar to a service provided to the Kremlin.
Trump and the Republicans. This week in the Senate, the American conservative party overturned the measure with which the Biden Administration seeks, among other things, to activate $50 billion in new aid for Ukraine. Republicans have argued that to give the go-ahead, the presidency must do much more to stop irregular immigration in the United States. Beyond the moral character of holding Ukraine hostage for an internal political fight, in reality what happened is a a sign of the party’s growing reluctance to get involved in supporting Kiev, in line with the more general isolationist ideology of which Trump is the flag bearer.
Xi Jinping. This week, trade data between China and Russia from January to November of this year were released. The total amounts to $218 billion, 26% more than the previous year. In the breakdown, it is seen that Chinese exports to Russia have grown by 50%. China is largely replacing Western products that no longer arrive smoothly due to sanctions. Chinese oxygen revives Russia.
Polish truckers. Since early November, Polish truck drivers have been protesting that is hindering trade with Ukraine. They complain that the EU guarantees Ukrainian truck drivers favorable treatment that distorts competition. For this reason, they block border crossings, slowing down the flow of goods. Brussels is unable to resolve the issue, which is getting worse, with Polish farmers and Hungarian truck drivers—what a coincidence!—joining the protest.
Western double standards. An intangible but colossal gift for the Kremlin is the attitude of the United States and Europe to the conflict in Gaza. Although the rhetoric has changed over the weeks, more forcefully demanding that Israel respect international law, the total absence of concrete and relevant facts to pressure the Netanyahu Government to refrain from inflicting the massive human suffering that It has been causing for two months enormous wings to the argument that the West acts with double standards. In an uproar against violations of law in Ukraine, with silence in Gaza. Putin gladly highlights this duplicity in the eyes of a world that, oh boy, has no doubts about what he sees.
The EU and the US have reacted remarkably to the invasion of Ukraine. Clearly, Putin did not expect anything like this in any way. That reaction has allowed Ukraine to resist, and plunged Russia down a path that is an ordeal. But now many things are clearly going wrong on this side of the front. We must act forcefully to deactivate those Santa Clauses and remove, or reduce the size, of the gifts that accumulate under Putin’s Christmas tree. It is not too late, but the task is complex and requires a lot of ingenuity, a lot of concentration, a lot of vision, a lot of courage. Cheer up.
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