The weaponisation of energy when Russia invaded Ukraine has given way to “weaponising everything” since Donald Trump returned to the White House, Germany’s former economy minister has said.
Robert Habeck, the Green politician responsible for keeping the lights on during the last energy crisis, said the belief gas “would never be a political weapon” led successive German governments blindly into Putin’s trap by building the Nord Stream pipelines and selling strategic reserves to Gazprom, which Russia emptied before the invasion.
I guess Germans can be naive, yes. If it’s not written down, in hte regulations, then it’s not going to happen?
The ‘rules-based order’ types believe there are two conditions – ‘war’ and ‘peace’.
‘War’ iis defined as violent conflict, if it’s not violent conflict then it is ‘peace’.
Reality doesn’t see it that way. There is competition and there is cooperation – and neither is limited to some small subset of actions. All a weapon is is a tool for harming others.
And I should add that all tools are weapons.
Even Ritchie?
Hell yes, when fired from a cannon.
V good!
Wouldn’t a trebuchet be more fun?
No. ‘Weapon’ is a usage. It is not an attribute of the object, though some objects make better weapons.
My pistols are not weapons while I shoot steel plates at the range. If someone were to break into my house, they would become weapons. For a few seconds.
Americans have more than 300,000,000 guns. About 15,000 a year are used for homicide. 60% by Blacks! Democrats have declared it a “gun problem,” so citizens must not be allowed to have guns.
Habeck is a ‘Green’, so therefore deranged. Trump specifically warned the EU what could happen if they cosied up to Russia in pursuit of cheap energy and the EU laughed at him.
And the Krauts decision to ditch their nukes has only increased the costs of gas and oil for everyone else.
With 150,000 jobs slated to go in German manufacturing this year, I sincerely hope all those non ropers who are choosing to vote green will look at this and reconsider.
Well, to an extent mlud.
Germany has been importing cheap russian gas since 1973.
Ive seen more than a few comments that this plentiful source of cheap energy & petrochemical feedstock contributed immensely to the German economic miracle.
It wasnt a problem until:
a) Germany decided to cut off its nose by hobbling some imports.
b) The Yanks decided to blow up Nordstream.
Cui bono?
A “naive” Russian plant, then? Do we have a “naive” Prime Minister who has singled out Muslims as the UK’s most special people who must be protected? Or is he a plant? I suppose next to the towering intellectual David Lammy, who is definitely a plant in the biological sense, he’s nearly a functioning human being. But not very near…
“Robert Habeck, the Green politician responsible for keeping the lights on during the last energy crisis”
Er, what? In what world is a Green responsible for keeping the lights on?
Unless “not voting against measures to allow energy usage” counts.
Habeck did a PhD at the University of Hamburg and was awarded a doctorate in philosophy in 2000, with a thesis on the depiction of nature in literature.
So they made him Vice Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs in the coalition government with the SDP and FDP, hence the claim he was responsible for kepis the lights on. in reality he used the position to ram through the closure of the final nukes, even after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He wouldn’t even countenance a delay in the closure.
Decades ago I had a German research student – a most pleasant lad, intelligent and reflective. From time to time he’d point at some contrast between British and German habits. The comparison was often – not always – in favour of the British habits. (Broadly, he found us much less infested with irksome class distinctions.)
Many years later a German colleague who had lived in Britain for some time travelled home to see his old Mum. On the Sunday she discovered that she was short of something in the pantry. “Never mind, Mum, I’ll pop out and buy some.” Culture shock! He had, literally, forgotten that the shops wouldn’t be open.
He was lucky he didn’t try to mow the lawn on a Sunday!
I was reading a blogpost the other day which described the ‘kitschification’ of modern Western politics. This being based on the idea that kitsch is basically the absence of shit, it the embodiment of life portrayed without any negativity. Kitsch art shows just the positive, the cute, the ‘nice’, and entirely removes all elements of death, disease, decay etc. Its all the good bits of life with none of the bad. And our politicians have completely bought into this ideal – there’s no need to spend money on defence, because everyone is fundamentally nice for example. Giving away free money in welfare is fine, because no one will ever cheat or lie about their needs. Allowing millions of foreigners to come and live here is perfectly OK because they are all exactly like us and will behave accordingly once they get here. Basically at every turn they decide ‘Everything will be lovely’ without having any regard to ‘What if it isn’t?’
I’d love to upvote this comment, but when I try I get a red box pop up telling me that “You cannot vote for your comment”… Causing me much confusion and doubt about my identity. 🙂
Same with me!!
I can still uptick although, as usual, it takes a dozen taps before it works.
And me, and yesterday I couldn’t even post!
Same with me!!
Found the article:
https://newsfromuncibal.substack.com/p/the-mother-hen-state-and-the-denial
There was a certain US president who warned the Germans against precisely this…..
. . . and they laughed at him. Publicly.
The Russians didn’t weaponise energy, why would they it was a nice little earner for them?
It was the stupid Europeans who introduced sanctions to stop Russia selling them its gas.
If Nord Stream 2 had come online as scheduled, we might not have had the war in Ukraine. Just possibly.
Just a pet theory but based on the assumption Russians can read a room as well as we can – if we had let them sell their stuff to the West without lots of political hindrance, we might now have some sort of mutually beneficial relationship with Russia instead of the highest energy prices in the world and a cold war. Jaw jaw could have happened instead of Joe Biden just instantly dismissing Putin’s demands for talks whilst the Russians were amassing troops in full view.
“You’ll get nothing and btw, we’re extending our military alliance to your doorstep” left us with little purchase over Russia, only mutual antagonism. Lowering the opportunity cost of war against Ukraine in the Kremlin’s mind – the West was ratcheting up sanctions over a number of years anyway, so… PJF reckons this was the way to go – no carrots, only stick? But enmity with the Rus was a dubious policy in the first Crimea War imo (helping Ottoman slavers retain territory from which they could raid Europe for victims).
On the other hand, we were allies with Russia in two world wars, so The Eternal Gopnik doesn’t need to be our permanent enemy, does he? I’m eternally optimistic on this, because the first cold war was a bit shit and nobody needs a sequel to When The Wind Blows.
Obvs, the Russian regime are bastards, thugs, criminals, etc. But so are a lot of our friends and valued customers in the Middle East.
Just a pet theory but based on the assumption Russians can read a room as well as we can – if we had let them sell their stuff to the West without lots of political hindrance, we might now have some sort of mutually beneficial relationship with Russia…
Your pet theory is false, Steve. Russia despises the West – for military, religious and ideological reasons that go back centuries. Like the Chinese, Russians think in centuries; Westerners are short-termists.
Historically, Russia’s hostility toward the West is rooted in [1] a sequence of major foreign invasions – by Poland/Lithuania, Sweden, Napoleonic France, Nazi Germany etc – and [2] deep-seated religious and ideological differences – the Great Schism of 1054, and deep resistance to Western liberalism (classic and ‘social’) – and [3] modern geopolitical competition.
This long history has resulted in a siege mentality where Russia views the West as a profound threat to its sovereignty and unique identity. So deep strategic partnership with Russia is impossible and cooperation always limited. And Russia’s long-established status as an enemy remains…
Theo – that’s a pessimistic view. I’ve yet to meet a Russian who doesn’t enjoy being in the West. They had McDonald’s and blue jeans and chinos and everything.
I have a simple ask: that we heal the Great Schism of 1054 and build a Holy Western Empire that girds the world like an iron crown. Should be easy, no?
And if we can’t have that, hopefully peace? Historically, I think the split between Rome and Byzantium was due more to misunderstanding than malice. Tho sacking Constantinople was naughty.
But in the meantime, the world is a bin fire rolling down a hill. Exciting times I’m afraid.
Steve
My view of Russia is realistic, not pessimistic. It is undoubtedly true that, for historical reasons, the Russian governmental elites are deeply anti-western.
Previously, I have pointed out the pernicious influence of Alexandr Dugin et al – with their bizarre theories of Russians as a “super-ethnos” or a future Russian empire stretching from Dublin/Lisbon to Vladivostok. And all this contaminates the attitudes of the Russian populace.
And Russians can enjoy being in the West while still hating it – just as many (even most?) Africans, Asians etc do, while still believing in “reparations” that would destroy what they enjoy. Likewise, I have enjoyed visiting many muslim countries while still hating Islamic societies…
Meanwhile, Russia is an enemy of the West…
“Historically, Russia’s hostility toward the West is rooted in [1] a sequence of major foreign invasions – by Poland/Lithuania, Sweden, Napoleonic France, Nazi Germany etc – and [2] deep-seated religious and ideological differences – the Great Schism of 1054, and deep resistance to Western liberalism (classic and ‘social’) – and [3] modern geopolitical competition.”
When you put it like that, one can see their point……..trouble is the West never asks itself the question ‘Are we the baddies?’. The West has its head so far up its arse it can see its own tonsils. It never bothers to consider that maybe just maybe some people have very good reason to distrust us, and as a result perhaps we should be particularly careful not to give them any new reasons to distrust us even more. But no, we’re The Good Guys™ and nothing we do could possibly be construed as threatening. Even when we do stick our armed forces right up against their border……
Remind me again whos making money hand over fist flogging LPG round the industrialised world.
Cynical moi?
LNG
led successive German governments blindly into Putin’s trap by building the Nord Stream pipelines
An elaborate Russian ploy to sell Germany huge volumes of cheap gas at sweetheart prices for decades, which Germany – not Russia – tore up.
Grr, Russia.
“Weaponising everything” – I’m sure there was a Yes, Minister episode where they discussed the EU using food surpluses as a weapon. Threatening to swamp a country’s butter producers, that sort of thing.
I don’t remember that episode but when we were in Cyprus in the mid 80s EU butter was really cheap because they were dumping the “butter mountain”. Cypriot wine was so cheap they couldn’t pour the wine lake away there and I don’t think I ever knew how they got rid of that.