Thanks to Vladimir Putin, Germany has woken up. It must reclaim its place as a stronger, bolder, more determined leader of a more united Europe
phrase from the late Emperor Hirohito, the war in Ukraine has developed not necessarily to Vladimir Putin’s advantage. It has sent Finland and Sweden bolting for the cover ofmembership. It has deepened Ukrainian nationalism, strengthened the democratic alternative Ukraine offers to Mr Putin’s own tyranny, and led customers for Russia’s energy to look elsewhere. It has also prodded a sleepy giant, Germany, rousing a country that has been both Russia’s best partner and its worst enemy.
That wretched situation was a product of another of Germany’s failings: a reluctance to question rosy assumptions rooted in its own happy recent history. Comforting notions, such as that trading with Russia would tame its belligerence, a theme beloved of Angela Merkel, a long-serving chancellor, allowed Germany to turn a deaf ear for too long to pleas from allies for more robust investment in its own and Europe’s defence.
The good news is the country’s challenges are manageable. Take energy. When Mr Putin invaded, Germany relied on Russia for 55% of its gas. Doomsayers warned that supplies would be choked off, German factories would close and families would shiver in their kitchens. In fact, even as Russia’s share of the German gas market has halved, stores of gas for winter are building at a normal pace. Industry says it can cut back use more than expected.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Less than 1% of Netflix subscribers play its games dailyThere are roughly 221 million Netflix subscribers, but only 1.7 million actually engage with the subscription service's…
Read more »
Look at us, talking about football, far less infighting amongst Newcastle United fansNewcastle 2 Nottingham Forest 0 - Look at us, talking about football, far less infighting amongst Newcastle United fans.
Read more »
From Coal To Gas And Back: How Europe Is Easing Its Energy Crisis | OilPrice.comGlobal use of coal has increased significantly in the last couple of months as Europe is forced to switch on mothballed power plants to save gas
Read more »