The last chapter of the recent book that Biagio de Giovanni, professor emeritus of political philosophy at the Oriental University of Naples, has dedicated a profound reflection on the fate ofEurope, is titled "Let the West love itself” and it is an alarmed indictment against the fall in self-esteem of Western democracies, corroded by a sense of guilt towards the many conflicts unleashed in past centuries within Europe itself, and by the brutal domination imposed on much of the rest of the world. Yet, even through sometimes bloody conflicts, since the Second World War Europe has managed to build, together with the United States, a democratic architecture open towards others, which today many tend to deny, causing not only Europe but everything else to sink. the West, in a state of passivity in the face of events which does nothing but increase the aggressiveness of the rest of the world towards the old colonial rulers.
The lies about NATO's alleged aggression
The attack of Putin atUkraine justified by the Moscow dictator himself as the need to respond to NATO's threats against the Great Mother Russia, should have sounded an alarm in Western chancelleries. Putin's intentions are in fact very clear. They were said several times by himself and by his servants. Lastly, the ambassador to Rome Alexey Paramonov, in a long letter sent to the newspaper La Repubblica, after many sensational lies and some half-truths, clearly states that the Kremlin's objective is to liberate Europe, preferably if divided into individual states without the coordination from Brussels, by the heavy protection of the United States which forces it to be the territorial base of the Americans in Eurasia. On the contrary, Russia proposes a Greater Eurasian Partnership in which old Europe could carve out an “adequate and dignified” place for itself. In short, the Russians propose to the Europeans to move from the American protectorate (which guaranteed our security through NATO) to a Russian protectorate which - according to them - would be able to free the people from the liberal oligarchy (in other times it was said plutocrats) who maintains a fake democracy. Instead, Putin's is a true democracy as Navalny testified from a prison in Northern Siberia!
The West, however, appears deeply divided. It is no coincidence that thanks to delays in the supply of weapons to Kiev, the Russian army has not only managed to derail the Ukrainians' summer offensive, but is conducting a winter campaign with some success which, if it cannot be stopped in time, could undermine the morale of Ukrainian troops. It is no coincidence that after the critical months starting from the spring of last year in which Putin also had to face the revolt of his own mercenaries, the Moscow autocrat now often shows himself in public with big smiles and an air of master. Hope is reborn that the West's uncertainties and delays may allow Russian troops to enter Kiev as they had attempted to do in the first days of the conflict and from where they had been repelled by the heroic and unexpected resistance of the Ukrainians.
The uncertainties of democracies fuel Putin's thirst for domination
In this phase of the conflict, any uncertainty among those fortunate enough to live with free and democratic institutions does nothing but fuel Putin's determination and strengthen the nationalism of the Russian population bombarded by insistent propaganda without being able to hear dissonant voices. The attitude of Trump which is blocking military and economic aid to Kiev, making the new Tsar understand that deep down he doesn't give a damn about Europe. He is wrong because giving in to bullying is never a good choice to defend one's interests. History teaches that by dint of concessions to keep the monster who feels a bit like Ivan the Terrible and a bit like Stalin, in the end we will be forced to intervene in worse conditions and with much greater sacrifices and losses than those they would have had to endure if the first manifestations of the Kremlin's imperialistic madness had been intervened.
For Europe the situation is similar. At first there was a unified solidarity towards the Ukrainians which surprised Putin himself who thought he was keeping us happy with his gas supplies. But then as the months passed, doubts emerged. We didn't want to exaggerate by sending weapons that were only supposed to be defensive, so as not to antagonize the dictator in the Kremlin. It took more than 15-16 months for the Leopard tanks to arrive after the start of hostilities, the planes have not yet arrived. We were unable to produce the promised ammunition. And then came the so-called "fatigue" of public opinion towards the war. A real insult towards the thousands of Ukrainian men who have been in the trenches for months!
We return to talking about diplomacy as Paramonov suggests, which means giving in to Putin's territorial demands, thus hoping to calm the dictator's hunger. After the Munich compromise, Churchill said to Gran's political leaders. Britain and France" you could choose between dishonor and war. They have chosen dishonor and they will have war." Certainly the uncertainties of Salvini and the other European right-wingers, but also of some on the left, fuel Putin's hopes of winning the war and eating up all of Ukraine.
The European and US elections are fundamental for our future
Now the Western people have the opportunity of the elections to clearly say what they want to do in order not to give in to arrogance and to give back a (real) role to Europe and its democracy which, despite all its defects, is worth defending. .
First in Europe and then in the United States, voters are called to a demanding test. You can't vote just by following the demagogic piper who promises everything and then manages to do nothing. We will need to cast our votes thinking about the future of the nation we live in, of Europe and of the entire West. Divided we will certainly lose in the face of the many enemies that our weakness is causing to proliferate everywhere. We must abandon our feelings of guilt, we must stop erasing our culture, even if we don't like what our ancestors did very much. But we have learned from the mistakes of the past and are now able to make our voice heard. We must have the ability to repel the attacks (armed or verbal) that are launched at us from vast areas of the world. So we must have a well-armed European army and a Foreign Minister who speaks on behalf of all European countries. We must demonstrate that we are patient and willing to talk to others. But not to the point that we are dominated by those who govern a world of slaves chained by the lies of propaganda and police repression.