Germany

[Nobody1]

Originally Posted by Brecht

Like no other event in their history I guess.

Our common history. If I remember correctly.

Or is this particular section of Austrian history taught differently today?

[Nobody1]

Originally Posted by xyzde69

I don't know what is the opinion in Germany about Poutine.

I try to keep a neutral point of view. That is not always easy for me because Mr. Putin polarizes global opinions in a very strong way. Especially here in Germany. But a few things can not be denied.

Putin is a very capable politician. Not a man of much blah but a man of level-headed action. I like that very much. Undoubtedly, he led Russia out of the swamp of the Yeltsin era, which is a tremendous achievement. We must not forget that the Yeltsin era was a national catastrophe for the Russian people, plain and simple. It was the birth hour of the oligarchs. It was a time of general lawlessness. A time of brutal decay, poverty and misery. To change this course requires an enormous strength of character.

Russia has achieved tremendous success in its foreign policy. The tiny Russian expedition contingent in Syria was able to accomplish more with the tip of its little finger than the omnipotent US military with both fists and feet. This requires exceptional leadership. Putin's Russia is welding lasting economic alliances all over the planet. This requires personality and integrity. Has any of our lousy politicians a vague guess about the meaning of these words?

I am quite sure that Putin has negative characteristics as well. There is no doubt about that. But the man is already a living legend. And the infantile idiocy of our annoyingly sissified counterparts has greatly contributed to the status quo. It is no wonder they hate him with a passion since he constantly reminds them that they are nothing but a bunch of arrogant, preposterous clowns.

Well , this is just my personal opinion. Of course. Feel free to have a different one.

[Brecht]

Originally Posted by Nobody1

Our common history. If I remember correctly.

Of course. I didn't mean to ignore Austria's responsibility. Austria was part of Germany at the time and certainly not because it was invaded by the Germans. When German troops crossed the Austrian border, the people were cheering.

Or is this particular section of Austrian history taught differently today?

Nope. But there was some attempts to portray Austria as a victim of Germany, in fact its first victim. The monarchist fossil Otto von Habsburg was a proponent of this "theory".

[Mal Hombre]

Engelbert Dolfuss was certainly a victim...

[Brecht]

Originally Posted by Mal Hombre

Engelbert Dolfuss was certainly a victim...

He was a fascist dictator himself.

[palo5]

Originally Posted by Nobody1

Putin is a very capable politician. Not a man of much blah but a man of level-headed action. I like that very much. Undoubtedly, he led Russia out of the swamp of the Yeltsin era, which is a tremendous achievement. We must not forget that the Yeltsin era was a national catastrophe for the Russian people, plain and simple. It was the birth hour of the oligarchs. It was a time of general lawlessness. A time of brutal decay, poverty and misery. To change this course requires an enormous strength of character

Absolutely true!

The Yeltsin years were worse for Russia than the Great Depression in 1929/30 was for America. If it wasn't for that treacherous, drunken "person", I'd almost certainly be somewhere different

Yeltsin

[stardust2003]

Germany is tied in with the USA and the west but if ever they allied with Russia things would change....

German technical know how combined with the endless mineral and oil resources of Russia.... they could rule the world !

[Brecht]

Originally Posted by stardust2003

Germany is tied in with the USA and the west but if ever they allied with Russia things would change....

German technical know how combined with the endless mineral and oil resources of Russia.... they could rule the world !

Which is what the US is most afraid of. The contradictions between capitalist powers such as Germany, the US, France etc. are growing again which is in the nature of the system itself and history has taught us what happens when they outgrow the "balance of interests". German industry is certainly pushing for more cooperation with Russia and even China but is faced with threats and constraints coming from the US and its own transatlantic political elite. The cracks in the German-US relations are huge already and there's even open hostility. Just take a look at the Nord Stream 2 and Huawei issues. The US is pressuring Europe to buy its expensive and less reliable fracking gas and tries to prevent the Nord Stream 2 pipeline from getting built. At the same time, they're trying to prevent Huawei from participation in the development of 5G in Germany which was already settled between Germany and China.

Rest assured that tensions will keep growing and they're an immediate threat to the EU. That threat is fostered by Europe's complicity in US aggressions, Germany's economic and political hegemony and recently by some Eastern European countries like Poland that think they're the 51st US state.

[deepsepia]

Originally Posted by Brecht

Which is what the US is most afraid of. The contradictions between capitalist powers such as Germany, the US, France etc. are growing again which is in the nature of the system itself and history has taught us what happens when they outgrow the "balance of interests". German industry is certainly pushing for more cooperation with Russia and even China but is faced with threats and constraints coming from the US and its own transatlantic political elite. The cracks in the German-US relations are huge already and there's even open hostility.

This is the game of statecraft for the 21st century.

Germany has a role to play, the trouble is, it can't decide what it is.

Merkel's vision has been crushed by events.

Putin obviously understands Germany far better than Trump, and has a strategy-- but the US does have people who have more of a clue.

If you look at the world map from Berlin, what does it look like?

In one word-- "complicated". Every partner is compromised-- Russia, the US, France, Britain, Turkey, China.

All are important to Germany for one reason or another but each has some irritating defect, some more threatening than others.

Was many years ago that I studied the Seven Years War in school, but I always marveled at the complexity of the world when the Anglo-Austrian alliance fell apart in the mid-18th century; its a blizzard of facts for a history student, and it feels a bit like that today a return to "the stately quadrille".

[haroldeye]

German technical know how combined with the endless mineral and oil resources of Russia.... they could rule the world !

A quick look at any History book would suggest that both that idea and the dogma that fostered it is not a good option.

Rest assured that tensions will keep growing and they're an immediate threat to the EU.

German hegemony is already the main threat to the EU. Just wait and see.