Posted on 04/09/2022 2:41:09 PM PDT by Zhang Fei
In the morning Putin had invaded Ukraine, in the afternoon Robert Habeck sat with him on the green leather sofa and was "devastated". Bitter and ashamed because he allowed himself to be crushed by his party when he demanded arms for Ukraine in the summer. It was a fundamentally different conversation from the one I had with Secretary of Defense Christine Lambrecht, who was primarily concerned about her public image. Or that with Finance Minister Lindner, who sat there with "such a polite smile" and talked as if the defeat of the Ukrainians had long been sealed. "You only have a few hours," he said. Supplying arms or excluding Russia from SWIFT is pointless. Instead, he wanted to look ahead to what Lindner thought was ahead: a Russian-occupied Ukraine with a puppet government. Melnyk says:
Melnyk also told the "Spiegel" about this conversation three weeks ago. Afterwards, "Lindner's people" complained to him. He already knows that. All the politicians who anger Melnyk send people to direct the anger. And the next time Melnyk asks for an appointment, they send people out to fend him off. Melnyk doesn't have people he can send up front to filter his emotions. He only has Frau Kononenko in the hall, and she also works late into the night.
"German politicians are very afraid of bad press," says Melnyk. "Diplomats should sit in their offices and be silent - but that doesn't work." Melnyk tried the classic route. He politely asked for an appointment, expressed his views, voiced criticism. It was of no use. So Melnyk started talking to journalists. Even if the Foreign Ministry didn't approve of it. The first complaint came in 2016. "And back then I was still a diplomat!" says Melnyk indignantly. Since he had not insulted anyone as an *sshole.
(Excerpt) Read more at zeitung-faz-net.translate.goog ...
Ukraine ping
Ukraine ambassador to Germany plays smashmouth to get his message directly to the German people, past the German politicians who might be tempted by the prospect of well-remunerated board seats in Russian companies after retirement.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerhard_Schr%C3%B6der#Relationship_with_Russian_companies
It appears Jacques Chirac’s stipend from Saddam wasn’t the only instance in which European pols were bought and paid for by foreign tyrants:
Well, props to you for having read it and still be able to comment on it. Was it written in German and then google-translated? It will take actual paper and a pen to diagram the article! It looks interesting; maybe I’ll try again tomorrow.
[Well, props to you for having read it and still be able to comment on it. ]
At the same time, German officials are *still* slow-walking the aid. So he’s continuing to light a fire under these corruptocrats by talking over them directly to the German media. This might be an exaggeration, but I’m getting the impression that if Zelensky ran for office in Germany at the head of a new party, he’d have a non-trivial chance of winning and becoming Chancellor. That’s why German officials are starting to give way and provide, however grudgingly, some of the aid they had *pledged*, while continuing their campaign of obstruction. The onslaught of media pressure by the Ukrainian ambassador is starting to tank the incumbent party’s poll numbers.
The Ukies are also somewhat canny. They sent a Jew to be ambassador to Germany. That’s symbolism with a capital “S”, since Ukraine was where a million Jews were slaughtered by the Germans. German ministers can grumble about pushy Jews in private, but they can’t actually say so in public.
Thanks Zhang Fei.
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