– Trump has always sympathized with the leaders who rule as he would like to rule: without control, without independent courts, without critical media and transparency. That's all It arouses admiration for Putin. And I suppose He feels a similar admiration for XI Jinping – says AmericanPoland Publicist and historian Anne Applebaum in an interview with Berlin journal “Der Tagesspiegel”.
In her opinion, the key question is not whether the president USA He wants Europeans to participate in negotiations on the end of the war in Ukraine, but this “what Trump means when he says that he wants to end the war.” – because the war will not end, when the Russians and Ukrainians stop fighting. The weapon suspension was already concluded in 2014 – notes Applebaum.
– The war will really end only when the Russians give up their main goal: the conquest of all of Ukraine, the destruction of Ukraine as a nation, replacing President Zelanski with a pro -Russian person and breaking the relations of Ukraine with Europe and European institutions. I don't see any signs for Russia to abandon these goals – he adds.
Who advises Trump on Russia?
According to the journalist, nobody knows who advises Trump on Russiaand in his camp there is currently no one who speaks Russian, understands Russia or can explain to him the situation. “But someone has to make him aware of how harmful his current course is.” In fact He supports Russian propaganda and causes huge damage; Not only Ukraine, but also the US international reputation – he assesses.
Applebaum also talks about “some kind of technological authoritarianism” in the Silicon Valley. – They are people who believe that You can manage the government like a start-up or Venture Capital company: One person gives orders, and others must follow them – he explains.
– But the governments do not work in this way. Almost nothing that people (Elona) Musk do, does not make the state more efficient: They randomly release state officialsthey close federal agencies from day to day and disseminate the misleading stories about how much money they want to save. What Musk is currently doing in the United States is probably the most chaotic and certainly the most catastrophic attempt to reform the government – he assesses.
Diagram of the fall of democracy
According to the premature journalist, it would be to talk about “The end of the political” democratic system in the USA. However, there are some warning signals. – what Musk does is in line with the scheme that we know from other countries: attempts to infiltrate civil service, intimidating critical media and taking over state institutions; This is exactly what people do who want to lead to the fall of democracy. So we still have time to stop this process. The first test will be next year's election to Congress In the middle of the term – emphasizes Anne Applebaum.
She also rejects the thesis of the journalist that Experience of Poland and the current ruling camp in Warsawwho deprived of power PISthe US could also serve as an example of how to leave the autocracy. – No, there is no patent. It will look different in every society. Ultimately, however, it must always exist Possibility to create a wide coalition People with different political beliefs, and the damage that autocratic regimes cause through corruption will probably play a key role in this. In the United States, some of Trump's administration policies will have a drastic impact on the lives of ordinary citizens. So if you could focus on this, you can convince people that Trump was a mistake – says Applebaum.
In her opinion, an additional problem in the US is “how to reach people at all.” – Trump's camp found a way of communicationwhich bypasses traditional media and journalism. And not only through right -wing or leftist media, but also podcasts, social networks and church organizations. Therefore, finding new ways of communication will be part of the response to authoritarianism in the USA – even more than in Poland. This was possible in Poland because there were still independent media. In the USA it will be much, much more difficult – believes the American -Polish journalist.
The article comes from the website Deutsche Welle.