Top German Magazine Joins Attack on Merkel: She Totally Botched it on Ukraine, Russia (Spiegel)
- The timing of this is important - a growing chorus of criticism from influential voices - Merkel is under attack
- Written by one of Germany's most prominent political journalists
- Argues that Merkel personally ruined relations with Russia, lost Ukraine, and worst of all, backed a miserable war
- Basically says she was incompetent
Christiane Hoffmann (Der Spiegel)
More evidence that Merkel is in serious trouble on her Russia policy.
Under the no-holds-barred headline of "Summit of Failure: How the EU Lost Russia over Ukraine" Der Spiegel has published a major article blasting her "historical failure" and pinning personal responsibility on her for a "standoff with Russia and war in the Donbass".
The mammoth – 7,000 words long – article came from under the pen of a 6-man team headed by the influential Christiane Hoffmann, one of Spiegel's most senior political writers, and a Russia specialist.
The appearance of an article like this in Germany is of much more significance than it would be in an anglo-saxon culture, which encourages spirited debate. German culture is much more consensual, and the media tends to move in lock-step on important policy matters.
That this article is appearing now is a very big deal, and hardly a coincidence.
The article gives a detailed chronicle of Germany's and EU's dealings with Ukraine president Viktor Yanukovich from his inauguration until shortly before his downfall.
Without any needless, high-pitched rhetoric it systematically exposes German officials and Merkel herself as naive bumblers who consistently fail to understand Yanukovich, the Ukrainian realities and, most importantly, the critical importance Ukraine holds for Russia.
The end impression is that the current mess could have been easily avoided, and the EU could have even had its Ukraine deal, if it had only listened to Kiev and talked to Russia.
Here are some of the key paragraphs:
Conclusions
Everyone came to realize that efforts to deepen Ukraine's ties with the EU had failed.
But no one at the time was fully aware of the consequences the failure would have: that it would lead to one of the world's biggest crises since the end of the Cold War; that it would result in the redrawing of European borders; and that it would bring the Continent to the brink of war.
It was the moment Europe lost Russia.
For Ukraine, the failure in Vilnius resulted in disaster. Since its independence in 1991, Ukraine has strived to orient itself towards the EU while at the same time taking pains to ensure that those actions don't damage its relations with Moscow.
The choice between West and East, which both Brussels and Moscow have forced Kiev to make, has had devastating consequences for the fragile country. But the impact of that fateful evening in Vilnius goes far beyond Ukraine's borders.
Some 25 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and almost 70 years after the end of World War II, Europe is once again divided.
The estrangement between the Russians and the Europeans is growing with Moscow and the West more inimical toward each other today than during the final phase of the Cold War. It's a reality that many in Europe have long sought to ignore.
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http://russia-insider.com/en/2014/11/27/12-53-43pm/top_german_magazine_merkel_totally_screwed-_ukraine_russia_spiegel
