Opinion Obliteration Orchestrated by Oligarch

For today’s “Odds & Sods”, let's look at what's good without being ignorant of all the bad things happening in the world. For one, we had the highest voter turnout in Germany since reunification. But before we dive in, I would like to request your specific feedback: Are my alliterative headlines worth the multiple hours I invest in creating them, or could you manage without them? Let me know.

The Impotent Puppeteer

First off, I stand corrected. In a delightful twist of electoral fate, Elon Musk’s grandiose attempt to play kingmaker in the German elections has proven ineffective. Our intrepid billionaire and the US President and Vice President lent their considerable weight behind the AfD, asserting they were Germany’s only saviours. While the AfD did indeed surge to a historic second place, one suspects this was less due to Musk’s Midas touch and more a result of the German electorate’s temporary lapse into collective madness.

The tech mogul’s digital cheerleading on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter, and soon to be known as “What Was He Thinking?”) managed to enhance AfD engagement by a factor of eight — a feat as impressive as it is irrelevant, given X’s lack of popularity in Germany. A few months ago, the AfD was polling at 20%. On Sunday, that is nearly precisely what they received. So in the end, Musk’s meddling in German politics has proven to be as impactful as a feather duster in a hurricane, leaving us to wonder if perhaps he should stick to what he knows best: overpromising and underdelivering on electric cars and space travel.

Turning Crisis into Continental Cohesion

Read this: Minna Ålander penned an uplifting yet realistic recap of the latest geopolitical developments. She notes that Vladimir Putin’s misguided faith in his own propaganda led him to initiate a war against Ukraine, while Trump and his supporters failed to recognise Europe’s true strength. Surprisingly, Trump’s antagonistic actions have united European leaders, who are now collaborating to support Ukraine and counter Trump’s influence. European countries and Canada are forming a “Europe+” alliance, providing Ukraine with partnerships and support packages. Even traditionally difficult countries like Hungary and Turkey are alligning with the European perspective. Trump’s behaviour has ironically united US allies against the US, with even far-right politicians distancing themselves from MAGA ideology. Ukraine’s significance to European security has grown considerably, and it is now on a fast track to EU membership, receiving robust support from Nordic and Baltic countries.

How to Chill Free Speech in 551 Easy Steps

In a display of staggering hypocrisy, Jeff Bezos, the billionaire owner of The Washington Post, has chosen to transform the paper’s opinion section into a shrine to “personal liberties and free markets.” This Orwellian decree, masquerading as a commitment to freedom, is nothing short of intellectual mutilation. Bezos has decided that dissenting views on these sacred pillars will be “left to others to publish.” Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, the German conservative alliance CDU/CSU has launched its own attack on civil society. In a move that would make McCarthy blush, they have submitted a “Kleine Anfrage” (minor interpellation) to the Bundestag, targeting organisations involved in recent anti-fascist demonstrations. This 551-question inquiry aims to scrutinise the funding and activities of groups like Correctiv, Netzwerk Recherche (of which I’m a member), and others who had the audacity to protest against the CDU’s flirtation with far-right politics. The parallels between these events are as striking as they are unsettling. Both Bezos and the CDU/CSU, under the guise of protecting democracy, are engaging in a calculated assault on press freedom and civil society.

Bezos’s edict and the CDU’s witch hunt are not isolated incidents but rather symptoms of a broader malaise afflicting Western democracies. In this brave new world, where billionaires dictate editorial policy and politicians scrutinise dissenters, one must ask: what becomes of the fourth estate? The tragedy is that this erosion of press freedom comes not with a bang but with a whimper. It’s a death by a thousand cuts, each justified in the name of “freedom” or “neutrality.” This is freedom for the powerful and neutrality for the privileged. It’s a perverse inversion of the very principles these actors claim to uphold.

In conclusion, within this grand theatre of geopolitics, where billionaires consider themselves kingmakers and politicians strive for relevance, we encounter a strangely reassuring truth: power remains with the people—for now.

As always, thanks for reading,