THIS SINKING FEELING

I left America where Nero is waiting in the aisle. I arrived in Europe which is heading for the evil iceberg, oblivious.

Nobody can predict where Trump's ship of fools is heading. It is not hard to foresee a European meltdown wherein the normal powers get busted and wherein the "new normal" (Hungary, Italy, i.a.) starts to set the tone.

The EU is on life support. The former first tier countries, France and Germany, appear exhausted. Poland and the Baltics have their own regional legitimate priorities. Even the Netherlands appear suddenly insecure. If Belgium were ever get its act together it might be smart to return to the former Benelux  model which rivalled, often successfully, its European counterparts.

Brussels is the perfect place for hosting the European headquarters and NATO. It lives in its own chaos; it doesn't interfere in the latter and doesn't count in the former.

Nevertheless the overall geopolitical situation is dire. It is bad enough that the EU feels like a ship without a captain. America appears to become overloaded with mostly uninformed, clueless personae, whose lifespan solely depends on the mood of a narcissist. The happenings that come out of Mar-a-Lago have all the ingredients of some Peplum technicolor in the Sixties. Melania fits the bill.

All this could be almost trivial if the rest of the world were still on some normal trajectory. There are enough nutcases, human tragedies, evil players to make one homesick for the times of Kissinger. He was far from faultless but he was able to put roadblocks where need overturned caution. The current Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, will be missed. This man of modesty and class deserves gratitude and respect.

The final year of President Biden was a painful act to swallow. Fortunately his government and especially his close advisers in foreign affairs, defense, economy, finance, infrastructure, made for a sterling legacy. 

Miracles are a thing of the past. One must beware of a future wherein the weakness of one and the craziness of the other create the perfect storm.