Viewpoints

On today’s warmongering

Current developments in Germany in 2025 show a considerable parallel to 1914 and 1933. Today, too, we are once again witnessing a rise in irrational Russophobia. I hereby take a clear stance against this destructive development.

I realise with great concern that these developments are being driven by the middle class and above all the “do-gooders” and are increasingly taking up space in society as a whole.

It is simply incomprehensible that 80 years after the end of the Second World War, we are witnessing a repetition of the history that ultimately led to the rise of Hitler. The decline of the political parties and the media elites, who are increasingly betraying independence as the highest principle of their social mission, cannot be tolerated. The social elites are also following the same path. Added to this is an increasing lockstep society, the extent of which is reminiscent of 1933.

Germany, which stood out for its pacifism after the end of the war and into the 2020s, was swept up in a tsunami of warmongering. Those in favour of war should be aware that Germany had already declared war on Russia in 1914 and 1941 – with the well-known results. It is regrettable that these elites have not understood that war rhetoric is regularly the beginning of a hot war with all its consequences.

It is a fact that the proxy war in Ukraine has cost almost $300bn between 2022 and today. And what is the result? A balance sheet of around 1.1 million dead Ukrainians and around 500,000 dead Russians. Not a single goal of the West, especially the USA and NATO, has been achieved. Their goal is clear: we will defeat the Russians militarily!

However, the West’s biggest strategic mistake is that the diabolisation of Russia by the public media, especially in Germany, and by a German Foreign Minister Baerbock (falsifying her CV) has fuelled Russophobia in Europe. It is simply unacceptable that the German-Russian history of the 20th century is being forgotten in the general consciousness. It is a fact that Germany claimed almost two million Russian lives in the First World War. And it is also a fact that the machinations of Moltke and Hindenburg supported the Russian revolution. This cost a further 14 million lives with the rise of Stalin. Hitler’s attack on the Soviet Union claimed 41 million Russian victims. It is also simply unacceptable to ignore the fact that German reunification would hardly have been possible without Russia’s consent.

I expect that Germany, the EU and Europe will contribute to the deep fall of the West that I see coming our way. And this despite the fact that Germany is still a vassal state of the USA.

That’s why we have to fight back now. I’m a pacifist and that’s a good thing.

Freedom of expression

It is clear to me that freedom of expression is the holy grail. For centuries, people have been seeking freedom through thoughts and words. In 1748, students and part of the intellectual elite in Germany called for freedom of expression with the song “Die Gedanken sind frei” (Thoughts are free). Because without freedom of expression, there is no democracy! The Hambach Festival and the revolution of 1848 marked the high point of the demand for freedom of expression. This development came to an abrupt end with the destruction of democracy and the rise of Bismarck and the empire with Wilhelm I and Wilhelm II. This development led to the First World War. After the war was lost, democracy and freedom and diversity of opinion revived until they were buried again in 1933. After 1945, freedom of opinion developed again in West Germany under the four Allies, albeit to a limited extent. But freedom of opinion and democracy were again destroyed in East Germany. The achievements of chancellors such as Adenauer, Brandt, Schmidt, Kohl and Schröder made democracy and political discourse possible in reunified Germany in the first place. There is no denying it: During the Merkel era, freedom of opinion and political discourse were insidiously euthanised.

In her youth, Merkel was the chief propagandist of the FDJ in the GDR. During her time as Chancellor, she deliberately brought political and critical discourse to a standstill. To this end, she deliberately spread a false image of herself and silenced critical journalists in the public media. Through her personal friendships with Mrs Springer (Bild, Welt) and Mrs Mohn (Bertelsmann Foundation), she has virtually 90% of the press under her control. With the slogan that there is no alternative to her policies, the critical state of Germany has been deliberately covered up.

This model of manipulation via a compliant media has outlived Merkel. In the 2021 federal elections, a new generation of journalists used the media to bring the incompetent and ideologically stubborn politicians and the political sect known as the Greens to power. Baerbock and Habeck were hailed as the stars of the coming years, yet they epitomised lies, deceit and incompetence.

The Scholz government and the rise of the Greens have clearly reinforced this. Even before he was elected chancellor, Merz began preparing a law against lies on the internet. This is a clear attack on the freedom of expression of critics who are uncomfortable. The division of the country through the merger of the traditional parties to form a firewall is obvious. It is obvious that any criticism is criminalised as Nazi sloganeering. The consequence is clear: more and more Germans are rejecting democracy and the political elite in Berlin and prefer to retreat into the private sphere.

I note that since 2022, politicians such as Zimmermann, Baerbock, Habeck and others have been pressing charges and lawsuits against critical voters and citizens. Allegedly for allegedly insulting their person. There is talk of a total of over 6,000 complaints.

This must be changed!

Democracy

(1) In principle, the following applies:

In Germany, a democratic system is being indoctrinated day and night and at the same time the traditional parties are blatantly undermining it. They control all important administrative bodies and thus determine politics from kindergartens and schools to the media and sport. It is clear: their contribution to political decision-making must be made in accordance with the Basic Law and must be limited to this.

When we talk about democracy, the following five questions must be answered in the affirmative:

1st question: Do voters have a direct influence on the parties’ election candidates and thus their appointment to the federal and state parliaments? No, this is determined by the parties alone.

2nd question: Can the voter elect the Federal Chancellor directly? I say no!

3rd question: Can the voter elect the Federal President? I say no!

4 Why are the highest judges nominated and appointed by political parties? This overrides one of the foundations of democracy, namely the separation between the legislative, judicial and executive branches. It is obvious that the public prosecutors are bound by the instructions of the respective ministries of justice and thus the political parties.

5. it is simply unacceptable that the election of the directors of the public broadcasters is determined by a party committee without the involvement of the voters. The minister presidents of the federal states set the licence fees. And thus the parties also decide on these minister presidents. The Interstate Media Treaty was negotiated exclusively by the political parties. I maintain that this media power is maintained in this way. All citizens are forced to pay a media fee – regardless of their will and desire. This prevents a critical media landscape. It is obvious: the public media have degenerated into propaganda tools for the political parties.

(2) On Section 146 of the Basic Law

The last paragraph of the Basic Law is clear: when Germany is reunified, a new constitution must be written and submitted to the people for approval. The facts are clear: reunification took place in 1990. And today, after 30 years, there is simply no longer any talk of a German constitution. Many observers are certain that the parties are too afraid of losing their influence and sinecures.

Willy Brandt was absolutely right in 1970: today’s Basic Law was largely dictated by the USA.

(3) The political situation in Germany in the years 2021 to 2025

The traffic light coalition from 2021 to January 2025 has led Germany into the worst and worst government since 1949. The actions of the most incompetent, pseudo-moralist sect member Baerbock have damaged Germany’s good reputation abroad. In China, Africa, the Middle East and South America. Her pathological Russophobia and unconditional support for a corrupt system in Ukraine have caused enormous damage to Germany’s image worldwide, which had previously been characterised by respect.

Their crusade for alleged human rights and the migration of illiterate Afghans, Syrians and Africans that they are fuelling have caused additional damage to Germany. This is reflected in knife attacks, the threat to internal security and the increase in drug trafficking. An incompetent interior minister like Faeser has given her the green light for this.

Olaf Scholz is involved in a dubious scandal (cum-ex) and was the weakest chancellor since 1949. Germany’s supply of Russian gas via Nordstream 1 and 2 was destroyed by the Biden administration and the Germany-hater Noland. Instead, it is supplied by American gas or even Russian gas, which is sourced from India and offered at exorbitant prices. The government has simply left this in the air and has not brought about any clarification.

In addition, Habeck is the most incompetent Minister of Economics of the post-war period. As a member of the green sect, he is leading a crusade in favour of so-called alternative energies. Among other things, he has passed laws to make the purchase of heat pumps compulsory, which hardly any average citizen can afford. Habeck has clearly infiltrated the Ministry of Economics and the subordinate authorities with family and NGO friends. He deliberately tried to manifest the problem of climate change as an indispensable basis for all government action. To this end, he used deliberate half-truths, lies and unspoken truths in the media and in public.

The avoidance of CO2 became a reason of state to which everything else had to be subordinated. Germany only contributes 2% of global CO2 emissions.

The government crisis in November 2024 led us to new elections in February 2025. The people of the country were given new hope. The result is disappointing. The Green Party lost a significant number of votes, the SPD lost a considerable number of votes and the CDU/CSU with Merz only achieved 28%. It has been decided that a grand coalition is the only solution. Before the election, Merz had refused to see the AfD as a coalition partner, even though it was the real winner of the election. Merz favoured his personal fate over the good of the country in order to become chancellor. His behaviour makes it clear that there are the following points:

He has colluded with the Greens to ensure that they do not vote against him. The nomination of Baerbock as a candidate for the 2025/26 UN General Assembly Presidency is a clear result.

The new parliament has begun its work. And this despite the fact that there had previously been an amendment to the Basic Law that cancelled the debt brake and earmarked 1.8 trillion euros for the Bundeswehr and infrastructure. This was done with the help of the voted-out parliament and the caretaker government. Anchoring climate protection in the Basic Law is one result of this horse-trading. During the election campaign, the CDU/CSU and Merz themselves assured voters that the debt brake would remain in any case. Many voters voted for the CDU/CSU for this reason. Conservative voters and the population clearly recognise this as deception and fraud. The CDU/CSU leadership has made an almost cynical statement that this approach is the new way of doing politics.

(4) On the history of Germany

As a citizen of non-German descent, I am more than astonished that German history is limited in public perception and discussion to the period of the Third Reich. The years of the German Revolution of 1848, the time when Germany was the land of poets and thinkers, must not be forgotten or suppressed! Most citizens simply do not know Kant, Hegel, Heine, Fontane, Hauptmann, Goethe, Schiller, Marx and many other important musicians such as Beethoven, Schumann and Brahms. I call for an awareness of and pride in Germany’s cultural achievements! I realise that German identity is dwindling.

It is simply unacceptable that the considerable loss of diversity in German culture that accompanied the rise of Bismarck, Prussianism and the establishment of the nation state is denied – despite the short-term rebirth in the 1950s to 1990s.

The dark side of militarism and the wars must not be forgotten. After all, a world war was triggered in 1914 by a promise made by Kaiser Wilhelm I to Emperor Franz of Austria. Germany then declared war on Russia. In this context, it is often forgotten that Lenin’s massive support ultimately made the communist revolution in Russia and the rise of Stalin possible. As a result, 17 million Russians lost their lives.

It is simply unacceptable that the fact that Hitler declared war on the Soviet Union in 1941 is ignored. The consequence was the death of 41 million people in Russia. The current government of Scholz and Merz is preparing the country for a possible war against Russia. The question arises as to whether Germany wants to learn the lessons of history at all.

(5) My proposals for the development of society.

The decline in society that I have observed since the end of the 1960s has taken on dramatic proportions.

The situation is worrying: violence against women, children, the elderly, paramedics, in hospitals and doctors’ surgeries has reached such unprecedented levels in the last 15 years that some observers are talking about a state of emergency. The police and judiciary are overwhelmed by this, especially in view of the suggested need to economise and extremely poorly formulated and ambiguous laws. It is therefore right to speak of a justice system for perpetrators rather than a justice system for victims.

It is a fact: family and marriage are continuously losing importance. It is obvious that the upbringing of children is increasingly deteriorating and values are no longer being passed on to the next generation. It is a fact that families with only one parent, especially single mothers, very often have financial problems. These problems force women to work and lead to them neglecting their children. The resulting problems for the growing children are unacceptable.

The churches have lost a large part of their credibility as a result of paedophilia incidents and the way they have dealt with them. As a result, they can no longer fulfil their most important task of communicating values and maintaining social cohesion.

The decline of the fourth power in the state, the press, cannot be overlooked. From an instrument of control for the economic and political elite, it has become their echo and helper, to the detriment of society as a whole.

It is obvious that the quality of education in our country has fallen sharply. This starts in kindergarten, continues through primary school and grammar school and on to university. Basic subjects such as language, maths and science can be opted out of, which causes considerable difficulties for children in their future lives. It is obvious that subjects such as ethics and religion are hardly taught at all. This is a clear promotion of a society of conformity.

Many believe that university degrees are the most important thing for the new generation. In doing so, they forget that technical and manual skills and knowledge are the basis for the professions that are ultimately irreplaceable for the functioning of the economy and services. The quality of research and teaching has deteriorated considerably due to the inflation of access to university and doctorate factories. As a result, German university degrees are increasingly seen as inferior worldwide. Another problem in education is the narrow focus of education at grammar schools and universities. It is obvious that this leads to a considerable loss of cognitive ability and networked thinking. As a result, Germany’s good reputation as a country of the highest quality products and services is gone for good.

The problems of an ageing society, such as loneliness and neglect, are not only not recognised, but no solutions are sought or offered.

This must be changed!

(6) Ineptocracy and kakistocracy – two terms you need to know

In this context, I have noticed that critical and networked thinking is becoming increasingly taboo. It’s obvious: people are reading less and less non-fiction and socio-critical and political literature. They are also less and less willing and able to express themselves politically – and this applies to all levels of society. The result is a deep decline in the quality of politicians, the media and the mainstream.

Even the ancient Greeks described this state of society as ineptocracy or kakistocracy:

Ineptocracy is a political system in which the most incompetent are elected by the most unproductive – at the expense of the most productive.

Kakistocracy, i.e. rule by the worst, is the worst and most incompetent political system imaginable. It is the decay of a country in its entirety.

I am firmly convinced that these two conditions are currently a reality in Germany.

Migration and racism

After 1945, Germany brought a considerable number of foreign workers into the country for reconstruction. These came from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece and especially Turkey. This clearly led to integration problems caused by religion and language. However, these problems were still manageable on the whole. The Merkel, Scholz and Green governments allowed a large number of pseudo-refugees into the country without controls. These were supposedly political or war refugees, but for the most part had no Christian religion and were largely illiterate, even in their native language and without any education. It is a fact that some of these new immigrants reject Western life, religion and the equality of women. In doing so, they are de facto rejecting Germany.

I have strong doubts about the reasons given by political parties, media elites, so-called do-gooders and the mainstream in favour of this form of migration. It is claimed that it is the sole solution to the problems of an ageing society and the real decline in the German population. The German population has one main problem: German women only have their first child at the relatively advanced age of around 30. And then fertility is low. This is the result of a long education and the early years of working life. The political and media elite, as well as the mainstream, show no willingness to offer women and their families other and more support options to solve this problem. The hope that well-educated foreigners willing to migrate will make their way to Germany is simply wrong. Germany’s image abroad is increasingly negative.

I myself have experienced various forms of racism over the last 60 years. My French university degrees were not recognised. So I had to start a new degree programme. Everyday racism in the form of mistrust or disrespect is a problem.

This development must be stopped.

US hegemony – trade war – new world order

In my book series “The Deep Fall of the West and the Bitter Tears of Europe”, I show how the balance of power between the West and countries that no longer agree with the current world order is changing. The inauguration of Donald Trump has more than confirmed my conclusions about the end of the monopolistic world order. The hegemony of the USA began with the end of the First World War and intensified even further with the end of the Second World War. A sleeping giant replaced the previously dominant colonial rulers and, with its liberal economic order and free trade, formed an alternative to Stalin’s communist world. A competition began between two world orders: the free world and the communist Soviet Union. The economic collapse and dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s under Gorbachev marked the end of this era.

The USA has imposed a monopolistic world order worldwide. It is obvious that this is exclusively focussed on its own interests and on dominating the global monetary system. The enforcement of its own interests in other countries was achieved either through political pressure and manipulation, through geopolitical measures such as regime change or even through military action. And so Western Europe, Central and South America as well as part of Africa and the heavyweights in Asia such as Japan and South Korea were more or less turned into allies of US hegemony.

From the year 2000 and the rise of China to become the second largest economic power and the merger of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to form the BRICS states, an alternative was created for most developing and emerging countries.

The USA has waged more than 70 wars since 1949. It has massively rearmed its armed forces and spent an irresponsible amount of money. The result is a gigantic national debt that far exceeds the annual value added.

President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama and President Biden have launched an insane attempt to weaken Russia so that it ends up selling its vast natural resources to the US on the cheap. The CIA-instigated coup in Ukraine in 2014 and the enthronement of US vassals in Kiev was the real reason for Russia’s attack in this proxy war. NATO and its allies have been forced to deliver arms and aid to US strongman Zelenskyi. The costs of the war have risen to such an extent in 2025 that they are barely manageable for the USA and its allies.

In November 2024, the Republicans regained victory, meaning that Trump became president in January 2025 and has kept the world in suspense ever since with a constant stream of supposedly new political demands. What is forgotten is that both the Democrats and the Republicans have slowly returned to the original isolationism of the USA in recent years. In connection with this, the feeling prevails that the USA has always balanced and paid for all the needs of the Western world in the past and that the entire West and important members of today’s BRICS states have lived at the expense of the USA. In particular, the feeling that they have thereby enabled the economic and therefore geopolitical rise of European countries, China, India, etc. This was and is visible to the Americans through a constant foreign trade deficit.

Donald Trump already denounced this state of affairs during his first term of office. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful in pushing through changes. That is why he has decided to introduce globally differentiated tariffs with a bang in his second term of office from March 2025. According to leading economists and geopoliticians, the consequences of this will lead to a global crisis that will significantly alter free trade. The economists have presented the figures and stated clearly and unequivocally: Inflation, deflation and unemployment will increase significantly in all countries of the world. I am convinced that the situation will worsen. And that is due to crises in the global monetary system. And the stock markets will experience a nasty crash.

The leading economic institutes in the USA, the UK and France, as well as the economists Stiglitz, Rubini, Krugmann, Piketty and Sinn, have calculated that value added or GDP could fall by 0.5% to 4% per country. This will be associated with unemployment and poverty. I expressly regret and condemn this.

The countries affected, in particular China, Japan, South Africa and the EU, have announced countermeasures. These will definitely exacerbate the situation. The current situation in the world is a powder keg.

Trump is clearly pursuing a social transformation of the Western world and to some extent the Asian continent through a very conservative ideology. This ideology reduces the principles of liberal democracy and the strengths of the rule of law to absurdity.

Trump clearly has the following motives for his actions:

He is making maximum demands in order to push through his goals in favour of the USA in the negotiations.

He is pursuing the goal of reindustrialising the USA. I doubt that. The real problems of industry in the USA are the high number of unskilled workers and the catastrophic competitiveness of industrial companies.

He has a clear plan: the gigantic debt of the USA must be eliminated. The USA will not be able to achieve this goal, even if it tries. It is utopian to believe that all state banks and national banks will accept an interest-free credit/government bond programme with a term of 100 years and that the US debt will be virtually wiped out by minimal inflation. Should this materialise, it would also be an alternative for other countries around the world to finance their national debt. The consequences for the global monetary system are considerable. They could even lead to its collapse.

The machinations and customs levies have considerable consequences:

For the EU, one thing is clear: Trump will try with all his might to divide the EU countries. His goal: he wants to push through his goals with each country from a position of strength and bind each country to him with greater dependency. The EU must present a united front and accept individual disadvantages. Our own future is firmly linked to the survival of the EU.

For China, it is clear that a real trade war is being waged between China and the US at the highest level. And this could well lead to a military conflict. It is a fact that China is the USA’s biggest creditor and also its biggest workbench. The production depth of the USA is only 13 %. This means that 87% of the components of a product are not produced in the USA, but for the most part in China. As a result, the USA has promoted a pseudo-monopoly in China and made itself highly dependent.

Trump has definitely chosen the wrong approach. His plans to re-industrialise the US and bring back factories from abroad are based on a fundamental misjudgement of the skills of the US population. The US needs millions of skilled workers right now to successfully implement this measure. In the long term, this would certainly be possible.

The EU and Europe should realise that the very high tariffs on Chinese products are enormously explosive. If China cannot sell its goods in the USA, it will definitely look for alternative markets – especially in Europe. The Europeans are caught in the globalisation trap, just like the USA. It is a fact that, despite repeated warnings, a large number of European companies have outsourced part of their activities to China. The production depth of a European product is a maximum of 40 %. This means that 60% of product components have to be imported from China. This became abundantly clear during the coronavirus crisis. The EU economy is just as dependent on China as it is on the USA.

We need a counter-strategy to the unfair competition from the Chinese. One that provides for significant market foreclosure and the reconstruction of Europe’s industrialisation, regardless of the strategic added value of the products.

It is imperative that we do our homework. This includes the consistent reduction of laws and regulations, the acceleration of all official procedures, a consistent review of government spending with a significant strengthening of the audit offices and the introduction of personal responsibility for individual politicians.

The time has come to consistently reform the areas of education and science. Quality must be significantly improved in these areas – not only for academic education, but also for vocational training.

It is imperative to minimise government tasks and significantly reduce the power of political parties.

Europe must change fundamentally. Only then will it be equipped to deal with current and future crises and the fundamental changes in global trade. It will also be able to cope with the associated changes in geopolitical and alliance-based relationships. Otherwise Europe will cease to exist.

Inflation, deflation, stock market crash

The tariffs imposed are the reason why products and services in the USA are becoming more expensive. This triggers inflation that is considerably higher than the current level. And this applies across the board to all products in agriculture, manufacturing and services. It is clear that the same will also occur with a delay in the rest of the world. The self-sufficiency situation of the individual countries is crucial here. It is to be expected that there will be considerable inflation in individual areas in Europe. It is also to be expected that deflation will occur in other areas. This will be associated with company closures.

What is very dangerous, however, is the development on the stock markets, including the US stock markets, which is driven by the economic behaviour of the masses, should investors be overcome by fear and uncertainty. In the worst case scenario, a much worse crisis than Black Friday in 1929 could occur. The interconnectedness of the world’s stock markets could cause a conflagration.

Unemployment

A trade war means that the exchange of goods and services between countries is significantly reduced or made more expensive. This results in a reduction or even prevention of supply and demand. It is clear that this will have an impact on the capacity utilisation of companies and the demand for labour. The EU countries must prepare themselves for up to 10 % unemployment. This is the reality presented to us by the current economic situation and growth expectations in most EU countries.

Dance of the elephants

The USA and China are the two most important elephants in today’s global economy. They are fighting fiercely for or against a new world order. Europe must assert itself as a third force. To do so, it needs the support of other partners such as the BRICS countries, African states or certain Asian countries. Otherwise, Europe will become insignificant.

Dependencies

The EU and the rest of the world – apart from the two elephants – absolutely need a steady reduction in production dependencies. In other words, we need to reduce the supply of components and access to their markets. It is obvious: only an increasing independence from the presence on these markets can counteract extortionate, especially political machinations.

Homework for Europe and Germany

Europe is not prepared for crises, whether geopolitical, economic or social. These crises can occur suddenly if the world structure changes. In order to increase resilience, administrative and bureaucracy reduction must be consistently pursued. The number of laws and regulations that lead to bureaucracy must be limited.

The link with Russia is imperative in order to guarantee energy security and the supply of raw materials. The diabolisation of Russia and its political leaders must end immediately.

Politicians must be made personally accountable. They must no longer go unpunished for their record.

The number of mandates must be fixed over time. In addition, the number of members of parliament at federal and state level must be reduced. The police and judiciary must be reformed from the ground up. The justice system must once again be a justice system for victims and not for perpetrators. Reversing the burden of proof in cases of major crime is the right approach here.

Social spending must be reduced to make work pay again. In practical terms, this means that the Citizen’s Income can be halved and subsidies are granted to unemployed people who return to work.

Migration and immigration must be scrutinised! Illegal so-called refugees must be returned to their countries. If necessary, we must support the countries of origin with incentives. Europe and the EU must become attractive for skilled labour wishing to immigrate. It is to be expected – and highly likely – that a large number of skilled workers and scientists will leave their country of origin. This is due to the trade wars and ideological changes in the USA and other countries. The USA is the best example of this.

Education and access to universities must be reformed from the ground up. Quality must gain the upper hand. Universities must not be allowed to degenerate into doctorate factories. A selection process for science and research worthy of the name is absolutely essential.

Teaching at all schools and grammar schools must be reviewed from the ground up and fundamentally changed if necessary.

Political and economic long-term changes

The EU must realise both economic and political changes – this is essential for its survival. First of all, EU standardisation and regulations must be significantly reduced. They must relate exclusively to the EU’s vital tasks.

In this respect, the diversity of the individual members can be restored. In addition, the administrative monstrosity that is Brussels will be replaced by political, elected and time-limited mandates that can be revised at any time in the event of offences committed by mandate holders. The standardisation mania and the issuing of regulations must be thinned out to a considerable extent with an axe.

It is imperative that all EU regulations that impede or burden trade between the individual member states are repealed. The audit offices of the individual countries will be significantly strengthened and equipped with the possibility of disciplinary sanctions. This will consistently combat waste, fraud, abuse, tax evasion and money laundering. All EU countries must definitely be comparable in terms of taxation. Tax havens for large multinationals, such as those offered by Ireland and the Netherlands, will no longer be possible.

Monetary policy changes

It is clear that the third phase of the economic and trade war will almost certainly be followed by a currency crisis. I firmly believe that the dollar will devalue significantly against all other currencies – especially the euro. After all, that is one of Trump’s main objectives. And of course there is a reason for this: inflation and unemployment are undeniable. But of course this also increases the attractiveness of US goods. It can be assumed that China is pursuing a similar policy. This will result in a currency war. It is imperative that the EU and the euro countries act sensitively here to avoid falling behind due to stupidity and incompetence in this area.

Competitiveness

The USA and China will mitigate the expected cost increases of their products due to the tariff increases through political manoeuvres such as state aid to the affected companies. They will influence the negative effects on European countries and products in their favour. The EU and the euro countries must be absolutely vigilant here in order to neutralise such measures.

Geopolitical consequences

The Trump administration’s policy, which is being implemented without prior notice, has caused a considerable loss of confidence among Western countries. After all, they had believed in the axis with the USA. This applies in particular to these countries’ previous firm belief that they would be protected militarily and politically by the USA. As a result, all these countries have seriously neglected their political and military independence. It is obvious that these countries have committed a grave sin. It is definitely possible that countries like Japan, South Korea or Australia in Asia, Chile, Colombia, Canada in South America, Germany, Poland, Greece, Italy, Turkey or in the Middle East Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Syria or Lebanon or Egypt and Algeria in the Middle East will start a run for nuclear armament. This will definitely jeopardise the relative peace that has prevailed to date. The USA has lost credibility in this respect. That is a fact.

For me, the US motto “USA First and Alone” is by no means valid, nor is the Chinese motto “Europe First, but not Alone”.

It’s not about not trading with all countries. It’s about fairness. And it’s about penalising unfair trade, such as that currently being conducted by China.

We must set limits to the neoliberal globalisation associated with the relocation of companies. We must prevent expertise from being exported abroad. This will enable us to contain future competitors. It is absolutely unacceptable to be dependent on a single country.