Hostages

The recent developments in international dynamics give us food for thought. Until yesterday, we believed that three philosophies dominated our planet, each with its representative and its characteristic form of government. The USA, Russia, and China were the teams we all rooted for, partly because the European Union, after the single currency, never managed to take steps towards creating a fourth entity of sufficient importance to stand on par with the others. In fact, it was simpler to speak of the West, merging our identity with that of the United States.

When the war in Ukraine began, the line separating Russia from the West was already drawn, and it was easy to determine who were the good guys and who were the bad guys. This conviction began to waver for some when the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was sabotaged. It was hard to believe that the Russians had committed this direct attack on the EU because they still had the option to suspend the gas flow without damaging the transport structure, which was extremely useful as a bargaining chip, at least from their point of view. It was thought that China had entered the scene, but there were no valid reasons to justify such a move; the Americans were considered, but direct involvement to the detriment of the EU seemed rather out of place. In the end, it was acknowledged that the perpetrators of the sabotage were the Ukrainian secret services, and everyone turned a blind eye, whistling.

This new and opportunistic friendship between Russia and the United States, which excludes Europe, makes us masochists smile: wherever the EU decides to bow down, there is someone behind it ready with the Vaseline. Trump's lover has been dumped and left to fend for herself, throwing tantrums and rolling in the street, warding off with tariffs the only opportunity she had left.

And like a seduced and abandoned woman, the EU cannot shake off the desire to prove that it too can dictate terms like the world's masters, rather than positioning itself as a virtuous and far-sighted alternative, opting out of the games of war and power.

While the Americans acquire rights even on Nord Stream 2, financing its repair, we think about weapons. While the Russians finish cleaning up Ukraine, we think about tanks. While China rises as the master of technology, we teach the new generations how to use a rifle.

A future awaits us in which, to sleep soundly, we will have bombs under our pillows. When we realize that the most dangerous red button is not on the other side of the world, it will be too late to understand that we have all become hostages of four rich men lying on the beaches of Gaza, sipping a mojito.