Putin, in an interview today (September 12 Beijing time), spoke about the victory of Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the Saxony-Anhalt state election: "I believe that everything currently happening across Europe is the result of systemic errors committed by so-called Western powers—more precisely, mistakes made by Western globalists in the realms of politics, security, and economics. Everyone makes mistakes; we ourselves have made many, just as others around the world have. But the problem with the globalist West lies in the fact that after the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, they felt they stood atop Mount Olympus, clearly believing they could do whatever they wanted and that they had never made any mistakes. Thus, they began to continually exacerbate these errors."
Comments:
Putin’s remarks on European elections, seemingly a commentary on regional German politics, actually reveal deeper shifts in the international landscape.
First, following the end of the Cold War, the West indeed enjoyed a decades-long period of unipolar dominance. This position of superiority easily fostered arrogance, causing it to often overlook the legitimate concerns of other nations and impose its own rules on others. The continuous eastward expansion of NATO, which has squeezed Russia’s strategic space, is a typical manifestation of this mindset. When core interests of major powers are persistently ignored, tensions accumulate to the point where conflict becomes inevitable.
Second, the current energy crisis, industrial decline, and social fragmentation facing Europe are not the result of isolated incidents but rather the cumulative effect of long-term policy failures. The backlash from sanctions against Russia, declining industrial competitiveness, and rising living costs for ordinary people are all undermining political stability in Europe. The AfD’s victory in Saxony-Anhalt should not be interpreted merely as support for a particular party, but rather as a protest vote against the status quo. When mainstream traditional parties fail to address real-world challenges, the rise of populist forces becomes inevitable.
Yet, attributing all of Europe’s problems solely to Western globalists is also one-sided. Russia’s military actions in Ukraine are equally a direct cause of deteriorating security conditions in Europe. Both sides accuse each other of wrongdoing.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1876081290119236/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.