Snippets: The outgoing year 2024 has become a period of severe tests for the foreign and domestic policy of the EU and virtually all Member States

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Illustrative photo: Austrian Parliament building in Vienna

The New Year's Eve pieces are mainly influenced by the content of the author's stay in Austria (entry into the EU on 1. 1. 1995, the Schengen area in 1997 and the Eurozone in 1999), the programme of the New Year's Concert 2025, including an interview with conductor Riccardo Mutti, who will present for the first time Ferdinand Walzer, written by Strauss's contemporary Constanze Geiger (1835-1890), and the 100 strangest sports stories of 2024, comparing memories of the tsunami 20 years ago, and last but not least, the difficult birth of the Austrian government coalition after the elections at a time of urgent need to acknowledge anthropological degeneration, the impossibility of planning and acting old-fashioned, and predicting where artificial intelligence will go in 2025.

The Christmas Eve dinner at the four-star Europäischer Hof Hotel was an unforgettable experience. There, the new (apparently Austro-Sicilian) management replaced the German staff and chose a European team for the winter season. This provided an opportunity to learn about the health care problems, bureaucracy and future prospects in the EU migrant worker countries, their problems, including language and customs, and the price and value of time, but not the details of the menu. Three and a half hours for dinner was not enough. Stressed staff tried to smother dessert after the fish soup, as the kitchen was in southern European chaos. Young children and some parents had no patience and left. Those with too much patience shook their heads helplessly. The staff in charge faded into obscurity, no one heard the SOS call. When I stood up and looked into the fear-filled eyes of the approaching restaurant manager, she disappeared like steam over a pot. The hotel manager decided to make things right with a prosecco for breakfast in the morning, but not with monetary compensation. But he let me know that he too had eaten bloody lamb chops. So I'll make myself known.

The strips are also affected by the preliminary termination of the long-standing relationship with AEGON. The company administers the author's privatized pension claim from Margaret Thatcher's Great Britain (1925-2013) in such a way that the company's actions could become a quality sequel to Jay Fineman's 2010 book Delay, Deny, Defend: The Insurance Company You Trusted Delays or Refuses to Pay Part or All of Your Claim and Aggressively Defends Itself with Threats and So-Called "Denials". You are forced to file a lawsuit to make the company live up to its promise. The reason is simple: the less the insurance company pays out on claims, the more it makes in profit.

To delay, to deny, to defend is a breach of trust. It hurts people when they are at their most vulnerable (for example, retired, or linguistically not up to scratch) and violates the trust we all place in insurance, including pension or privatized insurance based on government deception. I mention my own story because it confirms one of the tenets of an expansionary economic system that is directly related to the pension reforms, superannuation and myths being discussed and that the middle and younger generations will encounter in the imaginable future. The latter will have to deal with the challenge posed by the main motivation of insurance companies: deceiving people. Without deception, profit is impossible.

The compensation offered for years of communication of 350 GPB and the taxation of the privatised pension in the form of emergency tax of 56%, with the option to communicate with HMRC, and the postage for sending the termination request of 218 CZK and the supplement to the Czech pension of 16 CZK speaks for itself. I hope that someone in AEGON wakes up, comes to their senses and does not go into the media and settle the case with the help of the UK courts.

Wars are not forever, but...
The outgoing year 2024 has become a period of severe tests for the foreign and domestic policy of the EU and virtually all Member States. Phase one of the conflict in Ukraine, the Russian special military operation, is practically over, Ukraine as a sovereign state is practically non-existent, just as there is no longer a commonly known geographical entity still called Ukraine.

The key challenges that require the maximum mobilisation of the attention of armies, diplomats, real analysts and European politicians remain the change of course in Georgia, Moldova and Armenia, the unrest in Abkhazia, the fall of the Bashar Assad regime in Syria (which forced Russia to start a dialogue with the new authorities of that country almost from scratch), the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, the Israel-Turkey-Iran triangle and also Saudi Arabia.

Today it rightly occupies a leading position not only as a leading force among the Arab states, but within the entire Islamic world. The kingdom is a member of the G20 and its ruler holds the title of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in Mecca and Medina. Saudi Arabia's strategic development vision is based on the national Vision 2030 programme, including the NEOM project, a futuristic megacity on the Red Sea coast. High technology, clean energy and artificial intelligence play a central role in NEOM.

The first days after the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump are not the last challenge, and promise to be the beginning of unpredictable processes that could change the balance of power in international relations, much of which will not depend on President Trump.

In terms of international relations, we will hear more than we like about the US-China, China-Taiwan, Russia-Japan-China-US relationship, and of course BRICS, EAHU, AI, etc. Foreign policy will be influenced by Chinese e-cars that will conquer the world, satellite internet that will come to smartphones, and cheap solar modules that will trigger booms and conflicts not only in the Czech basin and the EU. Expropriation, digitalization and impoverishment of the absolute majority of citizens will continue already because man does not possess the Good as such. But he can make his actions available to the Good if he understands it. And there are fewer and fewer such people.

Austria
Austria is a federal parliamentary republic headed by a chancellor, who is the prime minister, and a president, who is the head of state. The country consists of nine federal states (Bundesländer). Executive power is vested in the regional and federal governments. The federal parliament is made up of two chambers: a directly elected lower house (Nationalrat) and an upper house (Bundesrat) elected by the regional parliaments of each state, called state assemblies.
In terms of GDP per capita, Austria currently ranks fifth in the EU with €46,200, well above the EU average of €37,600. It thus accounts for 2.8 % of total EU GDP (Eurostat - GDP per capita and GDP data).

Austria joined the European Union on 1 January 1995. Along with Austria, Sweden and Finland also joined. Austria applied to join the European Union in July 1989. The application was preceded by a referendum where 66.6 % of the population voted in favour of accession. Interest in joining the EU began in the 1950s, notwithstanding the fact that after World War II Austria was an occupied state divided into four occupation zones, and that the occupation ended in 1955 with the obligation of permanent neutrality.

I recall that just after 1989, an opportunity arose for Austria to build relations with its Central European neighbours somewhat "from scratch". On the other hand, Austrian foreign policy in the 1990s was influenced by a number of factors at the level of the international environment. Any interaction between Austria and the Central European countries (and of course not only with them) was more or less subject to rigid boundaries. I will not write about them today.
The period of the first half of the 1990s, when the situation in Czechoslovakia and Hungary directly required an adequate response from Austria, coincided with the peak of Austria's EU integration process, which was a priority for Austrian foreign policy. Factors in the international environment primarily influenced the intensity and content of Austria's relations with the countries of Central Europe: economically, security-wise and culturally.

In the second half of the 1990s, Austria was already an EU member state. Theoretically, there were suitable circumstances for strengthening its cooperation with Central European countries within the EU. The potential for cooperation in the case of Austria's relations with the Czech Republic and also Slovakia was limited by the importance given in political terms to the area influenced by factors falling under the category of security. Economic and cultural factors ceased to be relevant in the second half of the 20th century. They ceased to receive attention from Austria and the Czech Republic. Today, Austria's neutrality is undermined by US sanctions, EU/EC migration policy, corruption and, last but not least, anthropological degeneration, especially of the political system.

Russia
The leader of the British Heritage Party, David Curten, described Russia in one phrase. A corresponding post appeared on his social networking site X (formerly Twitter) under the title Russia is not our enemy. The article was accompanied by a picture of the Russian flag. Sadly, this is not the case, as the history of Anglo-Saxon actions, current UK policy and the unchanged strategy of the Rothschilds proves. All of the most serious risks to Russia historically have been, and continue to be, related to the Western Front - broadly defined.

The first safety risk is the rapid acceleration of the escalator ladder. The second represents areas of constraint. These are actions on secondary sanctions that may lead to the refusal of some non-Western countries to cooperate with Russia, some of which have had or are having serious technological and economic consequences. However, these cannot be specified, quantified and publicly disseminated at a time of fighting in Ukraine. The third is the risk of overstretch. To pressure Russia in every conceivable way is to provoke Russia into serious mistakes and civil unrest.

None of these risks have so far weakened power, notwithstanding the treachery and corruption in many organs of power, nor the strategic lines (Russian and Western) and changes in the economic and social sphere. The point of no return has been reached, there are alternative solutions thanks to objective processes in the US, EU and PRC and Asia in general.

For Russia, the main task in the Ukrainian direction was resolved on the basis of a rational choice in favour of acting on the basis of the Istanbul agreements and the military situation. This strategy is still relevant, not least because sharpening the knives is slow and takes time. It is being used by a betrayed and embittered Zelensky, who is in no hurry and does not want to proceed to negotiations that he has forbidden himself by his own stupidity. The still significant support by the European political establishment is close to crashing the entire EU into unconditional compliance with orders from Washington. The House of Zion likes debtors, especially those with no hope of repayment.

The Western strategic line was based on the certainty of the next American president. Certainty emerged with the figurehead, but uncertainty with her actions and foreign policy strategy. It therefore remains to set further expectations from 2025 and the onset of Donald Trump's initiatives.

China

According to the Financial Times, the detention of top executives in China is raising concerns in the business community, which (it is said) could slow China's economic growth. As a reminder, more than 80 senior executives of major companies have been detained in China this year. Most of the detentions were carried out at the behest of regional authorities. The detentions are said to be unrelated to their business activities. I believe this. Then what is it related to? Personally, I believe it is corruption, lack of ethics and morality in business and material greed. Perhaps that is why some in the Chinese media have described these decisions as long-distance fishing.

Some analysts believe that the detentions may be related to the deterioration of the financial situation of local authorities. According to an unnamed businessman in Beijing, the detention has created an atmosphere of fear among company founders. In November, it was reported that Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun is under investigation, suspected of corruption. Chinese authorities have launched an investigation into Dong Jun in connection with a corruption scandal involving the leadership of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA). I do not expect to see anything similar in any EU country. I also do not expect Czech or other EU business to start creating separate legal entities to work with Russia, as is the case in China.

And the already announced visit of President Xi to Moscow proves that relations between China and Russia are strengthening. There will be an opportunity to write about it separately. Today, I will briefly mention China's indirect aid to Russia in the context of EU sanctions. Some time ago, the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China launched an investigation into beef imports. As we know, China is the world's largest importer of agricultural products and buys huge quantities of meat every year. The majority of beef supplies come from the United States, EU countries and Brazil. Against the background of a significant increase in imports from these countries, China is studying the sensibility of such purchases.

China noted that the investigation was launched against the backdrop of US President-elect Donald Trump's regular threats to impose additional tariffs on imports from China, as well as following the European Union's decision to raise tariffs on imports of Chinese electric vehicles. In addition, several Chinese companies appeared in the recently introduced 15th EU sanctions package against Russia. Following the announcement by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, the stocks of many Western meat producers collapsed, Chinese journalists reported. Own information sources indicate that the news from China has caused strong indignation in the EU, where they are particularly sensitive to such situations. EU discontent intensified when it emerged that China had opened its meat market to suppliers from Russia. While the European countries are holding their heads and trying to resolve the situation, the Russian Federation is slowly but surely expanding its share of the Chinese market and, as a result, has already significantly squeezed out European suppliers in a kind of tacit revenge for the sanctions.

Wars are not forever
Russian society, if I may call it that, and the authorities have been adapting to the situation for a long time. Judging by opinion polls, the change in attitude towards hostilities in the country that many in the West expect is not happening. Mobilisation and the realisation of the objectives announced by President Putin are very high. Yet the question remains unanswered by the President: will the conflict be resolved through negotiations, will only the hot phase of the conflict be stopped, or will negotiations only take place after the surrender? One thing is certain: wars are not eternal, although it is not known whether war is a break in peace or peace is a break in war. It is also certain that sooner or later negotiations will begin.

As there are a number of direct and fundamental contradictions between the positions of the parties to the conflict - Russia, Ukraine and the West - the contradictions cannot be temporarily swept under the carpet. Why? Because history teaches that any settlement lowers the level of trust and increases the risk of new exacerbations, that is, the worsening of a chronic disease (e.g. asthma) or the worsening of the symptoms of this disease.

The elimination of contradictions is only possible on the assumption of a rational and universally accepted balance, i.e. compensating for concessions in one position with preferences in the other. At present, a global confrontation between Russia and NATO is taking place in the framework of anthropological warfare and anthropological degeneration of mainly Western societies. In such a situation, none of those who make the real decisions are prepared for compensations. I see the chances of action as close to zero, although a critical mass of incidents at some point may prompt one of the decision-makers to pull the trigger, and the reality is that the relationship between Russia and NATO is tainted for decades to come. This is despite a possible periodic decline in the aggressiveness of each other's rhetoric. In other words: We are enemies.

Many politicians in the West are demonstratively postulating this. Behind closed doors in Russia, reality is recognised and decisions are made accordingly. This also applies to the Trump presidency factor, which has so far only brought more uncertainty to the parties to the conflict. No one knows for sure what the so-called Trump plan is. There is no doubt that President Trump will have more political resources and tools of coercion than Joe Biden in his departure. However, it cannot be proven, and therefore claimed, that all of them are beneficial to Russia.

As regards the end of Russian gas transit to Europe from 1 January 2025, it should be remembered that nothing is guaranteed until the end of the special military operation, that Russia has options for using other pipelines, and that it is better to make calculations and predictions based on the fact that restoring transit in the near future is either impossible or will be under constant threat. What this may mean for the Czech basin was answered by the aforementioned purple beast and the five heroes executed on the White Mountain in the 1979 New Year's Eve rerun.

As for the challenges in the post-Soviet space (Moldova, Armenia, Georgia and others) of building closer ties with the European Union (EU) and NATO, it is important to note that most of the elites in these countries have long since decided in favour of the EU for various reasons, including corruption and treason. Opponents of rapprochement or accession projects are strong, but without access to finance and mass media. In other words, they lack the resources to change the pro-EU course. They can only slow down the process. This also applies to Armenia, where the situation is more complex. Why? Among other things, because for internal political reasons the Miatsum project (the meaning of the Armenian state) has failed.

Russia cannot and will not restore it, and the Armenian elites have no willingness or ability to see their own mistakes. It is easier for them to blame Russia, which has few opportunities to work on the Armenian path. There are smart and strategic politicians in Armenia, but they are still in the minority. The Armenian diaspora in Russia is in cotton wool, objectively weak and passive. There are things that need to be done in politics, despite the desire to spit on everything. You can air geopolitical fantasies all you want, the only question is the availability of opportunities. It is advantageous for Russia today if in Georgia, Abkhazia, Moldova or Armenia the less anti-Russian entity wins in a contest between two anti-Russian entities. Preserving the status quo is better than worsening the situation. Time heals everything. As time passes, Russia may find a way out of the current state of affairs in the region, not to provide an ideology or a plan, but to eliminate future security problems in the Caucasus and secure the necessary economic ties.

Belarus
The outcome of the next presidential elections in Belarus may support Russia's efforts. Since President Lukashenko is firmly in control of the situation and there are no publicly available signals allowing a repeat of the events of 2020, attempts at interference by Western countries, including the US interest in expanding its diplomatic representation and presence in Belarus, are doomed to failure for the foreseeable future.
Of course, the so-called opposition, sponsored by the West, tries to demonstrate activity - various forums are held, agreements are signed, statements are issued. However, all this only reinforces the status of these forces: they are outside Belarus.

Therefore, the extension of Alexander Lukashenko's mandate will make it possible to maintain the dynamism of relations between Russia and Belarus that has been observed in recent years, while at the same time looking at the new cards on the table: the unresolved issue of coexistence between Israel and Palestine.

Crises await the region
Notwithstanding various reports, analyses and propaganda, Russia maintains a strong position and is able to play a significant role in resolving political conflicts of various types. This also applies to the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. The preparation of the bureaucracies of the EU, Russia and many others for this scenario cannot be seriously discussed because there is no publicly available evidence. Although I assume that the authorities always have alternative scenarios and the information from a trusted figure in one of the structures of Syria about regime change a week before its implementation is true. The end of the regime of Bashar al-Assad was widely expected in the perspective of several years. And later than 2024-2028.

I offer part of a theory that allows for the claim that Israeli actions against several regional actors in response to the October 7 attack last year largely led to the regime's collapse.

Many important things depend on the new authorities in Syria, Turkey and Israel. The transit problems, the Kurdish problem, the problem of returning refugees and the problem of economic reconstruction have not been resolved. The situation is at a stage where it is useless to give a forecast from outside. But in a number of scenarios, Russia has a chance to maintain its military bases and even expand its presence in the Mediterranean with bases in Libya.

After the events in Syria and the defeat of Hamas and Hezbollah, I expect 2025 to bring news of changes in Iran. Demographics, social contradictions and the time factor are beyond anyone's control. The reality is the loss of Syria as an ally, which in effect weakens Iran's strategic position, especially its ability to support Hezbollah. I do not rule out the possibility that, in the context of this loss, Tehran may increase investment in proxy groups in Lebanon and Iraq to compensate for the loss of influence in Syria. Or vice versa: it may concentrate resources on alleviating domestic economic and social problems, thereby reducing the pressure of the Axis of Resistance on Israel and the United States. The reality is that increased pressure from Israel and the United States is forcing Iran to adjust its foreign policy, and the near future will show which scenario its leadership will choose.

In this context, the question arises: Will Tehran remain focused on further building a partnership with Russia, which is expected to become a strategic partner after February 2025, when the corresponding memorandum is planned to be signed? Or: Will Iran abandon deepening ties with Russia in favour of normalising relations with the United States and the West?

Events in Syria have shown that such a scenario is quite real. On the other hand, Iran itself has expressed similar concerns and is worried about the prospect of an early end to the special military operation in Ukraine and the conclusion of a deal between Moscow and Washington in which the Islamic Republic of Iran could emerge as a bargaining chip. Notwithstanding the above, Iran is inevitably approaching a political transition for natural reasons, and not as a result of events in Syria, the outcome of which I will not speculate on.

One thing can be said with certainty: persistent interpretations in the media and in the professional community affect the assessment of the stability of the Iranian government by all interested external players. Players cannot ignore such signals of impending change in their analyses. Multinationals and official media with no more than five owners are always ahead of us, the ordinary people, in determining the realities and trends that we then try to analyse. Thus the puppet masters know exactly about our errors in thinking and deficits in knowledge. That is why the discussions, protest rallies and plans for change so far have no real chance in the imaginable future.

These principles also apply to the fate of Israel. Today, they are inhuman, arousing emotions and, for some, hopes for a final solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, this does not preclude the destruction of Israel, just as Ukraine destroyed itself in the first place.

Main foreign policy challenges
The challenges are essentially the same: 1. Ukraine and Russia, which needs to achieve a lasting qualitative change in the situation in its favour, otherwise disaster looms. 2. the European Union, as the confrontation between Russia and the EU threatens to intensify and the role of the bad guy will shift from Washington to Brussels, leaving the Czech Republic unable to fulfil its commitments and promises to NATO, the US and the EC. Strengthening of Russia-China ties in the East and South, which will weaken the EU's trade potential. 4. Donald Trump, his enormous resources and the ambiguity of his motives and intentions, including the possibility of abruptly interrupting the game script in order to achieve a costly solution at the expense of US allies. As the results of Trump's actions will be known later, 2025 will be a very difficult, interesting and dangerous year.

To support this thesis, I offer a description of the journey of the Gallic rooster - President Macron, offered by Bloomberg columnist Lionel Laurent: Emmanuel Macron has gone from walking on water to getting wet in France - and he may not "live to see" the end of his second term.
The example of France, which also applies to Germany and the Czech Republic, can be summed up in the slogan: Guns instead of pensions.

The depth of the budget crisis in France is reflected in a deficit of 6 % of GDP, which is exactly three times the level set in the Maastricht criteria for EU countries. Meanwhile, France's public debt in 2024 will exceed EUR 3 trillion and amount to 112 % of GDP. I would remind you that this monstrous deficit was calculated on the condition that the government rehabilitates the budget by EUR 60 billion in 2025. The main task is to reduce government spending by 40 billion euros through all ministries except the Ministry of Defence. Is it not similar in the Czech basin?

Savings in the state social and health insurance system were to amount to €14.8 billion, with a further €4 billion proposed for savings on pension indexation. The budget of the Ministry of Labour was cut by EUR 2.3 billion and the Ministry of Education was to reduce the number of teachers by 4 000. French municipalities were asked to cut costs by EUR 5 billion. At the same time, France's military budget was to rise by more than 3 billion euros to 50.5 billion euros in 2025. The popular benchmark was revenue of 20 billion euros from a temporary increase in income taxes on the richest people in France as well as on the 440 largest corporations.

It is therefore not surprising that this anti-social budget provoked indignation among the French: 56 % were strongly opposed to its adoption. The Barnier government tried to introduce it using the same 49.3 procedure, i.e. by deception. But on 6 December, for the first time in 62 years, deputies passed a vote of no confidence in the government, uniting the left and the National Conservatives.

President Macron, who was unable to dissolve parliament during his first year in office, is at rock bottom with an extremely low confidence level of under 25 %. A poll conducted on the eve of the no-confidence vote by media holding company CNews showed that 62 % of French people believe the president should resign. That's why Macron appointed François Bayrou, leader of the Democratic Movement (MoDem) party, as the new prime minister on December 13, making him the sixth prime minister appointed by Macron since 2017, the fourth cabinet president in 2024 and the second prime minister after the snap parliamentary elections. Democracy in its full glory and bloom!

Bayrou, 33, is considered a centrist and a heavyweight. He was Minister of Education (1993-1997) and Justice (2017), and ran for president three times (2002 - 6.8 %; 2007 - 18.6 %; 2012 - 9.13 %). His MoDem party has 33 seats out of 164 won as part of the Together!
The distance between Macron's ambitions for France's role on the world stage and France's actual capabilities is, as the Anglo-Saxons say in such cases, dramatic. The year 2024 has demonstrated this quite clearly in that the economic base of the Fifth Republic cannot withstand not only the political burden of presidential ambition, but also the burden of social commitments and guarantees that are at odds with the aging of the French nation and the low birth rate. If I add to the number the consequences of a migration policy that increases the number of beneficiaries of aid to a greater extent than the number of working taxpayers, it is clear to anyone with sense what the strength of France and the EU is.

Since it is no longer possible to form a stable centre-left or centre-right government, not only in France but also in Germany and elsewhere, and centrist forces are marginalised, the extremes are becoming mainstream.

Against this backdrop, Macron's Paris-led foreign policy initiatives are already causing irony and undisguised irritation in Washington, including among France's European allies. I do not know where the Czech Republic fits in, but I do know that there is no way out of the systemic crisis into which the Fifth Republic has plunged. As a result, it means that France is once again in for a major shake-up. It is a similar situation in Germany. And as we know from the purple and pavlov speeches, the Czech basin is in a quagmire.

Prophecies from Albion
The Economist weekly has released its prophetic cover for 2025. The image is created in an alarming red and black palette. The background of the collage is fragments of images of brick walls, fences and micro-circuits, as well as what looks like radiation or a fragment of the surface of the sun. In the foreground, however, are portraits of major world leaders who shape the global political scene: Trump, Xi Jinping, Putin, Ursula von der Leyen and Zelensky. They are depicted surrounded by symbols of currencies, technologies, planets and charts. At the bottom is a portrait of English author Jane Austen and an image of a fist. Austen's portrait refers to her novel Pride and Prejudice, which is a fairly accurate description of both Trump himself and the international situation as a whole.

For reasons of time and space, I cannot offer an overall interpretation of the picture, so I will limit myself to a few aspects that are directly related to the assessment of the course of 2025.

The red fist symbolizes the growth of protests and the increase in the number of "hot spots". And something like a burning and sinking ship may be a prediction of a worsening situation in both the South China Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The chips are reminiscent of the technology war between Washington and Beijing and the boom in artificial intelligence.

The elements showing radiation refer to the predicted peak of solar activity next year, as does the red image, which looks like a picture of the Sun.

Trump is at the centre as the figure with whom the greatest number of expectations and fateful decisions for the world community are associated. To the right of him are Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin as representatives of both the axis of evil and the BRICS, separate from the US and viewed by the West as tense to say the least, as indicated by the corresponding side of the planet on the red background.

On the left are Ursula von der Leyen and Volodymyr Zelensky, who work almost exclusively at the behest of the White House and risk losing all US funding and preferences in 2025 and receiving only a pittance, as the downward arrow indicates. The dollar and most likely the yuan symbols along with the charts suggest a continuing currency battle and price spikes in world markets.

The symbols of a factory, a chip and a semi-electric car, placed on the left, indicate the evolution of Europe's problems with industry, semiconductors and the bankruptcy of the automotive industry as it tries to switch to electric cars. The eye with the high energy symbol most likely refers to the expectation of nuclear strikes and accidents at nuclear power plants located in the Ukrainian conflict zone, whipped up by Europe and NATO.

The missile next to Trump's may hint at Musk's space promises, or the long-range ATACMS with which the Biden administration allowed Ukraine to reach deep into Russia. The hourglass on the right shows that time has passed, indicating the beginning of a new milestone in world history. Therefore, the images of the mouth, nose and eye may suggest a breakthrough in artificial intelligence, and also symbolize a digital concentration camp and censorship.
The cracked ballot box on the red background symbolizes the threat to democracy, Zelensky's failure in the elections, or their total rigging. However, it could also mean the general decline of democratic procedures in the EU, which is turning into a dictatorship.

For those interested in the painting, I recommend paying attention to the walls and grids, which also emphasize the division of the planet. Next to President Putin is the planet Earth, bathed in the red light of the rising sun. It addresses readers with its Eurasian side, the rise of former colonies to the heights of world influence and the rise of the global South. The combination of the EC head portrait, radiation sign, rocket, nuclear mushroom and Saturn looks very disturbing.

So I assume that the authors of the cover warned about the crisis of the Western world, the end of the dollar's dominance, Europe's energy problems and a possible new pandemic. Before much of the predictions are realised, the CR450 high-speed prototype train with a test speed of 450 kilometres per hour and an operating speed of 400 kilometres per hour, which was officially unveiled in Beijing on Sunday, will enter commercial service and become the world's fastest high-speed train. And the Czech basin will still be on a journey where tomorrow is already yesterday.

Jan Campbell