I believe it will be a very difficult presidential campaign, because there are a lot of Americans who dislike
Hilary Clinton or
Donald Trump. And there will be Americans who dislike both. For me
Donald Trump is a sort of American
Pim Fortuyn (before he was killed) and I don't want
Trump to follow the same path as
Fortuyn. He won't, because he is different and more extreme. I think that
Trump was good for
stirring up the American system and
changing the republican party, in which
an old elite pulled the strings. Like it was good that
Obama (and outsider) changed the Democratic party with
his unique presidential campaign in 2008 and his
very progressive ideas, like
Obama care and etc.
It is good if the oligopolic, oligarchic, meritocratic, lobby based American political system would change. Although I don't like
Donald Trumps narcistic, sexist and blunt way of doing politics
I like his honesty. He was the only guy who admitted that he was part of the lobby system and that he paid for Republican and Democratic presidential candidates in the past. He criticized a system he was part of himself and at least he pays his own campaign. You can say whatever you want, but he is truely independent. He has his own agenda. But I don't like the fact that his money would make him president nor that being blunt, Solipsist, and a rich businessman would make you suitable for being a president.
It is funny that
Donald Trump is both a threat for
the Democratic Party and for
the Republican establishment. The Republican
Neo-conservatives, the moderate sophisticated
liberal conservatives of the
West Coast,
East Coast and
Mid West (
California,
Illinois,
New York state and probably
Massachusetts;
Los Angeles,
Chicago,
New York City and
Boston), and the traditional conservatives of
the Mid West and
Southern states.
Donald Trump is
a new phenomenon. Like
Ronald Reagan was in his time during the eighties and
Bill Clinton during the nineties. People in
America,
Canada and
Europe are really afraid that if
Donald Trump would become the president, that
the democracy of the Western world would be in danger.
But
they underestimate the power of the American democracy,
the American Constitution,
the Bill of Rights and the fact that the situation in America with the Bi-partisan system of Democrats and Republics in Congress with it's two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives is stabile despite the political circus and polarization.
And the third-party or independents outside the congress.
Americans are great in their independence, and
known for their dislike of despots, dictatorships, authoritarianism, totalitarianism and fondness and attachment to the freedom of speech, gathering and the reality that every American is equal for the law.
The USA is the largest Western democracy and therefor this nation has a huge responsibility in the world. Not only for it's own citizens, voters, servicemen and women, but also for world peace and stability.
We Westerners (Europeans, Australians, New Zealanders, South-Africans, Canadians, Israeli's -because it is a Western country in the Middle-east dominated by European, American and Russian immigrants-)
hope that America will stay the most dominant power, the best economy and a dominant culture. The reason for that is very simple. The Europeans, Australians, New Zealanders, South-Africans (the few million whites, but also educated coloured and black people), Canadians and Israeli's share European roots, European customs and a holy alliance which existed for on century (First World War, Second World War, Cold War and the present conflicts in the world).
Russia is
not part of the West and
nor Europe, because
it has an Eurasian identity, and because it is split from the European-Union and the USA Economically, Financially and in the sense of military alliance.
Russia clearly has chosen for an alliance with China, and in the Middle-east for the Shia-Muslim/Allawite Muslim alliance (Iran, Syria and Hezbollah).
And is very obvious or clear that the USA has chosen for an alliance with Saoudi-Arabia, Turkey and Israel.
Egypt is somewhere inbetween these power blocks, but inofficially and not publicly has allied itself with
Russia and
Syria.
Egypt is against
the Muslim Brotherhood and
Hamas.
Egypt has it's own struggle with
Daesh (
Islamic state) or
Al Qaida (
Al Nusra Front) like
terrorist extremists. It has ties with
Saoudi-Arabia as
the largest Arab Sunni-Muslim nation in both
North-Africa and
the Middle-east.
Like
John (JJ) very correctly stated,
we have forgotten about Ukraine in
Europe and
the USA. With we I mean civilians, media and press (journalists) and politicians. But I am sure that
The Pentagon,
the NSA,
CIA,
Defense Intelligence Agency (
DIA) and
FBI haven't forgotten about
the situation in Ukraine.
The situation in Ukraine, the Krim and the Russian Federation could divide Europe, because there are
Pro- and Anti-Russian forces in Europe. Recent immigration raised the number of the Eastern Orthodox community in Catholic and Protestant countries such as Australia, Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Canada and Switzerland to
roughly 2% of the population in each country. The most common estimates of the number of
Orthodox Christians worldwide is approximately
225–300 million.
Orthodoxy is the second largest Christian communion in the world after the Roman Catholic Church. We know that
Serbia and
Montenegro are
Russophile nations.
There was no Soviet influence in Yugoslavia, due to
Tito's independ Third Way communism (between East and West) and
Russians were always seen as friendly brotherly people.
About 83% of Serbs see Russia as their first ally on the international scene. In both
Serbia and
Montenegro, there are
parts of cities,
buildings and
statues named after
something Russian.
Greece–Russia relations
Due to the strong historical friendship and the deep cultural and religious ties between the two nations, (the majority of
Greeks and
Russians practice
the Eastern Orthodox faith),
Greece and
Russia enjoy
excellent diplomatic relations.
Both countries also share common political views about the Balkans and the world, with
Greece being
a strong supporter of Russia's stance on the Kosovo Unilateral Declaration of Independence. Diplomatic relations were established in 1828. Both Greece and Russia are full members of many organizations, including
the Council of Europe,
the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Organization of
the Black Sea Economic Cooperation.
Today,
many Greeks live in the Russian Federation and
many Russians live in Greece. Most
Greeks live in
the Russian Black Sea region (
100,000) with large concentrations in capital
Moscow (
80,000) and
St. Petersburg (
3,000), while many
Russians live mostly in
the Khalkidiki region and
the Greek isle of
Crete.
Bilateral relations & cooperationDespite Greece's membership in the EU and NATO, the country's friendship with Russia has many years of fine traditions. Due to the common interests and shared religious heritage of both countries, Greece and Russia enjoy excellent relations which is reflected by the fact that both states are co-operating in several fields, and especially in trade, culture, energy, military and tourism. There are regular high-level visits between the two countries, and frequent contacts between the ruling political parties (especially between the New Democracy (Greece) and the United Russia), as well as between the ministries and agencies, on various matters concerning individual sectors.
Military cooperationGreece is one of the few pre-1990 NATO member countries (alongside Germany for a time) that makes extensive use of Russian weapons. Greece first received many Soviet-era surplus weapons, such as BMP-1 armoured fighting vehicles, RM-70 rocket launchers, ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft guns and SA-8 anti-aircraft missile systems from the former East German National People's Army inventory in the early 1990s. Since then, Greece has additionally procured the TOR M-1 and S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems (the latter originally destined for Cyprus), the Kornet-E anti-tank missile, AK-74M assault rifles and ZUBR hovercrafts. The militaries of both countries also participate in programmes of military cooperation in the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, as well as giving military support and training to countries that they have close relations with, such as Armenia, with Greece often accepting Armenian military officials in the Hellenic Military Academy.
European nationalists
The leader of the French National Front was received in Moscow like a cabinet minister: Marine Le Pen met with State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin (right) and Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Rogozin (next photo).The leader of the French Front National,
Marine Le Pen described Russian President
Vladimir Putin as a "
defender of the Christian heritage of European civilisation."
The National Front considers that
Ukraine has been subjugated by
the United States, through
the Ukrainian crisis.
The National Front denounces
anti-Russian feelings in Eastern Europe and
the submission of Western Europe to NATO's interests in the region.
Marine Le Pen is very
critical against the threats of sanctions directed by the international community against Russia: "
European countries should seek a solution through diplomacy rather than making threats that could lead to an escalation." She argues that
the United States are leading
a new Cold War against Russia. She sees no other solution for peace in Ukraine than to organize a kind of federation that would allow each region to have a large degree of autonomy. She thinks Ukraine should be sovereign and free as any other nations.
Luke Harding wrote in
The Guardian that
the National Front's MEPs were a "
pro-Russian bloc." In
2014, the
Nouvel Observateur said that the Russian government considered
the National Front "
capable of seizing power in France and changing the course of European history in Moscow's favour." According to
the French media, party leaders had frequent contact with Russian ambassador
Alexander Orlov and
Marine Le Pen made
multiple trips to Moscow. In May 2015, one of her advisers,
Emmanuel Leroy, attended an event in
Donetsk marking the "
independence" of the self-proclaimed
Donetsk People's Republic.
Emmanuel Leroy, attend a press conference in Donetsk marking the "independence" of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's RepublicOutside the EU the Austrian far right
FPÖ party has contacts with
Tomislav Nikolić of
the Serbian Progressive Party (formerly of
the Serbian Radical Party) and the
United Russia party. The
FPÖ is a close ally in the European parliament of
the French Pro-Russian Front National. The
FPÖ party is a member of
European Alliance for Freedom (
EAF), a pan-European political party of (radical) right-wing eurosceptics in the European parliament.
FPÖ leader
Heinz-Christian Strache has also declared himself "
a friend of the Serbs", who constitute
one of the largest immigrant groups in Austria.
Siding with Serbia,
the FPÖ rejects the independence of Kosovo.
The right-wing populist and Flemish nationalist political party
Vlaams Belang has ties to
Vladimir Putin's United Russia party and
the Syrian Ba'ath Party.
Germany–Russia relations
Germany–Russia relations have a long and shifting history, ranging from cooperation and even alliance to strain and to total warfare. Russia helped liberate Germany in 1812-15 in the Napoleonic Wars, and the two were generally friendly for a century. Relations were warm in the 1920s, very cold in the 1930s, quite warm in 1939-41, and then became a war to the death in 1941-45. In the 1920s both countries were pariahs in the international system and co-operated with each other in trade and (secretly) in military affairs. Hostilities escalated in the 1930s as the Nazis sponsored by Berlin and the Communists sponsored by Moscow fought each other across the world, most famously in the Spanish Civil War (1936–39). In a stunning turnabout in August 1939, both countries came to an agreement, and divided up the previously independent nations of Eastern Europe. That détente collapsed in 1941 when Germany invaded the USSR.
During the Cold War Germany was divided, with East Germany under Communist control and under the close watch of Moscow, which stationed a large military force there and repressed an uprising in 1953. Since the end of the Cold War and German reunification, in 1989-91, Germany and Russia have developed a "Strategic Partnership" in which energy is indisputably one of the most important factors. Germany and Russia depend on each other for energy, namely in Germany's need for energy from Russia and Russia's need for heavy German investment to develop its energy infrastructure.
21st century
Relations were normal in the first part of the new century, with expanding trade relations and an increasing German reliance on pipeline shipments of Russian natural gas. Relations turned highly negative in 2014 in response to Russia's seizure of Crimea from Ukraine and support for insurgents in Ukraine. Germany was a leader (with France, Italy, Britain and the US) in imposing round after round of increasingly harsh sanctions against the Russian oil and banking industries and top allies of President Putin. Russia responded by cutting food imports from the EU.
Since the crisis began, Chancellor Angela Merkel told President Putin that the referendum on accession of Crimea to Russia is illegal.
On the left, however, former Social Democrat Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder announced his understanding of Russian policies and support for Putin. The New York Times editorialized that Schröder's decision to "embrace him [Putin] in a bear hug sent an unacceptable signal that some prominent Europeans are willing to ignore Mr. Putin's brutish ways." According to the Russian news agency ITAR/TASS, Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev admits the sanctions are hurting the Russian economy and slowing its growth. However he expects support oil industries that are hurt, to seek financing and high technology from Asia, and to import food from new sources.
Former Social Democrat Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder takes a Pro-Russian stance
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elite_theory
