World Review: Germany, US Aid to Ukraine, North Korea
A brief synopsis of this week's show
Each Friday morning, I host a video podcast called “World Review with Ivo Daalder” where three journalists from major news outlets around the world join me in discussing the latest global news stories of the week.
This morning, January 26, I was joined by Carla Anne Robbins of the Council on Foreign Relations, Stefan Kornelius of the Süddeutsche Zeitung, and Peter Spiegel of the Financial Times.
While I encourage you to watch or listen to the episode (and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!), here are three interesting things I took away from our discussion today:
More than a million Germans went out into the streets to protest reports of a secret meeting in a villa outside of Potsdam last week where right-wing leaders gathered to discuss how to remove foreigner migrants (including those who had settled in Germany and were citizens) from Germany. Given that the “Final Solution” was decided in a villa near Potsdam in 1942, the eerie overtones of the meeting (which was led by an Austrian) proved inescapable. Fears of a growing far-right movement in Germany have been gathering for some time, Stefan explained, and this report moved Germans to protests in big towns and small, rural areas and large cities throughout the country. A big march in opposition to the far-right, and calls for banning the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party outright, is planned for the weekend in Berlin. But while this outpouring is a healthy sign of German support for democracy, Stefan warned that German politics needed to find practical solutions to the issues that were motivating right-leaning voters.
Donald Trump’s victory in New Hampshire is reverberating on Capitol Hill, where even Senate Republicans who have long opposed him are taking note of his positions—notably on immigration and Ukraine aid. Peter discussed how Mitch McConnell’s statement behind closed doors that Trump’s opposition to the border-aid deal that was nearing completion, was putting Republicans in “a quandary.” And while talks are continuing, the news that Speaker Johnson had effectively closed the door to a House vote on the emerging package, suggested that this was likely the week that sealed its demise in Washington. Not so in Europe, however, where EU leaders are expected to come together next week to agree on a €50 billion economic assistance package. It used to be that Washington fretted about allies not doing enough. Now allied capitals are worrying about Washington not pulling its weight.
Finally, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un announced that Pyongyang had given up on the peaceful unification of his country with the South and could only see the forceful subjugation and annexation of South Korea in its future. Some US intelligence officials think Kim may be preparing to launch military action, believing that the US elections and wars in Ukraine and the Middle East make this a good time to act. Carla worried less about a deliberate action by Kim, who she said is prone to throwing hissy-fits if he’s ignored for too long, and more about a miscalculation or accident that could explode into war. People like Kim shouldn’t be playing with matches. But there might be one bright spot. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi were meeting in Thailand and perhaps the two of them could find a way to cooperate to talk Kim down from his threats and perhaps address other pressing concerns as well.
That’s it for my quick takes of this week’s episode here on America Abroad. To get the full flavor, please listen to the episode itself.