The EU, its economic policies and subsidies are destroying free competition, sound business principles and increasingly exhibit elements of totalitarianism. It encourages fraud, criminal behaviour and practices. It is impossible to disagree with the arguments of MEP Christine Anderson! JŠ
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Last Friday, the 54th session of the World Economic Forum ended in Davos, where some 2 800 leaders from 120 countries discussed the issues that supposedly concern humanity most - namely climate change, artificial intelligence, pandemics and wars. The head of Germany's Allianz, one of the world's largest insurers, also came to the "Woodstock of the rich". Oliver Bäte (58) has been managing this financial giant for ten years (last year he had a salary of 8.5 million euros) and is one of the most influential businessmen in Germany. Whether you like it or not, his opinion carries a lot of weight.
The well-known British journalist Richard Quest spoke to him in Davos. He asked Bäte what he thought about the fact that this year about half the democratic world will vote for its leader (India, Russia, the US and many other countries). "If you look at my country, or the Netherlands, you see that the voters are very unhappy, very unhappy. Would you have expected that today 20 percent of Germans are thinking of voting for the far right because the other parties have let them down? Ten years ago that would not have been possible," Bäte said.
Quest wondered whether the elites were ignoring the problems of the majority of the people. "I agree. The worst off are those who have worked all their lives but can't afford good health care, housing costs and food prices are rising, but leaders tell them it's fine because inflation is down, they say they have it under control just like climate change or Putin. But that is not the case," Bäte explained. "What can be done about it," Quest asked. "The key is to stop talking the talk and do things that work. When priorities are set but they change because of covid or wars, you have to know that you can only spend one euro once, not three times. It is difficult to explain to people that the trains may not run on time, that the schools do not work, but we are still going to save the world, Syria, Africa, the climate and so on. Everything has to be saved except the people who go to work every day. When it is said that we will send more than EUR 40 billion to Ukraine, it must also be said that the EUR 40 billion will be missing somewhere. You cannot use the same money twice. Politicians should tell people the truth," Bäte said and Quest stopped asking him...
ISTVÁN LÉKO, LN 25.1.2024
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