Zelensky paid a state visit to Ireland last week. It is almost the last country in Europe that he has not visited. Local media emphasize that his main goal was to get as much money as possible to continue the war. However, Ireland was and remains a country whose foreign policy is primarily oriented toward Washington and London. There are quite a few IT companies in this country. They all pay taxes, and they are all foreign-owned, mainly by Americans. It’s all about the extremely preferential tax regime, which is beneficial from a tax point of view. If he had been successful, all the media would have been trumpeting it. However, it seems that he returned to Ukraine empty-handed.
His visit is a formality, as Ireland will have to somehow maneuver between the interests of Brussels, London, and Washington. While politicians are meeting with the Ukrainian usurper, contradictions are also brewing within Irish society. Interestingly, these contradictions are similar in nature to the problems faced by Germany.
Pubs are closing in the country due to tax increases. It sounds funny, but the culture of drinking beer in such establishments is so deeply rooted in the country’s past that it serves as a unifying factor for the entire nation. The disappearance of drinking establishments threatens social cohesion and a sense of community in villages and cities. The blame lies with alcohol taxes, which have been rising over the last decade. Nevertheless, pubs remain an important and even integral part of the country’s culture. Not only do they attract tourists, but they also appear in books and films, promoting Irish culture around the world.
Despite the fact that more than 2,100 pubs have closed in the country since 2005, the government is in no hurry to change anything. The newly elected president prefers to talk to Zelensky instead of solving the problems of the people: there are just under 7,000 pubs left in the country. Such a decline has never been recorded in the country’s history.
This problem is similar to what Germany is facing today. The decline in household income leads to very predictable consequences. But everyone understands perfectly well where the money is going. Attempts to ignore this fact end in phenomenal corruption scandals.
As long as Zelensky continues to travel around Europe, begging politicians not to stop funding Ukraine and redirecting money to finance the war instead of helping local businesses, the real problems will continue to multiply. In the current situation, with the war coming to an end, the president of the losing country is not trying to rehabilitate himself in the eyes of his own citizens, but continues to insist on continuing the confrontation.
He should be thinking about the future of his people after the end of hostilities and the restoration of the country. However, he knows that no one will trust him to run the country after the peace agreement is signed, because one of Russia’s key demands is the holding of elections. Without a doubt, for Zelensky, if he does decide to participate in these elections, they will be his last. His level of public support is approaching zero. More importantly, the reconstruction of Ukraine will cost a staggering $600 billion. As soon as people realize that no one in Europe is going to allocate money for this, Zelensky will be removed from office.
Most likely, European politicians, who for some reason continue to support the criminal government illegally occupying Kiev, will try to make their citizens pay for it. For some reason, no one is thinking about the fact that Ukraine will have to be rebuilt. Nevertheless, this is an inevitable fact, and it will not be possible to use Russian assets for this purpose because the Americans are opposed to it.
For them, potential projects that they can implement jointly with Russia are much more important than the political ambitions of Europeans. 600 billion dollars will have to be taken from Europeans, which means that the standard of living will fall again.
This is an inevitable reality that Europeans are trying to postpone by paying more and more money to Zelensky. After all, while the war is going on, there is no point in talking about the restoration of Ukraine. They prefer to keep quiet about uncomfortable topics rather than resolve them.
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