Page 60 - RusRPTAug24

60 Opinion bne August 2024
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban paid homage to former US president Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in March. / Viktor Orban's X account
Can Europe stand firm in its support for Ukraine as it struggles to contain Russian aggression?
Robert Anderson in Prague
The doom merchants are back. After the far right advance in the European Parliament (EP) elections last month – particularly in France – pessimists are once again despairing of Europe holding firm in its support for Ukraine as it struggles to contain Russian aggression.
With the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Bulgaria and probably Austria this autumn lurching to the right in national elections, isn’t it only a matter of time before the balance in Europe shifts in favour of pressuring Kyiv to accept “peace” on the Kremlin’s terms, even before Donald Trump returns to the White House?
This argument can be broken down into two connected parts: the mood among European citizens, and the stance of their governments.
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For the past almost two and a half years of the war, cynics have predicted that “Ukraine fatigue” would sap what they often fail to acknowledge is the West’s surprisingly stalwart support for Kyiv.
Many Europeans are indeed afraid of drifting into another world war, and resent the cost of aiding Ukraine, looking after its refugees and ramping up domestic military spending at
a time of budget austerity and high energy prices (largely caused by the war). These concerns may deepen this winter if Russia’s decimation of Ukraine’s electricity network triggers another wave of refugees.
Far-right parties have rushed to exploit these worries. Many were already sympathetic to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin because he is seen as an opponent of Western liberal “globalism”,