In our democratic world some narratives just cannot be voiced

In our democratic world some narratives just cannot be voiced

This short article highlights some of the pitfalls of democracy but underlines the importance of exercising our democratic right that so many gave their lives for.

This is a direct transcript of Nigel Farage’s speech ⁽¹⁾ to the European Union in 2014:

Amongst the long list of foreign policy failures and contradictions in the last few years including, of course, the bombing of Libya, the desire to arm the rebels in Syria, has been the unnecessary provocation of Vladimir Putin. This EU empire, ever seeking to expand, stated its territorial claim on the Ukraine some years ago. Just to make that worse, of course, some NATO members said they too would like the Ukraine to join NATO. We directly encouraged the uprising in the Ukraine that led to the toppling of the president, Yanukovych, and that led of course in turn to Vladimir Putin reacting. And the moral of the story is if you poke the Russian bear with a stick, don't be surprised when he reacts. Just to continue with that, today we are rushing through an Association Agreement at undue speed with the Ukraine and as we speak there are NATO soldiers engaged in military exercises in the Ukraine. Have we taken leave of our senses? Do we actually want to have a war with Putin? Because if we do, we are certainly going about it the right way. Perhaps we ought to recognise that the West now faces the biggest threat and crisis to our way of life that we have seen for over 70 years. The recent beheadings of the British and American hostages graphically illustrates the problem. And of course we have our own citizens from our own countries engaged in that struggle, too. In the war against Islamic extremism, Vladimir Putin, whatever we may think of him as a human being, is actually on our side. I suggest we grow up. I suggest recognise the real threat facing all of our countries, communities and societies. We stop playing war games in the Ukraine and we start to prepare a plan to help countries like Syria, like Iraq, like Kenya, like indeed Nigeria, to try and help them to deal with the real threat that faces us. Let's not go on provoking Putin whether we like him or not.

How tragically accurate these words were and yet, to the best of my knowledge, they have never reared their prophetic head. Even one of the EU’s biggest opponents, was not tempted to rub their idealistic noses in an I told you so rant. There is also the irony that the underlying foundation of the EU was to avoid another European war. Farage clearly recognises that this would not be a vote winner and this was probably an indication of his long term political aspirations. It also highlights the popularist reality of democracy from those seeking election.

I am no fan of Vladimir Putin or any totalitarian regime. Power tends to corrupt absolute power corrupts absolutely. This human failing has been widespread in recent times with the extreme behaviour of Justin Trudeau, Emmanuel Macron, and Jacinda Ardern to name but a few who, at the drop of a hat, abandoned the cornerstones of democracy.

One cannot imagine the degree of corruption that exists in Russia, but Putin is in absolute  control whether the democratic West like it or not. An anecdotal tale of just how bad things come from a former colleague who was making a business trip to Russia. During the journey from the airport the taxi driver, for no obvious reason, was continually swerving. On querying this the driver stated that the manhole covers had been stolen. He arrived at the hotel and the following morning decided to go for a stroll along the beach front. He walked out on a jetty only to find a dead body in the water. He immediately reported this to the hotel who called the police. On arrival they wanted a bribe to remove the body from the water. I hope the UK never stoops this low.

The narrative seems to be blinkered in many ways. Take the 2018 Novichok poisoning of the Skripal’s and the tragic death of a UK citizen in Salisbury. At the time I was completely unaware of the NATO and the EU interventions in Ukraine outlined in Farage’s 2014 speech. However, I did think what a strange action that must have been authorised by Putin. What did he have to gain other than a series of sanctions and international condemnation? Well on reflection there was an alternative and more plausible explanation. Putin did not want to invade Ukraine with the inevitable destruction and loss of life that would ensue. Perhaps a chemical attack on the UK with a nerve agent that had an unmistakable Russian signature, that had to have been authorised at the highest level, would be an effective warning. The message to the EU and NATO was simple, you are dealing with a mad man with his finger on the biggest nuclear arsenal, so back off. Unfortunately for all, in particular Ukraine, the Western leaders would pay little attention to this shot across their democratic bow. He miscalculated the desire of the US combined with the commercial influence of the military industrial complex to weaken Russia, probably because of its massive energy reserves and growing economic ties with Europe.  So, four years on and a further Novichok warning later the invasion of Ukraine took place. This was a war that was impossible for Ukraine to win. What did victory look like? The strategy of leaders uniting nations against a common enemy was always goings to play out. Boris Johnson’s belief that he was the next Churchill and making flawed analogies between Putin and Hitler meant that he was certain to fall into this mindset. With the permission of the US he jumped on the next flight to Ukraine to persuade Zalenski not to sign a peace agreement with Russia. If this is true it was implicit that Putin had no intention of territorial expansion and meant that one of the primary reasons to stop him was false.

This all aligns with the views of Robert Kennedy Jnr ⁽²⁾ who has been one of the few who has been vociferous on the US’s responsibility in the current conflict between of Russia and Ukraine. His political assessment must be that the American people are so tired of the US’s disastrous military and political interventions it can only boost his presidential aspirations.

Other concerning narratives that are closer to home are the pandemic measures and climate change. The tight control of accepted narratives driven by governments implementing flawed vote winning policies that were very difficult to reverse are one of the key failings of the system. This is also reinforced by control of funding through advertising by organisations such as the Global Disinformation Index. Freddie Sayer’s UnHerd ⁽³⁾ is a victim of this unseen and undemocratic process.

Democracy is a frail beast, but it is the best we have got. The pillars of democracy are a fair electoral system, free speech, and personal interrogation of flawed popularist vote winning group think. The internet has enabled global communication on a scale never seen before. The ability of governments and corporations to control this is limited. In a bid to gain control fact checkers have proliferated to provide an easy option for people who want an instant narrative aligned answer. BBC Verify is a classic example but who controls the piper? At the end of the day all that we can rely on is healthy engaged scepticism, backed by reliable information sources, an attitude of does this narrative add up and a willingness to vote.

Postscript

As Farage / Reform gain political momentum inevitably his opponents have tried to spin this “Putin apologist” stance to their advantage.

Recommended viewing / references

(1)   Nigel Farage: Stop playing wargames with Putin

(2)   RFK Jr on Putin and War in Ukraine | Robert F Kennedy Jr and Lex Fridman

(3)   Freddie Sayers on the 'disinformation movement'