“Surprise in Congress. Aitor Esteban's voice is now feminine, Basque-Spanish and European, intelligent and luminous.”
The Iberian blackout has been completely resolved in 12 hours. The light has returned and mobile phones have regained telephone connection. An external cyberattack is ruled out, although a good part of the Spanish citizenry considered it possible before Red Eléctrica categorically denied it. The fault seems to lie within the electrical system itself. Details will be made public sooner than ever. But with the cyberattack ruled out, Europe and Spain are indeed threatened, from the East and from the West.
Our generous American allies have not regained any of their past glories. The ones from apartheid and slavery? What the US has regained and maintained is a notable deficit in its balance of payments with the rest of the world. A record of $1.1 trillion coinciding with a depreciation of its currency that makes it more difficult for markets to accept its debt securities. And a budget deficit, on the other hand, equivalent to 6% of domestic GDP. Trump is seeking other alternatives to confirm himself as the great president: peace in Ukraine. Things are not going too well there either with his colleague Putin. A colleague willing to boast at the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory in World War II over the German Nazis. A grand parade in Moscow and a platform with leaders from Latin America, Europe, and Xi Jinping from China. A sacred celebration with Xi and Putin confirming mutual solidarity and Beijing's support for Moscow. In December 1991, Elise Sarotte recalls in the Financial Times, Ukraine gained independence from Moscow via a free referendum supported even by Boris Yeltsin. Crimea was part of Ukraine until in 2014 Putin altered the borders. He annexed Crimea and in 2022 invaded Ukraine. A peace agreement, between Trump and Putin, that recognises Russia's sovereignty over the Ukrainian territories occupied by an invading army would place Europe in a dangerous and delicate moment. A very different ending to the story than that announced by Fukuyama. Will Europe resist? Will there be Union or dispersion? A worthy army of that name? All these questions are more concerning than whether the cause of the Iberian blackout was motivated by alternative green energies or nuclear power plants. Public or private companies. The blackout seems resolved but external threats are not receding but rather approaching, especially as it becomes increasingly difficult for Ukraine to be part of NATO or for NATO to be in a position to ensure the independence of the Baltic countries. Article 5 of the treaty is not categorical enough. The new world of Trump has yet to find an answer. The liberal order rests on mutually beneficial cooperation: the increase in the exchange of goods and services and scientific advances have been the engine of prosperity and freedom. But Trump's world is not cooperative. His alternative is vassalage. Harari describes it as “a mosaic of fortresses in which the weak submits to the strong.” Ukraine to Russia, Gaza to Israel. But Trump's message is advancing. This is confirmed by the recent presidential elections in Romania. The most voted candidate claims land from his Moldovan and Ukrainian neighbours. A world of violence oblivious to ecological dangers and the collapse of democratic institutions and values... And surprise! in Congress: 7 May, Aitor Esteban's voice is now feminine, Basque-Spanish and European, intelligent and luminous. Not everything is darkness.♦
