mehnatManish Udar
2022/05/04
Berlin: Spring has brought chaos to Berlin this year. There is a possibility that sub-conscious memories of April and May 1945 have something to do with this. The exact magnitude of this possibility is impossible for humans to quantify. Curiously enough though a different clear and visible reason for the ongoing chaos is identical to the reason behind the chaos experienced by the German capital in the spring of 1945 —retaliation from the East.
Ukraine has retaliated because of Germany's pro-Russian policies (according to Ukraine). Russia has retaliated because of Germany's support for American and British sponsored sanctions.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy disallowed —at the last possible moment— a planned visit by the president of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier to Kiev in mid-April. Steinmeier travelled to Warsaw on the 12th of April. He wanted to travel to Kiev on the next day with the presidents of Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia. Zelenskiy announced on the same day that the German head of state was not welcome in Ukraine because he is pro-Russian in Zelenskiy's opinion. The visit went ahead as planned, minus Steinmeier.
Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany betrayed a touch of spring fever on the eve of a visit to Kiev by the leader of the German opposition by saying in a televised interview that the fact of Germany's president having been "disinvited" (He was actually told to not visit after he invited himself – Manish Udar) from visiting Ukraine renders it impossible for himself (i.e. for Scholz) to plan a visit to Kiev anytime soon. Our prime minister was in Berlin that day, being Monday, the 2nd of May 2022. It was incidentally the 77th anniversary of the fall of Berlin.
On the consumer front there had been reports of panic buying in Germany's supermarkets as far back as the month of March, as can be seen here and here. These reports were few in number, and the panic was not too widespread as a direct consequence of such commendable restraint on the part of the press. The fat however fell into the fire when Home Minister Nancy Fraeser decided to openly encourage irresponsible consumption. She opined in an interview given on to the German newspaper Handelsblatt, that people throughout the country should stock up 10 days worth of food and medicines in their homes. The said interview was quite fittingly given on Mayday by the good minister.
The latest from Berlin is that Ukrainian Ambassador Melnik has called Steinmeier an offended liver sausage because of the latter's refusal to visit Kiev.
There are no reports of Krauts turning sour because of Melnik's humour or indeed of emotional reactions of any description whatsoever from Germany qua liver sausages so far, including panic buying.
May the 4th be with you too.