Thursday, June 29, 2023

Euronews The Briefing : The enemy within and more...Thu, Jun 29, 7:05 PM (6 hours ago)

 

 
 
The enemy within

By Jorge Liboreiro

By all accounts, Yevgeny Prigozhin is a man with many lives.

Catering magnate, former convict, disinformation purveyor, mercenary commander, presidential confidant, FBI wanted criminal and bloodthirsty warmonger are some of the titles decorating his decades-long career, most of which he spent moving stealthily behind the scenes.

But after last weekend’s extraordinary events, in which he directed a short-lived mutiny against Russia’s military leadership, Prigozhin can boast a new accomplishment: being the man who has come the closest to challenging Vladimir Putin’s zealously protected grip on power.

That is – in and of itself – a stunning feat with no parallel. 

Ever since taking over the Kremlin in May 2000, Putin has deployed all state resources at his disposal with the sole aim of fortifying his iron-fist rule and eradicating any vestige of contestation. Media channels turned into docile mouthpieces, critical-minded oligarchs were ostracised, street protesters were violently repressed, and opposition candidates were imprisoned, banished, and, in some cases, nearly poisoned to death.

Western allies, who once naïvely held onto the idea that post-Soviet Russia would gradually align itself with liberal democracies, eventually gave up hope of seeing political change in the country and designed awkward arrangements to co-exist with Putin’s regime, often based on the convenient sale of cheap fossil fuels.

All of this, of course, went down in flames when the Kremlin launched the invasion of Ukraine.

But neither the arsenal of hard-hitting sanctions, nor the international isolation, nor the economic recession, nor countless military setbacks have been enough to scratch Putin’s totalitarian reign. Remarkably, the real challenger came from his inner circle, from the chef whom the president had transformed into a for-hire warlord.

In his first public message since the fleeting rebellion, Prigozhin described his actions as a protest against the military failures in Ukraine and denied efforts to overthrow the government. “We started our march because of an injustice,” he said, repeating previous claims that the Russian armed forces had fired directly on his Wagner troops.

But in a country where one man exerts quasi-infinite power, bends the constitutional order at his will and commands every corner of the state apparatus, it seems woefully disingenuous to pretend the military leadership has nothing to do and is completely detached from the president himself. If there’s one department in the Russian government that is meticulously micro-managed by the president, that is, in fact, the military. After all, it was Putin alone who gave the order to invade Ukraine and rewrite Europe’s history.

“An armed mutiny would have been suppressed in any event. Mutiny plotters, despite the loss of adequacy, were bound to realise that,” Putin said in a speech earlier this week, calling the rebellion a “reckless” mistake. “Any blackmail, any attempt to stage domestic turmoil is doomed to fail.”

The president tried to re-affirmed his position, saying that “in keeping with my direct instructions” bloodshed had been prevented, and offered Wagner troops the chance of signing a contract with the Defence Ministry or going into exile in Belarus. He later admitted having paid $1 billion to the mercenary organisation in just one year.

At no point did he mention Prigozhin by name.

Subsequent reports suggest the criminal charges against the Wagner chief have been dropped as part of the surprise deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, although it is highly unlikely that Putin, who is known for his vengeful character, will turn the page so easily on the most dramatic episode in his 23-year-long rule.

Some analysts and experts believe Prigozhin is a dead man walking, whose tranquil days in Minsk will be soon cut short under mysterious circumstances. Others, however, are betting on Prigozhin’s survival skills and his deep connections with the Russian elite, which were, ironically, built with Putin’s own blessing. But these useful ties could be torn apart if the president, in his post-coup paranoia, launches the brutal crackdown that many expect him to unleash at any time.

It might very well be that, for the first time, the man with many lives doesn’t know what comes next.

 
 

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

THE FRONTLINE Ukraine is reeling from the Russian strike that destroyed a restaurant in the town of Kramatorsk. The death toll rose to twelve on Thursday morning, with around sixty people injured. Meanwhile, European countries are expressing concern about Wagner “serial killers” being stationed in Belarus, posing a risk to the bloc’s security. And Hungary continues to hold up a €500-million package of EU military assistance for Kyiv, a situation that Josep Borrell described as “lamentable.” 

THE LONG WAIT NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg plans to host a meeting of senior officials from Turkey and Sweden next week in a bid to unblock the Nordic country’s bid to join the alliance. But the occasion could be overshadowed by a controversial protest in which a man burned pages from the Quran outside a Stockholm mosque.

ONLINE PAYMENTS Brussels has taken the first steps to establish a digital euro, promising complete privacy. The final decision, though, will be taken in Frankfurt.

IN DANGER The future of the Nature Restoration Law is hanging by a thread. A vote in the European Parliament’s environment committee resulted in a 44 to 44 margin, meaning the amended text failed to pass. The full plenary will hold a vote next month to decide if the law lives or dies. European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans has already warned that if the legislation falls apart, the executive will not table a second, re-branded proposal.

BURNING QUESTION The wildfire season has started amid forecasts suggesting 2023 could be a devastating year. Alice Tidey explains what Europe is doing wrong.

AWARD-WINNING Belgian director Lukas Dhont has won this year’s Lux Audience Award for his film ‘Close,’ a moving story about the intimate friendship between two teenage boys. Our colleague Isabel da Silva spoke with Dhont about the movie’s themes of identity and LGBTQ significance.
 
HARD WORKERS How many hours do you work per week? The answer might depend on your profession, your competence and even the city you live in. Euronews Next reveals which European countries work the longest and shortest weeks on average.

‘WORRYING TREND’ For years, foreign students have chosen the Netherlands to study in English at affordable prices. But the country’s education minister believes this internationalisation has led to overworked staff and a scarcity of accommodation. Under new plans, meant to promote the learning of the Dutch language, the amount of English content in bachelor’s degrees will be capped at one-third of course credits. Not everyone is happy.

 
 
 
IT'S IN THE NUMBERS

Around 300 million full-time jobs in the United States and Europe are at risk of automation because of the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI), according to a new report by Goldman Sachs. But the impact is expected to be uneven: 79% of working women are employed in occupations susceptible to AI disruption and automation.
 
EDITOR'S CHOICE

Frontex is considering leaving Greece. What happens if it follows through?

 
 
Frontex, the European Union’s powerful border agency, is considering temporarily suspending its activity in Greece over repeated abuses of human rights. The idea, which for now is only a suggestion contained in an internal report leaked to the media, comes mere days after an overcrowded vessel capsized near the Greek coast, likely causing the death of hundreds of people. The Greek authorities have been highly criticised over their response to the incident, with many saying that they could – and should – have acted faster to help the migrants aboard the clearly dangerous vessel. What if Frontex were to pull out of the country at this critical time? Giulia Carbonaro has the full story.
 
NO COMMENT

Riots have broken out in several French cities after a 17-year-old was shot in the chest at point-blank range by police. President Emmanuel Macron has described the tragedy as “unforgivable” and said the violence on the streets was “unjustifiable.”
 
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