Only one egg hatched this year and the chick is now three weeks old and taking a look at the outside world for the first time.
Not a pretty sight – the outside world. It had seemed the dominant theme this decade would be China’s emergence as a greater power than the United States. While this simmers on a back burner Russia’s place in the world has assumed more importance. Whether the war ends quickly or becomes a prolonged stalemate there is no way Russia will be forgiven without significant political change. Nothing short of a revolution will let Russia back into the American-European hegemony.
I am an armchair, G&T strategist. If there is regime change in Russia, a big if, the West should not punish Russia as Germany was punished after the First World War. It is tempting to make Russia foot the bill to re-build Ukraine’s infrastructure and cities but it would lead to simmering resentment that would be disastrous to Russia’s integration with Europe and the US. It would probably lead to a closer relationship with China, potentially a dangerous alliance.
Meanwhile on the home front, inflation, rising prices and rising taxes are a bad combination. The poor will always be with us, as Jesus said in St Matthew’s Gospel, but they will be even poorer in the UK for a year or two. Perhaps, this Sunday morning, a time to reflect on Ukraine. Not today, ninety years ago.
