“The Return of Mussolini” and the triumph of socialism. What will 2022 be remembered for?

MOSCOW, December 31 – RIA Novosti, Mikhail Katkov. The year of the blue water tiger has become deadly for many ruling elites in the West. The economic crisis caused by the pandemic has been exacerbated by the sanctions war and rising energy prices. England had the most difficult days, but Italy, Israel and Brazil also attracted the attention of the world media. About what has changed in these countries – in the material of RIA Novosti.

Premier Parade

In the outgoing year, he became the undisputed leader in the resignations of British heads of state. From July to October there were three prime ministers. Moreover, the political crisis is far from over.

Boris Johnson was the first to resign – after all, he did not survive a series of scandals related to personnel policy and his parties during the coronavirus pandemic. The resignation was supported by about 70 percent of the British. The final straw was the story about Chris Pincher, the Conservative Party’s deputy chief organizer in the House of Commons. He got into a drunken fight at the elite Carlton club and harassed the men. Moreover, journalists learned that Pincher was already involved in such stories. Johnson knew this, but still decided to hire a party member and even called him the “cool guy”.

More than 50 ministers left Johnson’s government a few days after information about the scandal was released. Only his successor, Secretary of State Liz Truss, publicly declared his loyalty to the prime minister.

However, it only lasted 45 days and broke the record for the shortest tenure. Her desire to be like Margaret Thatcher did not fall into her hands. Following the principles of the idol, Truss decided that the economy should be saved by the wealthy (who earn more than £150,000 a year), so they need to lower the income tax rate for them from 45 percent to 40 percent. London wanted to borrow £45bn from international financial institutions for its funding shortfall and investment needed to flow into the country in the long run.

But the IMF said Truss would thus increase the socio-economic gap between the poor and the rich. It only took a statement of intent to equate the British currency with the dollar, which has not happened since 1985. At the same time, 75 percent of Britons felt that the government had lost control over the economic situation in the country.

The next prime minister was former Finance Minister Rishi Sunak. Despite attempts to pull the country out of the economic crisis in December, only 29 percent of respondents were ready to vote Conservative, and 44 percent would choose Labor, according to an Opinium poll. Moreover, dissatisfaction with Sunak is growing among conservatives – some believe he pursued ultra-leftist policies, including avoiding radical action against immigrants.

As The Guardian noted, the Conservative Party could face a split. At the same time, some donors have even frozen funds for the organization. Peer Peter Cruddas, who has donated over £3.5m to the Tories, says he won’t give another cent because they are no longer centre-right.

Expedition to Rome

Unable to cope with the economic crisis caused by the epidemic, Italy’s centre-left government collapsed. And at the end of September, the right-wing coalition led by Giorgi Meloni, dubbed “Mussolini’s successor”, won the parliamentary elections. He was a member of the far-right movement from an early age and will pursue a tough policy in the fight against illegal immigration.

Also, as prime minister, Meloni hopes to turn the EU into a “free economic union”. In response, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said: If the Italian acts like the Polish or Hungarian authorities, who enthusiastically protect traditional values, Rome risks being subject to sanctions.

Meloni also has problems with the coalition. The leaders of the “League of the North” and “Advanced Italy” Matteo Salvini and Silvio Berlusconi are clearly unhappy that the trio is led by a woman who until recently was considered junior partner. All three divided the ministerial offices so harshly that some observers did not even rule out the possibility of reelection to parliament.

Berlusconi in particular described Meloni as “strong, arrogant and unwilling to change”. He also said that there is no room in his team for those who do not see Italy in NATO and the European Union – and this is despite the fact that Salvini and Berlusconi never hid warm feelings towards Russia. The Northern League even sent an observer to a referendum in Crimea. On average, Italian governments live for one to two years, pretty much the same as experts from Meloni’s cabinet expect.

the promised land

Benjamin Netanyahu is back in Israel as prime minister. The coalition, headed by right-wing, far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties, won 64 of the 120 seats in parliament, while former head of government Yair Lapid said he could not work with these people under any circumstances. terms and went to the opposition.

Netanyahu has ruled Israel for 12 years and enjoys significant support among ordinary citizens. But in 2021 he had to resign – the opposition, including representatives of the Arabs, united and opposed him with a united front. True, this alliance lasted a little over a year and reopened Bibi’s path to the political Olympus.

Now he and his supporters hope the government will be the most resilient in five years. They want to let Parliament overturn Supreme Court rulings and will review many of Israel’s core laws, including those related to gay rights and repatriation rules. In this context, Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog called on the government not to divide society.

Netanyahu is a staunch supporter of Israeli settlements in the West Bank occupied after the 1967 Middle East war. The international community considers them illegal. At the same time, Netanyahu opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, but most UN member states, including the United States, support this option for resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The newly appointed prime minister is also accused of bribery, fraud and abuse of trust. True, members of the winning coalition promise reforms that will put an end to the prosecution of their leaders.

Red October

In Brazil, Luis Inácio Lula da Silva came back to power 11 years later. He surpassed Jair Bolsonaro by 1.8 percent in the presidential elections. After that, the country was split in two, but in general Latin America happily accepted the victory of the socialist da Silva. No wonder: along with Brazil, 13 states on the continent came under the rule of the left.

“We are ready to work hard for the economic and social development of our peoples, as well as for the strengthening of Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. “Your victory will strengthen democracy and integration in Latin America,” Bolivian President Luis Arce said. “Lula. Joy!” – Chilean leader Gabriel Borich did not hide his feelings. “Long live Lula!” Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote on social media.

Da Silva’s opponent was a man often called a fascist by the Brazilian left and compared to Donald Trump by the liberal media. Jair Bolsonaro was remembered by the general public for cutting down the Amazon rainforest and for his fight against socialists and LGBT people. At the same time, he was so unwilling to leave the presidency that observers did not rule out armed conflict after the elections. However, da Silva has been supported by many world leaders, including Russia, the USA and EU countries.

By contrast, the new head of state in charge of foreign policy does not plan to choose between Moscow and Washington. According to him, the actions of not only Russia, but also the West led to special operations. In domestic politics, too, Silva has even more problems than Altar or Meloni. Despite winning the presidential election, his supporters failed to secure a majority in parliament.