Starting Sunday, the seven most powerful politicians in the West will meet in Elmau. Bavaria became a historic meeting place. It’s about nothing less than defending the free world. A commentary by Georg Anastasiadis.

Global politics in Elmau: It happened before, in 2015, with – as we know now – moderate success: Unfortunately, the way Putin was treated after his invasion of Crimea did not prevent things from getting worse. When the G7 returned to what was perhaps the most beautiful stretch of land in Bavaria on Sunday, they did so to correct an old mistake and redraw historical lines: The agenda of the seven most powerful states in the West is nothing less than a reorganization of the world after Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine. The chancellor has prepared Germany for a new era: Olaf Scholz said in the Bundestag on Wednesday that a partnership with Russia’s Putin is unimaginable for the foreseeable future. The Chancellor didn’t just talk about the need for the Marshall Plan to rebuild Ukraine as a future EU member; there is no alternative, even if the CSU refuses. In anticipation of a bitter new struggle between the systems, Scholz also invited Indonesia, Senegal, Argentina, South Africa and India to the summit in Elmau as hosts, so as not to leave them alone with Moscow and Beijing’s efforts to embrace them. Putin has previously specifically named India and South Africa as Russia’s new preferred partners. On the other hand, the strange and ominous message from the Kremlin is that Russia can never again trust the West.

The “end of history” was proclaimed prematurely after 1990 and the collapse of the Soviet Union was overturned, and the rivalry of the system returned to the world stage. Today, capitalism is no longer against communism as it was during the Cold War, but aggressive authoritarianism is against the ideas of democracy and freedom, the strong right against the rule of law. The world reorganization included Sweden and Finland’s sudden push into NATO, as well as Europe’s frantic attempts to quickly tie the Western Balkans to the European Union. All of this demonstrates the degree of danger that Russia’s neo-imperialist war policies pose for Europe, but also the determination with which a reunited West opposes Putin’s dire cultural interference.

Activists who now accuse not Russia, but NATO, the G7 and the image of their new and old foe the United States of being “war bearers” and letting their destruction run wild in the run-up to the G7 summit are bowing to historical error. However, it is not a handful of radical activists who threaten the West’s ability to defend itself, but a large number of war-weary people, for whom expensive energy alone means too much solidarity for Ukrainians who are fighting for their freedom and ours. . For many, the memory of the Cold War and the fact that even then it took strong courage not to be overwhelmed by threats and fear have faded. Many Germans who believed they were surrounded by friends after reunification were still unwilling to accept the need for increased defense efforts and dreamed of an immediate return to “business as usual” and pre-war cheap energy. But that won’t be the case for long. It’s true: the new era, as Secretary of the Treasury Lindner put it, will be hard times. Years of effort lay before us: we must strengthen our defense capabilities, break free from Russia’s energy grip, and become more economically independent from China. But the West is financially, morally and militarily strong enough to hold out in this fight.