So near, yet so far... Europeans are hoping, praying even, that this coming winter will be kind to them.
They had their affordable energy in abundance and on tap, they did not have to worry about electric power cuts, there were no government restrictions on how high they could set their thermostats at home or at work.
They had work and felt secure in the thought that they could provide for their families. Now, with major manufacturing units closing down all around them and laying people off, they cannot be sure they will not be next.
On top of all that, everything is just so much more expensive now with inflation officially in the double figures.
Their government's narrative is that the cause of all their woes is "Putin's war on Ukraine", but this is losing ground as more and more of them can now see through the smoke screen created by those in power and the controlled MSM.
The US has gone back on its promise to fill the void created by the absence of Russian gas and petrol. They are now told that their American friends, which they relied so much on, cannot provide them with either.... at any price.
Yet, the Russian pipelines are there, lying idle, able to function and return them to the normal way of life they had not so long ago, before their elected leaders and those in the EU, that were not elected by them, put an end to it.
Russia has already made it clear: they can resume supplies of energy to Europe if the sanctions imposed on the Russian people are lifted. European sanctions were meant to bring Russia and its people to their knees. Europeans are now realising that it's they who are suffering because of these sanctions.
The sight of that Ursula woman draped in the Ukrainian flag is no longer exciting them. The feeling at that sight, is more one of nausea now.
All across Europe, the demand from the people is that their own leaders should be more concerned about their own well being and not follow the dictates of a US that has shown its true colours.
That demand will intensify as the temperatures drop... day by day.
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