But they are so big on a map! And their leader is so masculine!

Who wouldn’t want to be friend with someone who lives the wet dream of everyone aspiring to be rich and powerful: controlling an entire country with no rules and boundaries whatsoever, brazenly stuffing his own pockets to heart’s content with the riches of the nation.

That’s why Putin desperately needs to seem powerful and hence, ironically, needs to participate in these sports contests. The more people realise what a sad, weak, wrinkling loser he actually is, sitting on a giant throne with feet of clay, the worse for him and the better for everyone else on this planet.

Yes, Liechtenstein is included. The Swiss voted against it in 1992, whereas the Liechtensteiners voted in favor.

It is a map of the EEA, which is EU + EFTA*

'* excluding CH, since they voted no.

If they complain, we’re doing it right.

Zumindest zeigt es einmal mehr unverhohlen sein Gesicht.

Trotzdem werden viele es hierzulande immer noch nicht verstehen (wollen).

Correct and they all are conservative and right leaning.

Tbf, the romanticised view towards Moscow / Beijing is something also found regularly on the left side of the spectrum. The passed on opposition towards Washington and “the Western World” is so engrained that they don’t realise that the guy in Washington and the guy in Moscow meanwhile are happily holding hands, while Beijing (the “Moscow surrogate” after 1991) has left the spheres of socialism long ago and is becoming more capitalist and power-hungry by the minute.

None of these are our friends, none of these have our interest in mind, none of these want a striving, strong and independent Europe. Yet, a remarkably high portion of people here on the continent (on either side of the political spectrum) can only see us as the small, dependent fosterling of a “large power” and their whole debate is limited to whether that supervisor should sit west or east of us.

Keeping Europe small and fragmented, so it is an easier target for the larger powers to play with. Somehow that’s the single common thing all of these politicians all over Europe that like to call themselves ‘patriotic’ want to do.

Be it Le Pen in France, the AfD in Germany, …, if all of these really were so great for us Europeans, how come they are so staunchly supported by our global adversaries in Moscow and Mar-a-Lago?

Why not? It is perfectly fine and sensible to oppose both China and the US. You don’t have to pick one of them.

Looking at the meme, I knew exactly I wouldn’t need to scroll far for a comment complaining about this. :D