00:00Why is there so much talk about the growth of far-right political movements?
00:05What are the latest developments related to the war, Russia's invasion of Ukraine?
00:12How do all these issues affect Latin America?
00:16These and other questions are posed to us by you at El Espectador through all digital platforms.
00:21And precisely to try to answer them, we are looking for people who know about the subject.
00:27who have dealt with it and experienced it firsthand.
00:29We now welcome Benita Ferrero-Wallner to El Espectador Interviews,
00:34former Chancellor of Austria, former European Commissioner for Foreign Affairs.
00:39Who better than her to explain what is happening on that continent?
00:43Welcome, former chancellor.
00:44Thank you so much.
00:46We wanted, or rather asked, him to accompany us precisely to talk about Europe,
00:52because there are different views on what is happening in Europe,
00:56specifically in political terms,
00:58and more specifically regarding the growth of far-right political groups.
01:06First of all, is it true that they are growing?
01:08Where are they growing and what could be the reason for that?
01:11Look, first of all,
01:13that we have a very difficult situation worldwide.
01:17Geopolitics has changed completely.
01:20And this, naturally, affects every citizen of Europe, in almost every country.
01:28Governments are trying to find solutions to the major challenges we face,
01:35which are the economy that is weak, that has little growth, that has high inflation,
01:43Prices are high because we don't have much energy.
01:48That, naturally, is due to the war with Ukraine, on the one hand,
01:52But now, on the other hand, there's also the war between the United States and Israel against Iran,
01:58and the Strait of Hormuz, which is closed.
02:01So, all of this, in the end, is a situation that greatly affects people.
02:09and they are very worried about it.
02:11And normally a government tries to do many things.
02:16In our governments, there are usually, often, coalitions,
02:21coalitions of different parties seeking a solution,
02:28But naturally, one party goes this way, another party goes that way,
02:33And finding this agreement is difficult.
02:36Meanwhile, it's always easy for the opposition to criticize everything.
02:41And the opposition, which in this case is either the far right or the populist right,
02:48It goes up without anything having been done.
02:51That's pretty much the answer in many countries.
02:54In the case of Latin America, it's a little difficult to understand
03:00that functioning of political parties, of parliaments in Europe,
03:03Because here, simply put, the left wins or the right wins, and that's it.
03:07Yes I know.
03:08But you in Europe have a parliamentary system that allows the right wing
03:14He might join forces with the left, or perhaps with a centrist group, with the Greens, who knows?
03:19and form a coalition to govern and move the country forward.
03:23It can be done, it's valid in a democracy.
03:25Why hasn't that been possible?
03:28Or why is there a fear of including the far right in those coalitions?
03:34Not to the right, but to the extreme right.
03:36Look, many have thought they want to build a wall
03:41and they don't want to go any further towards the extreme right,
03:46Because the far right sometimes demands things that go too far.
03:51But we'll see how they fare in the next elections.
03:58And based on this, an answer will have to be given.
04:01I can't say that at this time.
04:03But it's true, there are big concerns, and people sometimes want to vote on those concerns.
04:11for those who have never tried it.
04:15They say that in some cases, such as in Germany, where elections have just been held in Saxony and Anhal,
04:20and then in Mecklenburg.
04:21Yeah.
04:22And in the face of the rise of the far right, what do analysts say?
04:27Even the traditional parties, the far right is very skillful,
04:32supremely skilled at getting his message of discontent across to people.
04:37That's also true.
04:38And that, on the other hand, traditional political parties have not fulfilled their promises.
04:41Well, it's not like that.
04:43But communication is very complicated today, it's true.
04:47And the far-right opposition parties
04:51They use social media a lot,
04:54which is naturally very important for young people today.
04:58or for people who don't read much, but see a short sentence and believe it.
05:04And, naturally, with artificial intelligence this is also multiplied.
05:11So, that's one thing.
05:13Meanwhile, on the other hand, newspapers are being read less and less.
05:20That's difficult too.
05:21In other words, many people no longer want lengthy explanations.
05:26but with one phrase they think they can do everything.
05:30And that would explain it.
05:31And that's one of the explanations.
05:34And he knows that they are very, I would say, populist.
05:40It's very easy to say things that people like,
05:44but afterwards they could never be carried out.
05:46Achieve.
05:47And to comply.
05:48Go out and make promises.
05:48That is.
05:49Would you believe me if I said that in Latin America we sometimes see similar things?
05:53Well, at this moment I believe Latin America for us.
05:57We find it to be a fairly peaceful continent.
06:01And we love working with Latin America.
06:07For example, Europe has long thought that Latin America in general
06:12is a strategic partner.
06:14And especially Colombia, for example, also for my country.
06:19It is not only a regional partner, but nowadays a very, very important one.
06:26Because you have things that we don't have, and perhaps we can give you other things.
06:34I want to ask you about Colombia, but before I finish, before I enter Colombia,
06:40Let's briefly review the effect of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
06:49Well, it was naturally a shock when it happened because we didn't think Russia was going to attack Ukraine.
07:03But he has done so, and naturally, in doing so, he has completely violated all international laws.
07:11Naturally, also from the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe,
07:19especially the territorial integrity and also the sovereignty of Ukraine.
07:26That is why Ukraine is defending itself, and Europe cannot simply observe what is happening.
07:33but we believe that we must stand with Ukraine in its defense.
07:40That happens, but naturally it also has consequences.
07:45The consequences, as I have already said, first of all, energy, gas and oil also came a lot from Ukraine and from
07:57Russia.
07:58We no longer have them because of the sanctions against Russia.
08:01And on the other hand, naturally a war on its borders is almost very difficult.
08:08That's why governments today also have to spend much more money on security.
08:19We previously thought that there were no more wars in Europe,
08:23But now we have had to learn that there is indeed a very important, very strong war, which has been going on for too long.
08:31That is why we support Ukraine, while at the same time strengthening our security and defense in all our countries
08:41And at the same time we are also trying to move towards a peaceful solution which would at least be a ceasefire.
08:51from the fire.
08:51But so far all efforts, even those of Mr. Trump, have been unsuccessful.
08:59You say, yes, it's a war that's already very long.
09:02Some said it was short-lived, one year, two, but it's been almost four years now, right? Four years.
09:07Yes, yes.
09:07And what could be the definitive solution to this problem?
09:11We can't say what the solution is at the moment, but I believe that in the end there has to be a ceasefire.
09:17Because both sides are attacking and defending, and at the end of the day they are more or less evenly matched.
09:27It is true that Russia is currently using a lot of drones and missiles, making it difficult for Ukraine to defend itself.
09:36against this.
09:37But on the field they are more or less in a battle of attrition.
09:44They can't go out much.
09:46So, at some point I think there has to be a ceasefire.
09:50When? I can't tell you.
09:52Meanwhile, the fires are also raging in the Middle East.
09:58Sorry?
09:58In the Middle East too.
10:01Unfortunately, indeed.
10:03Excuse me for interrupting.
10:04Today Colombia suspended relations with Iran.
10:08The Colombian government today...
10:10I didn't know.
10:11Yes, they did announce it.
10:12Yes, like that.
10:13Well, interesting.
10:14And what does this Middle East thing tell you?
10:17Well, I can tell you that I have learned a lot about the Middle East from my time as a police officer.
10:22I've been there countless times.
10:24But I have seen that, first of all, I believe there can only be one lasting peace
10:34If there is a two-state solution against Israel and Palestine.
10:41That's one thing.
10:42But the other one is Iran, naturally, it doesn't have to have the nuclear weapon.
10:48That's clear.
10:49But at the same time, there was a fear that this could happen.
10:55So, the United States and Israel have attacked Iran.
10:59And, naturally, now we have the problem of the Strait of Hormuz.
11:03Because large ships pass through there, especially all those that supply us with gas, oil, and all that.
11:17And food too.
11:19Then everyone suffers.
11:21This means that the world today is in a very complicated situation.
11:27What is your interpretation of Colombia today, or of Latin America today?
11:31Given that it is a continent that is in constant change of government,
11:35Because there are elections all the time, but in the end, not much really changes?
11:39What is your interpretation of Latin America and, specifically, how do you see Colombia?
11:43Well, first of all, I've already told you about Latin America.
11:47For many years, since 1999, I have attended all the major conferences with Latin America.
11:56So, I can say, we have always worked on political dialogue, on trade and, naturally, also on development.
12:06Today, for us, Latin America has a much greater importance.
12:15Because we believe that in this difficult world we can help each other, cooperate.
12:22Because only through cooperation can we achieve so much.
12:27He needs to know that we will be on the Security Council.
12:32Clear.
12:33Together with Colombia and Austria.
12:34Starting on January 1st of next year, along with Colombia.
12:40And I think this is going to be very interesting because we both want a lot of things in common.
12:46And we, you know, are fighters against drugs, arms trafficking, drug trafficking, etc.
12:57And also in favor of trying to pacify child soldiers, etc.
13:07We have done a lot of work in the peace laboratories here.
13:12And we are happy that, in principle, albeit with difficulties, there is peace in Colombia.
13:18And that's why we can work in many places.
13:22In Vienna we have the UNODC organization, which is against organized crime.
13:30And I know that this matters a lot to Colombia.
13:33Or also the whole justice aspect, but also climate change.
13:38There are so many topics, and it's also important for us to have more raw material from you.
13:45So, we don't always want to rely solely on China as our suppliers.
13:51So, I believe and trust that there is a great possibility of cooperation.
13:57Our time is up.
13:58You mentioned China and I said, look, I didn't ask you about China.
14:01What we need to do, then, is pay attention to the lecture you are going to give.
14:05Very good.
14:06Chancellor, thank you very much for joining us.
14:08With great pleasure.
14:09Return to the viewer whenever you like so that he can continue explaining to us what is happening in the world.
14:13Thank you so much.
14:14Thank you.
14:14And thank you for joining us.
14:16We will be back soon with new topics and interesting personalities in El Espectador.
