In 1964, the famous American psychologist and psychiatrist Eric Berne published a book that quickly became famous - "Games People Play".
In one of the online encyclopedias, the content of this work is described as follows: “In the first half of the book, Berne introduces the concept of “transactional analysis” as a way of interpreting social interactions.
The author describes three ego states: "parent", "adult" and "child" - and argues that many negative manifestations can be associated with confusion or confusion of these roles.
This column should be devoted to modern politics, and not the theories of psychologists from the second half of the last century?
Yes, I remember, I remember.
But what can I do
In order not to be unfounded, I want to introduce you to one of these characters.
Marius Skuodis, the Minister of Transport and Communications of Lithuania and a person who clearly has a "confusion or confusion of roles."
Lithuania is, as you know, a small but proud republic that has just tried to arrange a big bustle in Europe, in fact blocking transit from the Russian “mainland” to the Kaliningrad region.
It didn't work on the first try.
It is very difficult to accuse the current European Commission of sympathy for Russia.
But even the European bureaucrats in Brussels considered the actions of the official Vilnius unlawful.
Did the Lithuanian authorities apologize, change their minds and correct themselves?
I'm sorry, but that's not how people "with mixing or confusion of roles" do.
Official Vilnius has come up with a new way to achieve its goal.
And I don’t even know what is more in this method - naivety and innocence or outrageous cynicism.
First move.
The Lithuanian Šiauliai Bank, which serves all Kaliningrad transit, declares its intention to stop all transactions with Russia.
Second move.
Minister Marius Skuodis enters the stage and says that the Lithuanian state cannot force the banks of its country to accept payments that they do not want to accept.
Third move.
Marius Skuodis warns that official Vilnius will soon have every reason to stop Kaliningrad transit because Russia does not pay for it: “I can't imagine that enterprises in our sector could provide services if they are not paid.
And how the calculations will be carried out is the responsibility of the client.”
It's a pity that Eric Berne passed away in 1970.
If he were alive, the incident with the Lithuanian minister would certainly have been included in the new, revised and supplemented edition of his psychological bestseller.
This is what you need to think about!
The Lithuanian authorities purposefully and almost without hiding place the Kaliningrad transit in an ideally constructed vicious circle.
Such games at the time of my childhood were adored by some Soviet bureaucrats.
Like, bring a certificate about this and that.
You are not given this certificate because to obtain it you need a document confirming that you need it?
As long as you do not have the certificate that I require from you, please do not bother me anymore!
Maybe the Minister Marius Skuodis learned such games while working in these same Soviet bureaucratic structures?
Probably not.
According to his official biography, the Minister of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Lithuania was born on August 9, 1985 and, therefore, at the time of the collapse of the USSR, he was just over six years old.
In short, no and no again, ladies and gentlemen!
It is on the territory of the Republic of Lithuania that future (or current?) Ministers are taught similar “children's games”.
And this is done, of course, with the expectation of their complete future impunity.
In fact, we are dealing with a slightly disguised version of the classic gop stop.
A group of aggressive teenagers with deviations in social behavior surrounds their lonely peer somewhere in a wasteland.
The cap is removed from the victim.
And then the gop-stop participants with the words “Do you want your hat back?
Catch!
begin to throw this headdress to each other.
Something is confusing you in this last example, but you don't really understand what it is?
Okay, then I'll help you.
Modern Russia least of all resembles a lonely and defenseless teenager in a wasteland.
Does anyone in Lithuania seriously believe that the European Commission protected the Kaliningrad transit out of the kindness of their hearts or out of their respect for the letter and spirit of laws and international agreements?
Not just funny, but very funny.
The European Commission made this decision based on the same reasons that Germany demanded that Canada forget about anti-Russian sanctions in this matter and return the turbine for Nord Stream to its rightful owner.
The highest executive body of the European Union is trying to protect both the interests of the EU as a whole and the interests of its Baltic members.
But that teenager is bad, who sometimes does not try to be nasty to a teacher who protects his interests.
However, this is what I see as the main problem for Lithuania: eternal teenagers - oh, sorry, politicians from Vilnius - do not understand that they are no longer in school, and they get into games played by adult uncles.
It usually doesn't end well.
The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editors.