A history of the mentality of Germans in the early 21st century will one day have to investigate the phenomenon of why certain off-duty statesmen in this country gain in esteem the longer their not-so-glorious tenures are.

Former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt was such a case.

And even more amazing is the appreciative murmur that triggers the mention of Henry Kissinger's name.

Perhaps the secret of their success lies in the many books in which the two have presented themselves as sages of global order: You only have to formulate global political strategies abstractly enough to give cynicism the appearance of enlightenment.

Matthew Alexander

Deputy head of department in the features section.

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The 99-year-old Kissinger recently made a name for himself again when he expressed his opinion during the World Economic Forum that European stability should not be jeopardized for a few square kilometers in the Donbass.

Defeating Russia would result in its humiliation, and that too would not be good for stability, the former US Secretary of State said.

That is why Ukraine must act as wisely in the future as it is brave at the moment.

Who is actually sitting in the corner?

A member of the Kissinger team in Germany is the political scientist Johannes Varwick, who teaches at the University of Halle.

On Thursday evening on Maybrit Illner's talk show, he behaved like a real politician and called for the conflict in Ukraine to be "frozen".

The West must be keen to achieve a sober, "perhaps dirty" reconciliation of interests with Russia.

According to Varwick, it is irresponsible to supply Ukraine with weapons to enable it to fight a hopeless battle.

Which was an odd contradiction to Varwick's statement that you shouldn't kick someone in the corner - by which he meant Russia.

Close to despair at such statements, CDU defense expert Roderich Kiesewetter remarked in a low voice that Ukraine was probably sitting in the corner.

It was he who pointed out how skillfully Putin was trying to intimidate the population in the individual countries in the EU with different measures.

He turned off the gas taps in Bulgaria and the Netherlands, while stoking fears of an imminent escalation into a major war in Germany.

How right Kiesewetter is: Varwick's reaction is another positive test result that shows Putin, who understands German, that he is on the right track with his psychological warfare.

Alice Schwarzer and her colleagues have also been infected for some time.

Unfortunately, the presenter, who had both erratic and good moments, failed to ask Varwick to flesh out his ideas: What pressure could the West use to get Putin to “freeze” the war?

What prospects of security would that gain for the West?

Should the negotiations be conducted over the heads of the Ukrainians?

The ZDF foreign reporter Katrin Eigendorf was able to report from her own experience that the desperation among the Ukrainians over the losses in Putin's war of annihilation is growing.

But that is precisely why the certainty of having to keep fighting increases.

She hadn't spoken to anyone in Ukraine who said they should withdraw.

And Kiesewetter pointed out that the longer the war lasted, the more the Ukrainian population wanted to raise the price for the Russians after the war.

In view of this development, it is good that President Zelenskyy is only advocating the restoration of the January borders, which does not include Crimea.