To be sure, I think a key difference between Austria and Germany is that the former is still a rural society, even though Austria does have some world-class industries, that is most of her people are, somehow, country-minded... Besides, Austria lies on the frontline of the East>West immigration wave in Europe. Still, it's one of the richest European countries, with an jobless rate of only 4.5%.
Regarding Chechnya, I still view it as a strategy to pave the way for General Lebed in the coming presidential election.... I don't think Yeltsin will be allowed to disrupt/postpone this presidential election. Bottom line: as the current Chechnyan war will likely come down to a stalemate between Russian and Chechnyan armies, it will become more and more unpopular to the Russian people --especially if additional bombings occur in Moscow.... At this point, Gen. Lebed will stand as the 'providential savior' for Russia.... All he'll have to say is: "Okay... our corrupt government has dragged us once more into this Chechnya mess.... Oh! Sure I know these Chechnyan greaseballs --I already dealt with them in 1996.... Well, if I'm in office, I can tell you, I'm gonna pull the plug on this Chechnya campaign --pronto!"
Moreover, with Gen. Lebed in the Kremlin, Yeltsin will have nothing to fear as regards his financial finaglings. Lebed could be politically stronger on a range of other issues (nuclear, Russian pride, security, fight against islamic terrorism, Law and Order, etc.) Contrariwise, if Luzhkov wins, he will almost surely scapegoat Yeltsin for all Russia's miseries.... |
