(ASI) The fact that Russia’s war against Ukraine has now become an escalating factor in the long-expected European and global crisis is no longer news. Economic, food and energy issues, as well as the social and political problems that have built up in many countries, are there for all to see.
However, in the background, the individual interests of individual personalities or states are also apparent. Once again, as has often happened in history, the question of rivalry for European leadership is being raised, and the United Kingdom is once again in a prime position despite Brexit. Once again, it seems that the UK’s mission is to counter Germany, thus discrediting it in the eyes of other European countries.
At the beginning of September, the not-so-famous American film festival ‘Telluride’ screened the documentary film ‘Merkel’ by German director Eva Werber. The film chronicles the life and political journey of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The appropriateness of a film about Merkel seems rather questionable, as she is certainly not yet on a par with historical ‘legends’ such as Churchill, Kennedy or Thatcher, who have already been the subject of several films. Perhaps, the director is simply a fan of Frau Angela, who, in one way or another, has left a significant mark on European history in recent decades. However, one of the main themes of the film is quite surprising.
In fact, the film purports that it was Merkel who made not only Germany, but also much of Europe, dependent on Russian energy resources through her close ties with Russian President Putin. It is a well-known fact that the Chancellor was a supporter of Nord Stream 2. According to the film, Merkel is the one to blame, which also means that Germany bears responsibility for the whole of Europe, despite the fact that the Federal Chancellor does not have unlimited power. Such is the message that gets through.
Now, the fact that Europe is energy-dependent on Russia is indeed a matter of concern for many, but Germany as a whole and Merkel in particular are by no means the only ones to blame. This summer, German journalist T. Röper (www.anti-spiegel.ru/2022/der-medienhype-um-die-selbst-verursachte-gaskrise) concluded that the energy crisis in Europe started long before the Russian aggression in Ukraine. The journalist was then able to discover (www.anti-spiegel.ru/2022/die-medien-und-ihre-suche-nach-den-schuldigen-fuer-die-gaskrise) that the documentary on Merkel’s life had in fact been secretly in the works for a long time, since no news about it could be found until late August.
Going deeper into the history of this film product, a Russian trail does indeed appear. However, this time it is not the fault of Putin or his secret services. Surprisingly enough, the film was shot in London, and the funds came from the foundation of Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who lives outside Russia and is one of the most active opponents of the Russian government.
Also interesting is that the film, which purports to glorify Merkel, lacks any comments from Frau Angela herself. However, it does feature interviews with former leaders of other countries, such as British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Hillary Clinton, Danish Prime Minister Fredriksen and others. Röper himself considers it unlikely that small film companies would have had the opportunity to accomplish such a feat without some assistance from the UK. In turn, in her telegram channel (http://t.me/neuesausrussland), journalist A. Lipp agreed that without the help of the British secret services, including MI6, it would never have been possible to make such a high-level film.
In fact, the film’s production was managed by companies whose status hardly matches the people involved in their docufilm. There are three such companies: Merkel Films Limited, Passion Docs Limited and Passion Pictures. The latter was founded at least as early as 1987 and was engaged in advertising, animation and the creation of music videos. Merkel Films Limited, on the other hand, has no website of its own and was only founded in April this year exclusively to work on the film ‘Merkel’, and is located in the same building as Passion Pictures and Passion Docks Limited.
The film’s total budget is around £1.5 million, of which one third was allocated by the ‘Khodorkovsky Foundation’. The German journalist was able to discover that £150,000 was sent directly to Merkel Films Limited. It is worth noting that this fact should have remained a secret, as the parties directly agreed to prohibit the publication of any information about the foundation’s participation in financing the project. That is, Khodorkovsky’s name should not have been associated with the film.
This is understandable, since Khodorkovsky is unlikely to want to publicly participate in organising conflicts between European countries, as they jointly support Ukraine against Russia. The question remains: why would a Russian oligarch be part of this? Apparently, the UK seems to consider Khodorkovsky the most important European member of the anti-Russian coalition, which leaves him no choice but to support the British propaganda attack against Germany.
Translated from https://agenziastampaitalia.it/politica/politica-estera/62373-l-inghilterra-attacca-di-nascosto-la-germania
