Oh, the misdirected fury of it all. The self-appointed elect,
those states at the G7, have decided to have a chat about matters deemed
critical for them. A few interlopers are also present – Nigeria,
Tunisia and Liberia, for instance. Like any club whose rules vary
between snooty and arbitrary, there were exclusions. On this occasion,
basic arithmetic dictated that it would be a G7 summit, as opposed to a
G8 one – Russia was excluded, largely because, it would seem, the member
states needed something to talk about.
The agenda shaped up very quickly. The G7 chat fest did take some
time out to consider the environmental side of matters, suggesting that
fossil fuels were being given the heave ho. “We commit to doing our
part to achieve a low-carbon global economy in the long-term, including
developing and deploying innovative technologies striving for a
transformation of the energy sectors by 2050.”[1]
But the members had two states in their sights. One was the
superstar absentee, target of European and US morality and historical
ennui: Russia. As the G7 communique outlined, “We stand ready to take
further restrictive measures in order to increase [the] cost on Russia
should its actions so require.” The other was Greece, target of
economic opprobrium and whipping boy of Europe’s disastrous financial
policies.
It was Moscow who got the biggest serve. “Does [Vladimir Putin],” US
President Barack Obama observed, “continue to wreck his country’s
economy and continue Russia’s isolation in pursuit of a wrong-