The Russian invasion of Ukraine threatens to be the “beginning of World War III” which could mean the end of civilization, warned veteran philanthropist and former financier George Soros.
In a fierce attack on Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping of China at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Soros warned that autocratic regimes were on the rise and that the global economy was heading for a depression.
Soros, who has become a figure of hatred for the hard right in the US, also harshly criticized former German Chancellor Angela Merkel for getting used to Moscow and Beijing.
With the mood in Davos already depressed due to the war in Ukraine, Soros raised the gloomy rhetoric to new heights.
“The invasion may have been the start of World War III and our civilization may not survive it,” he said.
“The invasion of Ukraine did not come from the blue. The world is increasingly engaged in a struggle between two diametrically opposed systems of government: the open society and the closed society.
The 91-year-old former hedge fund owner said the tide had begun to turn against open societies following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001. “Repressive regimes are in full swing. “Ascension and open societies are under siege. Today, China and Russia pose the greatest threat to open society.”
Soros, who led the speculative financial attack that knocked out the pound of the European exchange mechanism 30 years ago, said Europe had responded well to the crisis caused by the invasion of Russia.
“It will take a long time to work out the details, but Europe seems to be moving in the right direction. It has responded to the invasion of Ukraine more quickly, with unity and vigor than ever before in its history.”
He added: “Europe’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels remains excessive, in large part due to the mercantilist policies pursued by former Chancellor Angela Merkel. It had made special arrangements with Russia for gas supplies and made China the largest export market in Germany. This made Germany the best performing economy in Europe, but now there is a high price to pay. The German economy needs to be reoriented. And that will take a long time. “
Soros said Putin had won Xi’s deal for the Russian invasion at the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics in early February. But he insisted that the Chinese leader was not as strong as he thought.
“Xi keeps a guilty secret. He never told the Chinese people that they had been inoculated with a vaccine designed for the original Wuhan variant that offered very little protection against new variants.”
Soros said Xi could not “clarify” because he was at a difficult time in his career. “His second term expires in the fall of 2022 and he wants to be appointed for an unprecedented third term, which will eventually make him the ruler for life.”
China’s blockades to combat Covid-19 had pushed the economy into free fall, but Xi could not admit that he had made a mistake, he said.
“With the real estate crisis, the damage will be so great that it will affect the global economy. With supply chains disrupted, global inflation could turn into a global depression. “
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Contrary to popular belief, Xi may not get his coveted third term because of the mistakes he made, Soros predicted.
“While the war is raging, the fight against climate change must take second place. However, experts tell us that we are far behind and climate change is about to become irreversible. This could be the end of our civilization.
“Therefore, we must mobilize all our resources to end the war soon. The best and perhaps only way to preserve our civilization is to defeat Putin as soon as possible. That is the end result.”