The Weekly Forum - 8 May
09 mei 2025 | Forum for Democracy Intl
FVD’s Renaissance Institute in central Amsterdam is holding a book presentation this week of ‘Kremlin Propaganda’ by William Immink. William is a Dutchman living in Russia who has been baffled by the disconnect between Western propaganda and reality. This is his second book. FVD International’s director, John Laughland, caught up with William by video link shortly before he left for Amsterdam and asked him to tell us a little about himself and about why he wrote the book.
Watch John’s interview with William Immink here
FVD International’s Vincent Vos was interviewed on Ongehoord Nederland (Unheard Netherlands) this week. ON! is a dissident public broadcaster – a rare phenomenon in Europe. The debate was about whether Donald Trump is a danger to the liberal world order. ‘I hope so!’ was, in short, Vincent’s reponse. Liberal democracy has become nothing but an excuse for a cynical power grab by elites. People are fed up with it, which is why they voted for Trump. =The ‘end of history’ was supposed to put an end to politics. But this irenic dream is in fact a nightmare because, in the name of anti-politics, elites have established an extreme centrist dictatorship.
Vincent has also been interviewed for a German media outlet run by Raphael Machado. He was asked about Zelensky’s remarkably high declared salary (no doubt a small part of his overall takings) but also about the policies of the new German government. This led Vincent to give a long and interesting reply about the limits and contradictions of liberalism. On the one hand, it pretends to be tolerant, on the other, it is increasingly intolerant and totalitarian. Its authoritarianism, indeed, is an indication of the fact that it is flailing around, desperately reaching for ever harsher instruments with which to defeat its enemies - but in what is ultimately a lost cause.
Watch Vincent’s interview here
On The Forum this week we were honoured to welcome the wonderful Mohammed Marandi, professor of politics at the University of Tehran, on the latest threats to that country emanating from the madhouse that is the White House.