“At what moment does the direction of travel of the Machine become so obvious, so intolerable, so frightening, that you can no longer acquiesce?” Kingsnorth asked. “What is the breaking point?”
“People died, it’s been a very hard time. Corona cast a shadow over our lives and sometimes divided us to the bone,” Dutch Health Minister Ernst Kuipers said as he announced the lifting of COVID restrictions, to begin February 18th.
While many European nations are loosening their COVID-restrictions, Germany and Austria have been holding on to their mandates. But calls for loosening the grip on freedom might finally be heard.
As other European countries reduce their COVID regulations, Austria has gone the other way. As of February 5th, Austria became Europe’s first country with mandatory COVID vaccination rules for all adults. But the implementation of the rule remains a challenge.
From Stockholm to Paris to Barcelona to Helsinki, EU governments braced themselves as citizens—singing anthems, waving national flags, and shouting slogans—gathered in the main squares and marched along the major thoroughfares to express their dissatisfaction with the current order.
