What do Vladimir Putin and Thierry Baudet have in common? I would like to call it ‘attention addiction’, a word that is still little established, but nevertheless effective.
The attention addict knows that his behavior is inappropriate and that it will generally be frowned upon, yet he is determined to continue—in fact, the disapproval stiffens him in his decisions. He (often it’s a ‘he’) sees himself as a wise loner who has to contend with the overwhelming stupidity of the masses.
Putin goes the furthest in this. Like illustrious predecessors like Stalin and Hitler, he is capable of sacrificing the whole world to his delusions. What possesses him? It’s a question you hear a lot these days. You can bring in all kinds of geopolitical motives, but perhaps it is much simpler. Putin is bored. He leads an empty life. In his own country he has everything and everyone under control, nobody dares to contradict him anymore.
As a result, the days started to look very similar. He was looking for distraction and variety. Wouldn’t it be great if the whole world watched him with bated breath? If everyone, shrinking with fear and awe, constantly wondered: what is Putin going to do? What if all kinds of important heads of state wanted to visit him and beg his mercy by submissively listening for hours to his meaningless answers?
When I see Putin, I see a man who now enjoys in a self-absorbed way; that’s what he hides behind that emotionless, self-righteous mask with the cold eyes. He is in his element. He has achieved it. His name is on everyone’s lip.
Baudet would like that too, but he has to row with too short Dutch oars. Like Putin, he is a loner, but all he can do is justify Putin’s war crimes. He thinks sanctions are “not a good idea”, because “I understand Putin’s action”. “We have to respect Russia”, he says, “Russia does not attack, it reacts. It’s stupid Yankee politics from America and Europe.”
Thierry Baudet can only satisfy his need for attention in a modest way. Recently I saw him running out of his Amsterdam home in jogging clothes. He had the choice of two directions. Direction Haarlemmerdijk where it was teeming with pedestrians, cyclists and scooters. Or towards Westerdok where he could run undisturbed in peace. It was a choice between being watched or not being watched. He did not hesitate and trotted into the crowd, gazed pityingly by passers-by.
Abdel Rahman A., the hostage-taker in the Apple Store, was a loner, just like Putin and Baudet. He managed to attract the attention of the whole of the Netherlands with an insane act. Yet he was not an attention addict, he had received too little attention for that until then. He must have imagined how great it would be to have unlimited attention to get†
To have people in his power for hours, making them completely dependent on his whims and whims – that was his silent dream. He had brought weapons with him that he wanted to use himself. Putin will never make that mistake. You should always let others do the killing if you want to keep your power and the attention that goes with it.
A version of this article also appeared in NRC on the morning of February 25, 2022