‘God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay…’ Easier said than done, of course, at the end of a year in which there is much to be dismayed about. The international scene, for starters, ain’t too flash. A war where the belligerent party threatens to resort to nuclear weapons still rages in Ukraine, causing unnecessary energy mayhem across Europe. We say ‘unnecessary’ because the EU and the UK have only themselves and their idiotic climate-obsessed politicians and corporations to blame for having rendered themselves impotent in the face of Vladimir Putin’s energy blackmail. For years, countries like Germany and Britain have quite happily divested themselves of anything approaching energy independence (and therefore energy security) and have instead pursued the madness of ‘net zero’. Giant wind turbines now blight the once-beautiful landscapes and seascapes of much of Europe and the UK, and gigantic Chinese-manufactured solar farms are a glaring blot on the countryside in much of southern Europe. But this reckless infatuation with renewables has only served, as Donald Trump warned the EU during his presidency, to empower the avarice and ambitions of the Russians. Indeed, the YouTube clip is still available where the German members of the European parliament snigger and scoff at Trump’s prescient warning. Not quite so smug now.

In China, having had a rude shock towards the end of the year as incredibly brave dissenting Chinese citizens hold up blank A4 pages of paper to show their dissatisfaction with the communist Covid tyranny, Xi Jinping bides his time waiting for the right moment to pounce on Taiwan. Ironically, with Democrats having performed much better than expected in the mid-terms and therefore placing Joe Biden in contention for the 2024 election, Xi may decide there is no longer the urgent need to strike against Taiwan because dear old dotty Joe may be around for a while longer.

The tantalising struggle of next year will be to see whether it is Mr Trump or Florida governor Ron DeSantis who emerges as the Republican presidential candidate for 2024. This magazine admires both men and we look forward to the primaries as an opportunity for them to slug it out or, possibly, to come to an amicable arrangement. Anything is possible at this stage.

Away from the nation states, the most dismaying development on the world political scene at the moment is the rapidly increasing collusion on so many fronts between Big Tech, Big Business and left-leaning Big Government and the sinister forces attempting to use that combined power to subvert the sovereignty of independent nations, free-market economies and conservatism. That this mirrors fascism is deeply disturbing. The World Health Organization is pursuing a global pandemic treaty that will lead to Dan Andrews-style lockdowns on steroids, as the World Economic Forum insists that within a few years we will all be renters who ‘own nothing’ yet regardless will ‘be happy’. Were it not for the amazing intervention of Elon Musk in acquiring Twitter and spilling the beans on that organisation’s disgraceful anti-democratic operations, we would be galloping headlong towards an era of technological tyranny that would have had George Orwell lost for words. Indeed, we still may be.

Turning to Australia, we struggle to find much to be cheery about. The Albanese government, as feared and as predicted, is pursuing a hard-left agenda with gay abandon, determined to tear down as much of traditional Australian conservatism as is possible.

Which is why it is so important that conservatives fight for their beliefs, rather than passively watch them be eroded or destroyed one by one. In particular, it is now imperative that Liberal leader Peter Dutton take the fight to Labor and the Greens and do what an opposition leader is supposed to do: ruthlessly oppose.

Covid and climate change – and the deliberate merging of both as triggers of leftist authoritarianism – are at the heart of the Left’s assault on traditional values. Daily we are assaulted by cancel culture, the restrictions on free speech and the deliberate targeting of Christian and Judeo beliefs and values, the deliberate dumbing down of schools and universities, the obsessive focus on indigenous activism and the shaming of ‘whiteness’ and our proud colonial history. Throw in the horror show of extremist gender theory being foisted upon our children and there is not a great deal, in the way of tidings of comfort and joy, this Christmas.

Still, look on the bright side. With Chris Bowen as Energy Minister, there will be no shortage of laughs to be had in the coming months and years. And tears. But fear not. The Speccie will be back by your side early next year to fight the good fight on your behalf on every front available. So to all our wonderful readers, writers and contributors, we implore you to enjoy the summer and this bumper issue. Indeed, rest ye merry, gentlemen and ladies.