Was it really worth it? Rioting on the streets, hundreds of people injured and administrative costs of €100 million – all to host an inconsequential waffle fest, resulting in a vague set of resolutions, most of which we knew about already. We all knew nineteen of the G20 leaders are in favour of free trade. We all knew nineteen of the G20 leaders are keen to limit climate change. We all knew Donald Trump would be the odd man out. Why didn’t the Germans save their money and spare Hamburg several days of chaos?
The Spectator said last week that holding the G20 summit in Hamburg was bound to be a risky business. The city centre location made it difficult to police, and Hamburg’s anarchist subculture guaranteed a large pool of local troublemakers. In the end, the police did pretty well: 20,000 Polizei managed to contain around 100,000 protestors – more or less.
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