30 April 2024

Project Syndicate's Leonard: The Macron Moment

Underlying all the problems that Europe faces in a new age of geopolitical, economic, and climate insecurity is a crisis in leadership. Judging by his recent speech at the Sorbonne, French President Macron could be the politician to supply it, but only if he abandons his standard political playbook

The days of Europe buying its energy from Russia, outsourcing its businesses to China, and relying on the United States for its security are over. The European Union is only mortal and could very well be vanquished at the hands of Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Donald Trump, or its own populist parties.

That was French President Emmanuel Macron’s warning at the Sorbonne on April 25. With great flair – and at great length – he issued a wake-up call to French citizens, and indeed to all Europeans. It is no exaggeration to say that Europe’s security, prosperity, and culture are under threat. With the zeal of a convert, Macron argues that the stakes in Ukraine include not only Ukrainians’ future but also the future of Europe: “The condition sine qua non for our security is that Russia does not win the war of aggression it is waging against Ukraine. This is imperative.”

Even though the US Congress has finally passed a supplemental aid bill for Ukraine (as well as Israel and Taiwan), Europeans must recognize that the US has only two priorities: “America first, which is legitimate, and China.”

Macron warns that Europeans have entered a new world where raw materials face harder supply constraints, critical minerals are governed by geopolitics, the green transition is growing more urgent, and neither China nor America respects the rules of free trade. And on the political front, he deplores the fact that Europeans are increasingly succumbing to imported culture wars. The more their politics are shaped by narratives produced elsewhere, the less equipped they will be to shape their own future....

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