The continent has only itself to blame for its inability to project geopolitical strength
WITH the United States unhinged, China increasingly authoritarian and Russia in full Dr Evil mode, the world desperately needs a good guy to believe in. There is only one candidate for the job: Europe. No other country or region is free, prosperous, endowed with the right values – and large enough to be an example to the world.
But it is not enough for good guys to be good. They also must be strong and determined. And that, I am afraid, is where Europe falls short. Right now, Europe looks anything but strong. It looks wimpy.
First came the so-called trade deal with the US. As my London School of Economics colleague Luis Garicano wrote, it was “not a deal, but a surrender”. Europe made a number of concessions, including acceptance of 15 per cent tariffs on its key exports, in exchange for nothing.
