Strange things are happening in “Old Europe,” as Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld famously called it in 2003. At that time, transatlantic differences were over Iraq, when two major members of “Old Europe” condemned the war against Saddam Hussein that was destined to open a disastrous Pandora’s box in the Middle East. Now, once again, the…
There was a time when political crises in the liberal democracies originated among the elites that were the only stakeholders of power. Since then, things have changed in a tumultuous fashion as crisis is no longer internal but proceeds directly from the people with the elites unable to control it. France is a dramatic example…
“Make France Great” seemed to be the mission of French president Emmanuel Macron while visiting the American president who had launched his electoral campaign on a similar slogan. In truth, Macron aims at “making our planet great again,” as his office has put it, by embarking on a diplomacy that is closer to the American concept of “soft power,” a…
Americans should welcome the election of Emmanuel Macron to the presidency of France, not only because he succeeded in arresting the crushing wave of populism in France but for the astonishing feat that he performed in passing himself off to the French electorate as the alternative to the strongly entrenched political system. This is indeed…
Rather than judging European elections with American parameters that do not apply, Americans should take some comfort from the fact that the French elections have proven that France has voted against decline and the interference of terror. The outcome of the election (correctly anticipated by the polls, unlike the November election in the U.S.), is…
Marino de Medici 