The Loneliness of Macron

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…

Trump and Macron, a dialogue between two ‘deaf’ presidents

French President Emmanuel Macron obviously likes to disturb a hornet’s nest, as he did just before President Trump landed in Paris for the celebration of victory in World War One. While calling for a “true European army,” Macron said something that was guaranteed to grate on the American president: “We have to protect ourselves with respect to China,…

Macron and French soft power

“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…

EU survives dramatic test

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…

At stake in election: Europe’s future

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…