For two days, on October 22-23, Europe set about doing something it may do better than anything or anyone else: talking. The Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) represents a lot more than opening up the pan-European discussion to its citizens.
My first brush with political correctness was surprisingly traumatic. I had to get to know the aggressive version of political correctness before I would appreciate its calm necessity.
The West’s dramatic exodus from Afghanistan will leave numerous losers and very few clear winners. While the United States’ humiliating exit will be celebrated by the world’s jihadi movements, neither China nor Russia will reap zero-sum benefits from it.
Some refused to heed the warnings concerning the pandemic. Now the massive wildfires in Greece and elsewhere around the Mediterranean, on the heels of major floods in Northern Europe, are sounding a loud alarm.
Every 30 to 40 years, the pendulum that defines the balance between the state and the market will start to swing in one direction or the other, starting in the US.
For Europe, Joe Biden’s presidency brings high hopes for reinvigorating the transatlantic partnership. For the United States, succeeding in this task is a prerequisite for achieving an ambitious broader agenda.
The US election results brought great relief to the friends of American democracy (and liberal democracy in general) around the world. The election of an experienced, moderate, dignified, “institutional” new president, a decent man to boot, raises hopes in Europe.
The first US election results contradicted most opinion polls, which predicted a far greater lead for the Democrats. The count so far lies at the lowest threshold of expectations.
There is no mystery about what result Europe would prefer on November 3. No American president has been able to unite European leaders and people against him as much as Donald Trump.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan is aggressive and militaristic. He has invaded Syria, Libya, Iraq, he supports Hamas against Fatah in Palestine, does not recognize Cyprus, and has quarreled with half the Mediterranean.
The escalation of tension with Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean poses obvious dangers, which however pale in comparison to future risks. What are the main trends shaping tomorrow’s conditions in the region?
How do you deal with an expansionist neighbor who feels uncomfortable in his Western suit, cramped within his existing borders?
“I fear German power less than her inactivity,” remarked Poland’s Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski at the height of the eurozone crisis. More than Germany leading Europe, Europe must fear a Germany that eschews its leadership responsibilities.
The coronavirus crisis has become the ultimate accelerator. Procedures that once inched along have suddenly adapted to the aggressive pace of the virus’ spread.
Europe speaks many languages, but the language of global power is not one of them. Worse than political misfortune, this is historical carelessness, to paraphrase Oscar Wilde.
