Rousing Europe from its slumber

We hear more and more statements in European media and from politicians about “resisting Donald Trump” as a strategy. Although President Trump’s choice of words is frequently irritating, antagonizing him is a wholly unintelligent approach.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in his speech commemorating 80 years since the end of World War II, mentioned the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and the American president together, as both destroying the post-war order. “It is nothing less than a double epochal break – Russia’s war of aggression, America’s breach of values ​​– it marks the end of the long 20th century,” the federal president said.

Although President Trump’s choice of words is frequently irritating, antagonizing him is a wholly unintelligent approach.

 

It can be considered quite daring to equate the brutal aggression in Ukraine with the measures taken by the present administration in Washington. However, the mindset of the German president is shared by many in Europe’s political and intellectual elite.

He omits, however, other dangers for democracy and a free society, such as the high debt which has accumulated over the last decades through irresponsible overspending of bloated states. The German president is part of the political establishment that has created this situation. It will ultimately result in high inflation and has already led to arbitrary taxation. Lenin himself recognized this as a tool to build his dictatorship, saying the way forward was “to grind the bourgeoisie between the millstones of taxation and inflation.”

A Prince Charming for Lady Europe?

There is no doubt that President Trump polarizes society, not only in the U.S., but globally. And we cannot deny that firm positions do have polarizing effects, though style also plays a role. Nevertheless, if there is a need for disruption to be felt, the wording then becomes harsher.

Donald Trump has his own character, whether one likes it or not. But he is the democratically elected president of the United States, and he genuinely wants to “make America great again.” We have to accept that this is the responsibility of the White House. As a global power, long-term consideration of eventual collateral damage abroad is important. Yet equally important is the responsibility of nations around the globe to fulfill their own requirements to maintaining global order and prosperity.

Many of the great statesmen of the past were unpredictable, and this is not necessarily disadvantageous. We know that with Donald Trump, one has to take him seriously but not always literally. We have seen it again when he shocked the world with tariffs and then started negotiating. He managed a shakeup, bringing everybody to the negotiating table.

The situation now looks different, and if it leads the European Union to compromise on its excessive and self-damaging regulatory barriers and the Chinese to abandon their large-scale subsidies, it might yield positive results. We must not forget that EU regulatory protectionism − such as the Digital Services Act, artificial intelligence regulation, legislation on genetical science and technology, and the data protection rule GDPR − in its excessive and byzantine manifestation, critically limits innovation in Europe.

Positively, President Trump has managed to awaken the sleeping beauty of Europe out of a cozy and holier-than-thou slumber, forcing European politicians to assume long-neglected responsibilities. And this is good. Europeans also have to accept that American democracy is the responsibility of the people of the U.S. and not of Europe.

It would be better to try to understand the American strategies, and for those in Europe to accept their own responsibilities and adapt in a more collaborative way. Because of European negligence, the old continent is in the weaker position. But the requirements set by the new administration in Washington might finally provide the impulse needed for more responsible leadership in Europe.

It would be better to try to understand the American strategies, and for those in Europe to accept their own responsibilities and adapt in a more collaborative way.

 

Expedient and socialist politics have weakened Europe’s political and economic competitiveness over decades, and also created bloated states and technocracies damaging business and individual privacy. There is a considerable need for Europeans to become realistic and grown-up.

But there are myriad opportunities and reasons to find the way back to success and self-confidence in Europe. If the old continent recognizes this, drastically reduces unnecessary regulations and technocratic frameworks and adapts to a mindset of more freedom and less government, then we should in fact be grateful for the “Trump shock.”

This comment was originally published here: https://www.gisreportsonline.com/r/rousing-europe-from-its-slumber/