Especially after Brexit, to talk about the European Union was to talk about Franco-German relations, about the two powerhouses that propelled the continent forward.
But now, mere days before European Elections that are expected to show conservatives forces obliterating the Globalist governments of these nations, Politico reports on how French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are looking like ‘lame ducks’ to the rest of the Union, and how new European players look to fill the leadership vacuum.
“With the European election less than two weeks away, France’s Emmanuel Macron is in Berlin on Tuesday as part of a show of Franco-German unity. According to a French official, Macron aims to ‘set the agenda’ and ‘lay out strategic priorities’ for Europe’s future alongside his German counterpart, Olaf Scholz, during the visit.”
The ‘engine’ of the EU project is not in charge anymore
“It’s not just that Macron and Scholz have a notoriously icy personal relationship. Or that officials in Paris and Berlin gleefully brief against one another, with the French accusing the Germans of being narrow-minded and hidebound by their coalition — and the Germans saying France is full of nonsense (or something else) on Ukraine. It’s not even that, on key issues like energy, Paris and Berlin are hopelessly at odds.”
Macron and Scholz are politically weakened at home and lack a shared vision for the union.
“Both preside over lackluster economies. Both face humiliating defeats at the hands of far-right parties ahead of the June 6-9 European Parliament election. In Macron’s case, polls suggest the election could be a rout, with Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party potentially trouncing his centrist Renaissance group by 16 percentage points. Scholz’ Socialists also look in danger of being beaten into a humiliating third place by the hard right.”
The slowing economies and the lack of mutual appreciation undermine any negotiations after the European Parliament elections, so the EU top jobs race are way less predictable.
Macron snubbed Ursula von der Leyen and may back Italy’s Mario Draghi.
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