Nationalistic, anti-migration, revenge against the previous administration: Donald Trump has started his second term of office with a vengeance. And how is Europe reacting? With magic formula that sound like soundbite, especially in Germany.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) recommends a “straight back” towards Trump. Good yell, Chancellor. This will make a powerful impression on the Trump camp. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) makes similar comments. “Our answer to this 'America First Again' is 'Europe United, '” she says. It sounds similar with Union Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz: “What is our answer: to play small, cower, be afraid? “450 million inhabitants lived in the European Union, more than in Canada and America combined.
These are appeasement and outflows of political self-suggestion.Anyone who sings the praises of Europe's strength as an economic and democratic power of values in the age of Trump 2 is deluding themselves. The EU is divided and not pulling in the same direction. The calls for unity are hollow and wishful thinking at best. Right-wing populist heads of government such as Italy's Giorgia Meloni or Hungary's Viktor Orbán are pulling out and trying to cook their own national soup with Trump. The new US president loves this: he can dictate the terms of bilateral agreements better than if he is confronted by a united EU.
You have to ask yourself: Where is your plan, Europe? The community had eight years to prepare for Trump's second term. Where is the powerful strategy, where is the sophisticated tactic? The sobering realisation is: nothing. “Europe must also learn the language of power,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen once said. A demand that faded away in nothingness. In the Trump 2 era, Europe is a projection screen for dreamers.
China has shown how it can work. Like everyone else, the People's Republic was completely unprepared for Trump's first election victory in 2016. Beijing has now adjusted to Trump. If Trump swings the tariff club, China blocks metals such as gallium and germanium - materials that are important for the battery and chip industry. But from a position of strength, Beijing can also offer concessions.
In order to make itself less dependent on America for exports, the People's Republic has long since flipped the switch. This opened up new markets in Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa. The EU, on the other hand, took more than 20 years to negotiate the Mercosur agreement with South American countries.
But the leadership in Beijing is not just thinking tactically, it is pursuing a long-term plan. By 2049 - the 100th anniversary of the People's Republic - China wants to be at the forefront of global economic and innovation. The aim is to achieve global market leadership in ten key industries, such as electric mobility, robotics technology and aerospace technology.
Europe - and that includes the UK - needs a similar vision of strength. Economically, militarily and politically. Companies must be given the best possible conditions without too much bureaucratic interference. In these times, efficient economies are the measure of all things - not social benefits that are financed from the substance. Trump is a wake-up call: Europe must find a position of strength - or it will go under.