Editorial
Newsday
STRONGMEN are surging on the world stage. In contrast, the leaders of Europe’s largest democracies are stumbling.
Keir Starmer lost his deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, on September 5. Emmanuel Macron lost his prime minister, François Bayrou, days later. Frederick Mertz uneasily rules in Germany amid a surge in the radical right AfD.
But the most eloquent expression of European struggle came on September 7 when the GPS of a plane carrying Ursula von der Leyen was jammed over Bulgaria. This incident endangering the European Commission president, attributed to Russia by the commission, barely made a blip on the global radar. Donald Trump brushed it off, joking it would silence Ms von der Leyen’s calls.
Sir Keir’s loss of his deputy is devastating. Serving as his secretary of state for housing and as deputy of the Labour Party, posts which she has also resigned, Ms Rayner was a powerful symbol. She had risen from being a teenage mum on a council estate to serving at the highest level of government. Her story and her relatability, which contrasted with the British PM’s lawyerly demeanour, clothed his administration with a plausible sense of meaning. At a moment when Downing Street appears to have ceded ideological principles on a range of topics, from human rights to immigration, to fend off figures like Nigel Farage, she was the “Labour” in the Labour government. Not anymore. The only silver lining is that her departure has paved the way for David Lammy, who is British but has Guyanese lineage, to be promoted as deputy PM. But the government is floundering in the polls, with Trumpian figures like Mr Farage weaponising race, religion and immigration.
It’s the same in France. Mr Macron is still dealing with a wound he inflicted on himself when he called a snap election last year in a gambit to secure stability and to defuse Marine Le Pen. That backfired. Ms Le Pen holds more power than ever. If he succeeds in appointing a replacement for Mr Bayrou, it will be Mr Macron’s third prime minister in a year. Mr Bayrou lasted nine months; Michel Barnier, just three. Ms Le Pen is frothing for an election that could bring down Mr Macron two years early if a budget can’t be passed.
Ms von der Leyen’s agreement to a 15 per cent EU tariff deal with Mr Trump in July was a sign of blood in the water. Hemmed in by Russia, which continues its deadly Ukraine insurgence, European leaders are scrambling to raise military spending amid debt. All yearn to play a role on the global stage. But all are being forced back to Earth by matters at home. And all are running out of time.