Europe today is a case of lots of presidents yet nobody leading
Your cut-out-and-keep guide to people who no longer matter in the EU
For several years in the early 1990s Deng Xiaoping ran China despite having no formal title other than Most Honorary President of the Chinese Bridge Association. The European Union today is roughly the opposite: a place crawling with presidents, yet nobody in charge. An unexpected power vacuum has befallen the continent in the midst of ongoing war, a budding trade spat with China and a nerve-jangling election in America. Whether in Brussels or in national capitals, those on hand are otherwise engaged, usually with their own domestic difficulties. Can someone—anyone—step up to lead Europe?
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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Too many cooks, too little cooking”
Europe June 22nd 2024
- Emmanuel Macron faces heavy losses after a short campaign
- A hard-right 28-year-old could soon be France’s prime minister
- Hard-right parties are entering government across Europe
- Russia’s latest crime in Mariupol: stealing property
- Why southern Europeans will soon be the longest-lived people in the world
- Europe today is a case of lots of presidents yet nobody leading
From the June 22nd 2024 edition
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