RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – It was arguably the stark contrast that so fascinated the audience: On the one side the young French President, who is brimming with ideas and ruthlessly challenges old convictions; on the other the exhausted German politicians, who say nothing wrong, but also nothing that has not been heard a thousand times before.
Emmanuel Macron’s motto at the Munich Security Conference, on the other hand, was: “I believe in politics, in the will of the people to change things”. And he was very clear about what he wanted to change.
The president called for investments to restore “the hunger for the future” to a middle class that is doubting democracy. Macron mentioned the fast introduction of the 5G mobile phone network, research into artificial intelligence and cloud computing as areas where the money should go. He described the debate on the next EU budget as narrow-minded, only diverting attention from the real challenges.
The President seeks a perspective for Moscow
Macron made it clear what he regarded as a challenge. Europe needs a strategy to keep up with the competition between America, Russia and China. Although he declared his support for NATO, he called for greater European efforts to ensure its own security and to be able to act on issues such as migration.
“The US is right to demand that Europeans spend more on their defense.” Europe must be able to defend its interests in its immediate neighborhood, in Africa, the Middle East and with regard to Russia.
According to the French head of state, money alone is not enough. In his opinion, the EU must radically change its policy in a number of areas, for instance towards Russia. He does not intend to lift the sanctions against Moscow, but it should be noted that they have not been effective. “Russia needs a European perspective.”
He said that only by talking to Moscow could things change on that front. As an example, Macron mentioned the Ukrainian summit that took place at his initiative, at which Moscow and Kiev had agreed on an exchange of prisoners. After a long period of stagnation, there is now progress in the matter.
A show and no harsh speech
Macron added that the change in relations would take time, while maintaining that he did not have a naïve picture of Russia. The country has brought many new weapon systems into service, but the rearmament is unsustainable given the country’s limited economic power.
“Russia has achieved a massive increase in influence in the Middle East”, but it will not be able to sustain this position in the long term. Russia is losing out in the competition with China, and the two countries’ cultures are very different in any event. Macron is therefore confident that Russia’s future lies in Europe.
Macron is a man of frank words and grand gestures. While German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier gave a careful speech in Munich, his French counterpart spontaneously answered questions from the moderator and the audience. Where the prepared speeches seemed a little boring, Macron was quick-witted and spirited. He grinned, he gestured and he did not read off the paper. His appearance was a one-man Macron show.
Macron relentlessly charged the EU’s previous foreign policy in the Balkans. He accused the Europeans of hypocrisy, because they promised the countries an imminent accession to the European Union, despite the fact that no one had that in mind. “This is just a way of mocking these peoples,” said the President, using this to justify his veto on accession talks with Macedonia and Albania.
Macron conveys confidence
In Macron’s opinion, the accession procedure to date is too long, too bureaucratic and too poorly oriented towards the real needs of the people. China and Russia would be investing in the Balkans, the Europeans would only be negotiating. Time and again he described EU policy as dishonest. Brussels was pretending that it wished to conclude the accession talks quickly, yet no one was prepared to discuss more funding for this in the budget talks. “The slice of bread should grow bigger and bigger, but the butter on it is becoming smaller and smaller.”
Macron introduced himself in Munich as a politician who loves plain language and is not attached to conventions. Notwithstanding, he failed to answer several questions as to how he intends to manage his European disruption. Moreover, some of the ideas are questionable, such as the call for a relaxed budgetary policy. But Macron conveyed confidence and a spirit of optimism. Compared to the political climate among France’s neighbors on the other side of the Rhine, this is quite an achievement.