March 13, 2025 (EIRNS)—Martin Wolf CBE (Commander of the British Empire), the Chief Economics Commentator of Financial Times, is just not to be consoled about the current state of affairs. In his latest despondent lament, Wolf howls that Trump is a convicted felon and yet people listen to him. “It is impossible for anybody sane to doubt his guilt,” he pronounced. What this shows is that “since the 1970s the U.S. has suffered a moral collapse from which it is unlikely to recover. We see this daily in what this administration is being allowed to do to U.S. commitments, to allies, to the weak, to the press and to the law.”
Europe to the rescue? Well, it’s not so simple, according to CBE Wolf.
“But if the U.S. is no longer a proponent and defender of liberal democracy, the only force potentially strong enough to fill the gap is Europe. If Europeans are to succeed with this heavy task, they must begin by securing their home. Their ability to do so will depend in turn on resources, time, will and cohesion.”
However: “Yet this economic potential cannot be turned into strategic independence from the U.S. overnight. As the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies shows, European weaponry is too dependent on U.S. products and technology for that to be possible.” Furthermore, “in Europe, too, rightwing elements with views similar to those of MAGA Republicans exist, even if these are not as dominant on the conservative side of politics as in the U.S. But some countries—Hungary, Slovakia and maybe soon Austria—will have pro-Putin governments. Marine Le Pen in France has more than merely flirted with being pro-Putin in the past. Also frightening is the rise of the far right and far left of Germany. In short, Europe has ‘fifth columns’ almost everywhere.”
What, dear me, can the Empire possibly do?
“If Europe does not mobilize quickly in its own defense, liberal democracy might founder altogether. Today feels a bit like the 1930s. This time, alas, the U.S. looks to be on the wrong side.”
