RUTHFULLY YOURS

As PJ Media’s own Michael Walsh reported earlier today, Angela Merkel has apparently had a falling out with U.S. President Donald Trump. On Sunday, she told a crowd at an election rally in Munich that Europe “must take its fate into its own hands” because it can no longer rely on the U.S. as a loyal ally.

The times in which we could completely depend on others are on the way out. I’ve experienced that in the last few days. We Europeans truly have to take our fate into our own hands.

To which she added that “we have to fight for our own destiny.”

My esteemed colleague comments in his own article about Merkel’s statements:

If it took Trump’s typical bluntness to finally get the message across that the Europeans are now responsible for the mess of their own making, good. Germany in particular has coasted under the American nuclear umbrella for decades, allowing it to a) concentrate entirely on rebuilding its domestic economy, infrastructure and social welfare state and b) thumb its nose at American warmongering imperialism. It’s one of the least attractive aspects of the German character; the gratitude that the immediate postwar generation felt for our having rescued them from Hitler and the love Germans felt for all things American have vanished. In their place has come a churlish, we-can-take-it-from-here mutter that does not become them.

All true, but there’s something that must be added to the above: Merkel can talk all she wants about Europe taking its destiny into her own hands, but everybody in Europe knows Merkel and her friends aren’t doing anything of the sort. Despite the threat Russia is supposed to pose to our safety and freedom, not one European “power” is willing to invest heavily in its military. Merkel, Emmanuel Macron, Mark Rutte (of the Netherlands), and all the other Western European leaders continue to rely on the U.S. for their security.

Merkel’s words don’t change reality: Europe cannot get by on its own. We are still dependent on the U.S. for our most basic need (security) and that’s not going to change anytime soon.

Instead of insulting the current occupant of the White House, Merkel would be wise to take a page from British Prime Minister Theresa May’s playbook. Unlike Merkel, May is determined to have a healthy and productive relationship with Trump’s America, which is extremely wise because Britain is nearly as dependent on the U.S. as the rest of Europe. What’s more, May’s efforts seem to be paying off with Trump choosing her side after American intel officers leaked sensitive information about the terror attack in Manchester. That’s what a smart European leader does. Sadly, “smart” appears to be above Merkel’s pay grade.