Brussels must act in a tangible geopolitical way, with facts and not with long documents. The European Union and the Europeans in NATO are called upon to make a defense and security policy, to continue support for Ukraine and, after the war with Iran, to engage also in the Persian Gulf and wherever freedom of navigation is threatened – politically, economically and militarily. The protection of European interests can no longer be delegated to the goodwill of the United States.
By Stefano STEFANINI
Donald Trump’s America will come “first” (where? It has been on the moon since 1969), but in the meantime it is alone. Over the past 72 hours, Donald has broken relations with everyone, even opening an “extraterritorial” front with the Pope, in violation of the separation of politics and religion rooted in the US Constitution. An isolated case like that of Israel is not enough to change the overall picture, on a global stage that includes the Euro-Atlantic, the Indo-Pacific, the BRICS, the Western Hemisphere, as well as the Middle East and the Gulf, where the US has exercised and/or competed for world leadership for three quarters of a century.
This is the geopolitical West, built on a system of alliances, partnerships and various balances, where NATO is the most structured political and military component and Europe the most privileged partner. The President of the United States chooses to isolate himself from it. And by isolating himself, he divides it. Europe (and Italy) have thus become part of a “halved West”.
This halved West is navigating more turbulent international waters than at any time since 1945. Two major wars are underway – in Ukraine and in the Persian Gulf – directly involving a major power: Russia in Ukraine and the US in the Persian Gulf, which have initiated these conflicts by choice. The two major non-Western powers, China and Russia, could want nothing more than to further fragment the non-American half of the West. Meanwhile, developing countries in Asia, Africa and the Americas are demanding a place at the international table, which is the essence of multipolarity. In this halved West, Europe has most of the “butter” – economy, demography, industry, technology – but also the “balls” – yes, even in military terms, although little has been invested for decades, the Europeans have the resources, capacities and experience gained in the field, including two nuclear powers.
There are also important partners, starting with Japan and Canada, but the sustainability and future of a West without the US – even temporarily – remains uncertain. This divided, that is, halved, West is not an exaggeration, but a statement of the radical change in the course of American foreign policy in Donald Trump’s second term. And we are only a third of the way through it.
First came last year’s tariff war – on everyone, friend and foe. Then the Anchorage rapprochement with Vladimir Putin, as the Europeans try to tighten sanctions on Russia to shore up Kiev. Then the still-unretracted claim to annex Danish Greenland, with no regard for self-determination or international law. Then the war with Iran, then requiring Europe’s help to deal with the severe and foreseeable consequences, such as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The energy, agricultural and inflationary consequences this has caused on a global scale – from which not even the US, despite its oil and gas reserves, is immune – have put the US president in a dead end from which he does not know how to get out.
Except by blaming others. He who is the cause of his own misfortune must weep himself. Not Donald Trump, who on the contrary always blames others. And so begins a series of attacks on NATO, Keir Starmer and Giorgia Meloni. The Italian Prime Minister is in good company, but with an additional sting for lack of courage, which sounded like “you too, Brutus, my son!”.
Of course, for Donald, just hours after the defeat of his loyal ally Viktor Orbán, the defense of Pope Leo XIV by the “fantastic woman” of Italian politics must have been a severe blow. Understandably so. With no more foreign leaders to attack, he turned once again on Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell – an appointee of his. The open clash with Pope Leo XIV was a double mistake. It alienates a portion of the Catholic and conservative Christian electorate that had voted for Trump – it remains to be seen how much and whether this will recover by the November election; in six months Trump is capable of unexpected turns and his name will not be on the ballot anyway.
But above all, it places the President of the United States in front of the spiritual leader of 1.4 billion Catholics in the world and – precisely at the moment when Leo XIV addresses Africa – it restores the Pope to the head of the West. Not only as a religious leader, but as a leading figure in values, ethics, morality, international rights and democracy. All these topics have been dealt with decisively by Leo XIV in his interventions, which have provoked Trump’s reaction. In this West of values, Europe can play a powerful unifying role. But, unlike the Pope who calls for values, Europeans must realize them. That is, act on the concrete terrain of realpolitik.
Brussels must act in a tangible geopolitical way, with facts and not with long documents. The European Union and the Europeans in NATO are called upon to make a defense and security policy, to continue support for Ukraine and, after the war with Iran, to engage also in the Persian Gulf and wherever freedom of navigation is threatened – politically, economically and militarily.
The protection of European interests can no longer be delegated to the goodwill of the United States. (La Stampa)