EU must be prepared for war with Russia without American protection

Politicians have learned to clash in politics with other politicians. Traditionally, the foreign policy of a national state or alliance faces the foreign policy of another nation or alliance. It's been like this for hundreds of years.

But that is not the case right now. When Donald Trump is involved, politics does not face politics. Rather, she is facing surprise. There's precedent for such a situation in Western history. In the history of democracies, the miracle chapter is rather short. A person like Trump, is a completely new political “, and requires a completely new approach.

That fact can no longer be questioned after the American president's tour of Europe, including his stops in Brussels, London and Helsinki. There's not much logic to hope that Trump will improve. He's the same, and politicians from other countries have to get used to him.

They must develop a specific strategy for the period during which this president will continue to be in office. For the European Union, the most appropriate strategy can be expressed in a single word: Lethargy. But it's not as easy as it might sound. We don't talk here about the long, regenerative sleep of a bear in its cave.

The legislation in Trump's era requires a complex political concept, which Brussels must follow into the bloc with all member states, to the extent that is possible. If that happens, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and perhaps even earlier than expected.

Trump's shameful conduct during his last trip has two main causes: his explosive engineering, and his worship in an extremely vulgar form of capitalism. In 1989, when Trump was nothing more than a real estate tycoon, he said suddenly during a TV interview with Larry King:” Does your mouth smell really bad? Has anyone told you that? Later, Trump explained the humiliation he committed to the moderator, saying it was a manifestation of his negotiating strategy: putting people in protective positions.

Last week, he showed that this is a concept he evidently uses in politics. He sought to silence German Chancellor Angela Merkel, claiming that Germany is a “Russia's” on the eve of his meeting with him. And he did the same with British Prime Minister Teresa May, openly declaring that her rival Boris Johnson would be a good prime minister.

This behavior is vulgar. And inefficient. All he does is burden the situation, and make it harder to find common language. However, this is the main goal of foreign policy something Trump seems unable to use properly.

As for narcissism: Therump is constantly using superlate to praise his works. Whatever he does, says or thinks, must be the best, greatest of all time.

The days when he feels modest may add a “type target maybe”. One might feel that he is reaching out for himself from overwhelming doubt. And that's what makes his narcissism so explosive. When doubts arise about his self - proclaimed greatness, he is relatively capable of nothing, including the expression of sentences that many, and not just his opponents, view as treason.

His election victory was not as big as he likes to portray. Hillary Clinton received almost 3 million more votes, and Trump became president only because of the American electoral system's features. On close advisers and members of his family, doubts that they have kept in touch with the Russians during the election campaign still weigh.

American intelligence agencies have evidence that Russian agents have intervened in the campaign. The legalization of his election victory. The greatest triumph of this little man's giant ego is due to suspicion.

For this reason Trump threw his intelligence services during the Helsinki summit, and why he betrayed everything representing America, acting as a snare for Russian President Vladimir Putin. All subsequent attempts to withdraw from comments further exacerbated the situation. It's a comedy and tragedy at once.

But that does not mean that Trump is unable to take the right and logical step in some cases. In the early 1970 ' s, Richard Nixon followed a sensitive policy towards China, which added pressure on the Soviet Union, but he is mainly remembered for his crimes as the president of the Watergate scandal and rightly so. Trump is a historic accident, and that's how it should be treated.

His position in office is final: it can be completed for two and a half years; in the worst scenario, we may have to wait until 2021, if it is re-elected. So, what should be done? Europe couldn't make a bigger mistake if it would adapt its policies to Trump's approach, and allow this last one to dictate the agenda.

Nothing ends with Trump. Nothing starts with Trump. This should be Europe's guiding principle. We should not confuse him with the United States. With this president there is no community of values, but that doesn't mean the West is toward collapse. She may be in crisis, she has many problems, but the US remains the founder of modern democracy and its traditions have deep roots.

Trump, doesn't mark the beginning of a strange era. His successor is likely a true politician. This successor may for some time continue the Trump line, for example, the tendency to isolation. But this is a trend that existed long before Trump, and in recent years, it has been among the long-term trends of American politics.

Europe can face this, assuming that European politicians have capable counterparts, true politicians on the other side of the Atlantic. Until then, Europe must avoid distance but also escalation, especially when it comes to the US trade dispute.

Reactions to Trump, must be appropriate, but not revenge. Cold policies are needed. Trump someone will leave, but the U.S. will stay there and have to remain a friend of Europe. It is often said that because of Trump, the European Union must tighten its ranks, establish a common security policy, and be more aggressive in providing its own interests.

This argument gives Trump more right: Europe must do this, no matter who is at the White House. Europe has done very little on the defence front in recent years, and Trump has only served to highlight this failure. Another European interest is that of maintaining good relations with China.

Europe must play the third party, with the other two sides China and the US facing each other as superpowers. Europe cannot resume its role as an accessory, as it was during the Cold War, a period when America established Western access to the Soviet Union. Europe is not involved in this clash, it is independent of

Her.

Free trade, fair economic relations, a mild but persistent promotion of freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law in China: These must be EU-followed guidelines in its relations with Beijing.

The same goes for relations with Russia, although the aspect of security for Europe in this case plays a much larger role. Russia is also a European military power, which can cause considerable damage very soon if you want to.

Europe must build a good security policy, which is as optimistic as pessimistic. Russians don't want war, but if one starts, the European Union should be prepared. Brussels must plan, the long-term absence of an American security umbrella.

These are foreign policy duties, during hibernation and behind. Those are the tasks that real politicians must address. And here is the opportunity offered by the era of Trump: rehabilitation of professional politics. Politicians have a chance to show they are necessary because only they can handle the challenges we face.

“Der Spiegel International”