European leaders who want to cheer up Trump

“Everyone wants to be friends with me”, Trump told reporters in December.

Before taking office on January 20th, Trump has also met with leaders of European allies, who hope to be ready for his second presidential mandate.

It is common for foreign leaders to seek the attention of an American president. But Trump has put aside Washington's old foreign policy habit and is now afraid that the challenges are bigger this time.

Victor Orban

Victor Orban was the first European leader to visit Trump in Florida after the November 5th elections.

The Hungarian prime minister has long cultivated close ties with Trump and was also the first European leader to support his 2016 presidential campaign.

This is a relationship based on ideological proximity and personal chemistry. If this becomes practical favors, it is another matter. Trump has threatened to impose high tariffs for goods from the European Union.

Car imports may harm Hungary, where car producers make up about 12 percent of all jobs in the productivity worker. These include Chinese companies, a problem political issue for Trump.

But for Orban, from a country of 10 million people, special ties to the leader of the most powerful nation in the world are clearly issues of prestige, at a time when he faces political challenges in the country.

Officials in Budapest have told Hungarian Radio Europe Free Radio Service that Trump has also asked Orban for the outcome of Russia's almost three-year war in Ukraine in a series of calls since his victory in the US elections.

Orban has close relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and has attempted to appear as a state man who can facilitate reaching a peace agreement.

Of course, this does not mean that Hungary will be seriously given a role in the peace talks for Ukraine”, political analyst Botond Feldy said.

But I can imagine Victor Orban will accept some kind of symbolic gesture. Let's say there will be a round of negotiations even in Budapest”, he added.

Giorgia Melon

In January, Italy's prime minister, Giorgia Mellon, visited Trump in Florida.

If there were a race to see who visited Trump first, Mellon would be second, but she would probably be a more influential partner than Orban. While the Hungarian leader is largely isolated in the EU, Mellon has many connections.

Many people in the 27-member bloc hope it will be “the Trump's neurox1> whisperer to push the president to decide differently on key issues. Ukraine is one of the mains, as Melon has been a staunch supporter of Kiev. Tarifat is another matter.

Like Orban, Melon is ideologically close to Trump because they share his harsh stand against immigration. Trump called it the fantastic <x0.25” that “has surprised Europe”.

But, unlike Hungary, Italy does not reach NATO's goal of protecting 2 percent of GDP, reaching only 1.49 percent in 2024, according to estimates. If Mellon presses Trump to continue supporting Ukraine, he may ask her to spend more on defence.

“Italia has been one of the countries that have benefited greatly from, say, the American shield on Europe”, Olivier Costa from Sciences Yes in Paris said.

Costa, too, pointed to potential US tariffs as an issue where interests may clash.

Who wants to drink all the French and Italian wines? Who wants to buy all those bags? The impact on the economy would be big”, he stressed.

Emmanuel Macro

Even French President Emmanuel Macron made sure to meet Trump early, welcoming him and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the grand reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in December.

It was an early attempt to influence Trump's attitude toward Ukraine, but so far there is no proof that that meeting had any impact. Trump has threatened to limit aid to Ukraine and has promised to end the war soon, although he has not shown how he would achieve it.

Macron has weakened in France because he faces an ongoing political crisis after losing his parliamentary majority in the elections. His harsh criticism and potential successor, Marine Le Pen, is the closest politician to Trump's type.

“Trumpi is very angry with all those who were happy when he was defeated by Biden. And, I think he really wants to make all those people pay for this, Von der Leenen, Scholz, Macro and all the others. He's back, a little bit like in a movie, Trump 2”, Costa said.

But, Macron carries weight as leader of a nuclear-gun nation, with the most powerful army in the EU and a permanent seat at the UN Security Council.

Like Trump, he has sought to keep open communications channels with Putin. If peace talks in Ukraine begin, he is expected to do his best to get involved.

Keir Starmer

When Trump first came to power in 2016, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's predecessor, Theresa May, rushed across the Atlantic to be the first visitor to the White House.

This is a privilege that British prime ministers traditionally ensure, although it is unclear whether this will happen this time.

Starmer is the opposite of political Trump. He is a cautious social Democrat, while Trump's back-up billionaire, Elon Musk, has been taunting him for weeks.

Britain's international weight is probably limited by BREXT, but it still holds some of the same military and diplomatic cards that France has.

Starmer Foreign Secretary Daniel Lami has spent months working to build personal relations with the elected deputy chairman, J.D. Vance said that both have found common language in their origin in the Christian faith and the working class.

Starmer will also hope that the British roots of Trump his mother was from Scotland can play a role.

“Starmer and the Labusist Party have long been making efforts to build ties with the Trump world and now with the future administration Trump”, Ian Bond from the Centre for European Reform said.

I think Peter Mandelson's appointment as the next ambassador can be seen in this respect. Someone who is, in some way, highly refined political operator. Will it work? They are not natural allies on many issues. But, also, it seems Trump has some weakness for the United Kingdom”, he said.

Olaf Scholz

Facing elections in February, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will likely not be in office much longer.

His predecessor, Angela Merkel, had a hard time with Trump, showing dissatisfaction at his side, while he, on one occasion, seemed to ignore him.

His potential successor, Friedrich Merz, may also find it difficult. Its electoral manifest speaks of the cost of protecting at least “ ” 2 percent of GDP a figure that is unlikely to arouse enthusiasm in Washington, as Germany already spends that much.

Perhaps more important is the fact that Germany has a $60 billion commercial success with the United States, which Trump has constantly criticized.

Musk is also involved in the German political scene, supporting the far-right party Alternative for Germany ( AfD, which Merz has refused to cooperate with.

Trump, however, has not supported these comments, and Germany remains an important partner.

Merz has shown stability, saying the EU should make a new effort for a free trade agreement with Washington. The last such effort was abandoned during Trump's first term. / REL/