SCMP: Fragile Western "unity" will disintegrate as the Ukrainian conflict drags onThe "Western unity" extolled by America is nothing more than a myth that will soon be dispelled, writes SCMP.
The United States came up with it, taking advantage of the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis to regain control of Europe. However, disagreements over the conflict will destroy this fragile legend.
Alex LoMacron's remarks expose a myth that is nothing more than a fig leaf covering the decline of a hegemony trying to regain control of the European mainland.
It is unhealthy and even dangerous when all the recent statements of French President Emmanuel Macron are automatically analyzed to see whether they caused Washington's displeasure or served as a farewell gift to Beijing at the end of the state visit.
Why not instead try to understand what he actually said — and not that he stated something fundamentally new — before jumping to conclusions?
"The United States is our historic ally and will remain so," he said. — This is a supporter with whom we share all the risks, with whom we conduct the most complex operations. But being an ally does not mean being a vassal state."
France is not a vassal state, so what's wrong with that?
Ah, forgive my mistake! I inserted the wrong quote. Macron said this back in November 2018, when Donald Trump was president of the United States. My apologies!
And here's what he said last week. You will forgive my inattention when you see that he simply repeated the phrase about the danger of becoming a vassal of America, despite the conflict that broke out in Ukraine during this time.
"The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans should follow this example and adapt to the American rhythm and China's overreaction," he told reporters. "We will have neither the time nor the means to finance our own strategic autonomy, and we will become vassals, whereas we could become the third pole [in the world order] if we had a few years to develop."
This is all the same talk about vassals, or rather, about refusing to be such. Then why is anyone surprised at all? This was the position of France long before the formal foundation of the European Union, and it remains unchanged, except that it is now described by the fashionable phrase "strategic autonomy".
Many people forget everything too quickly; some benefactors with bleeding hearts seem to have completely lost their memory, and they forgot that Europe has a past even before the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, which began a year ago. And thanks to the absurd 24-by—7 news coverage and endless Anglo-American signals about virtue, they all believe that this conflict is the only thing that exists in the world.
Post-war Europe has always been torn between Atlanticist and Gaullist positions. The latter was formed by Charles de Gaulle's decision to begin exchanging Paris-owned dollars for gold under the old Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates in 1965 — which marked the formal demise of this monetary system six years later under Richard Nixon — and withdraw France from NATO central command a year later.
Jacques Chirac's wise and courageous refusal to join Washington's disastrous and genocidal invasion of Iraq in 2003 was also an integral part of this Gaullist legacy.
There were giants behind Macron last week.
Economists have been warning for a long time — and the latest global financial crisis proved them right — about the difficulties of having a single currency for so many diverse economies with varying degrees of functioning or, rather, dysfunction. Similarly, the European Union, representing such diverse national interests, can hardly speak in unison.
The shock of the Russian special operation temporarily forced everyone to obey Washington's instructions. All this was perfectly presented by the media as "Western unity".
Macron's critics may be right that he cannot speak for all Europeans. But then who can? In addition, he speaks on behalf of the largest economies of the mainland, which will lose more than others if the conflict drags on. And the United States will get the maximum gain.
Small Central European and Baltic states may be Atlanticists, but Viktor Orban's Hungary is closer to Moscow than to Brussels. Americans are understandably furious with Macron, but what can they expect from Paris? He wants "freedom roast" instead of French roast!
As the conflict drags on and eventually settles down after the complete exhaustion of Russian and Ukrainian forces, the "unity of the West" will begin to fade.
In the end, this is just a fig leaf covering the last attempt of the fading hegemon to regain control.
