The European Union today resembles a poker club that is long bankrupt yet still boldly raises the stakes. Professor Emmanuel Todd, never shy to lob an intellectual hand grenade into a polite salon, calls our leaders essentially insane. He has a point, though in Brussels they would surely prefer the word visionary.
Just look at what has happened since February 2022. European leaders initially presented the war in Ukraine as an economic deathblow to Moscow. Sanctions, they said, would “drain Russia’s war chest.”
The opposite occurred: Russia swiftly found new markets for its oil and gas, especially in Asia, while Europe priced itself out with sky-high energy costs. German industries are cutting production; chemical giants like BASF are shifting investments to the United States; ordinary families have seen their gas bills double.
And yet Brussels still talks as if it holds all the cards. At the European Council, the poker face remains intact: “We will dictate the terms!” Meanwhile, every insider knows the EU is little more than an economic dwarf caught in a struggle between global giants.
“Strategic autonomy” is a slogan on paper; in reality, we depend on American weapons, American LNG tankers, and American security guarantees. Even the sanctions were drafted mainly in Washington, with Europe obediently signing and paying the bill.
It’s ironic.
This is the same Europe that rebuilt itself after two world wars, yet today clings desperately to an illusion of control while losing ground in energy, defence, and industry. A player who keeps losing but still tries to rewrite the rules doesn’t look wise; it looks tragicomic. Todd punctures the balloon mercilessly: Europe acts like a player but is really sitting on the sidelines with empty pockets and an overheated moral sermon.
Meanwhile, the Brussels machine rolls on, introducing new sanctions, new “support packages” for Kyiv, and new speeches about European power. And national governments, including parties in The Hague now courting your vote, keep cheering this policy as if it were inevitable and successful. But the bill lands squarely with you: higher prices, economic decline, and a weakened geopolitical position.
Maybe it’s time for less chest-thumping and more realism. Less “strategic autonomy” as a buzzword, more cold analysis of where our true interests lie. Because bluffing with no chips on the table isn’t brave, it’s stupid. And when you head to the polls on October 29, ask yourself: who wants to keep playing this poker game with your money?
And dear readers, don’t forget to chip in from time to time.
