Zürcher Nachrichten - Leveraging Trump win, embattled Macron eyes diplomatic comeback

EUR -
AED 3.826681
AFN 70.961758
ALL 98.138602
AMD 405.652886
ANG 1.877182
AOA 951.190259
ARS 1045.720247
AUD 1.602814
AWG 1.877897
AZN 1.775245
BAM 1.955573
BBD 2.102956
BDT 124.465544
BGN 1.955294
BHD 0.392554
BIF 3076.642669
BMD 1.041829
BND 1.403837
BOB 7.197164
BRL 6.043693
BSD 1.041579
BTN 87.914489
BWP 14.229347
BYN 3.408604
BYR 20419.848375
BZD 2.099456
CAD 1.456529
CDF 2991.091432
CHF 0.930957
CLF 0.036923
CLP 1018.83097
CNY 7.54601
CNH 7.562783
COP 4573.368835
CRC 530.538382
CUC 1.041829
CUP 27.608468
CVE 110.252195
CZK 25.343745
DJF 185.478458
DKK 7.457729
DOP 62.772709
DZD 139.835759
EGP 51.726992
ERN 15.627435
ETB 127.508391
FJD 2.371151
FKP 0.822333
GBP 0.831435
GEL 2.855018
GGP 0.822333
GHS 16.456089
GIP 0.822333
GMD 73.970229
GNF 8977.957272
GTQ 8.040066
GYD 217.904692
HKD 8.110066
HNL 26.320943
HRK 7.431636
HTG 136.72412
HUF 411.522823
IDR 16610.452733
ILS 3.856892
IMP 0.822333
INR 87.968134
IQD 1364.44153
IRR 43834.955489
ISK 145.523076
JEP 0.822333
JMD 165.930728
JOD 0.738765
JPY 161.244275
KES 134.884334
KGS 90.122166
KHR 4193.512952
KMF 492.268155
KPW 937.645704
KRW 1463.259646
KWD 0.320727
KYD 0.867999
KZT 520.059599
LAK 22878.342838
LBP 93271.167197
LKR 303.144792
LRD 187.998165
LSL 18.795317
LTL 3.076251
LVL 0.630192
LYD 5.086409
MAD 10.478083
MDL 18.997794
MGA 4861.435378
MKD 61.522855
MMK 3383.819949
MNT 3540.134882
MOP 8.35093
MRU 41.443187
MUR 48.810083
MVR 16.10707
MWK 1806.090235
MXN 21.283008
MYR 4.654932
MZN 66.583684
NAD 18.795317
NGN 1767.675143
NIO 38.325549
NOK 11.53576
NPR 140.663663
NZD 1.785942
OMR 0.400943
PAB 1.041579
PEN 3.949541
PGK 4.193513
PHP 61.404399
PKR 289.239507
PLN 4.337676
PYG 8131.055634
QAR 3.798559
RON 4.978071
RSD 116.991412
RUB 108.671879
RWF 1421.834864
SAR 3.911473
SBD 8.734231
SCR 14.272055
SDG 626.663972
SEK 11.497837
SGD 1.402931
SHP 0.822333
SLE 23.68116
SLL 21846.638123
SOS 595.230868
SRD 36.978718
STD 21563.75683
SVC 9.113941
SYP 2617.626467
SZL 18.788818
THB 35.922648
TJS 11.092512
TMT 3.646401
TND 3.309016
TOP 2.440072
TRY 35.9978
TTD 7.074178
TWD 33.946439
TZS 2770.578216
UAH 43.089995
UGX 3848.553017
USD 1.041829
UYU 44.294855
UZS 13362.448044
VES 48.506662
VND 26482.251319
VUV 123.688032
WST 2.90836
XAF 655.880824
XAG 0.033274
XAU 0.000384
XCD 2.815595
XDR 0.792308
XOF 655.880824
XPF 119.331742
YER 260.379151
ZAR 18.915093
ZMK 9377.71492
ZMW 28.772658
ZWL 335.468513
  • BCC

    3.4200

    143.78

    +2.38%

  • SCS

    0.2300

    13.27

    +1.73%

  • BCE

    0.0900

    26.77

    +0.34%

  • RBGPF

    59.2400

    59.24

    +100%

  • GSK

    0.2600

    33.96

    +0.77%

  • RIO

    -0.2200

    62.35

    -0.35%

  • CMSC

    0.0320

    24.672

    +0.13%

  • BTI

    0.4000

    37.38

    +1.07%

  • NGG

    1.0296

    63.11

    +1.63%

  • AZN

    1.3700

    65.63

    +2.09%

  • VOD

    0.1323

    8.73

    +1.52%

  • CMSD

    0.0150

    24.46

    +0.06%

  • BP

    0.2000

    29.72

    +0.67%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0100

    6.79

    -0.15%

  • RELX

    0.9900

    46.75

    +2.12%

  • JRI

    -0.0200

    13.21

    -0.15%

Leveraging Trump win, embattled Macron eyes diplomatic comeback
Leveraging Trump win, embattled Macron eyes diplomatic comeback / Photo: Ferenc ISZA - AFP

Leveraging Trump win, embattled Macron eyes diplomatic comeback

Hamstrung by troubles at home, French President Emmanuel Macron has been firing on all cylinders since Donald Trump's re-election -- seemingly looking to leverage the Republican's return to make a diplomatic comeback of his own.

Text size:

At a meeting of European leaders in Budapest, Macron struck a combative tone Thursday as he urged the continent to write its "own history" at a "decisive moment" in time -- rather than let its course be dictated by the United States, China or Russia.

The French leader may have raised some eyebrows with an odd metaphor to drum up leaders' resolve, warning that "the world is made of herbivores and carnivores" and that Europe must not let itself be eaten alive.

But the pattern is there: since the US victor became clear on Wednesday, Macron has been in diplomatic overdrive -- and his team at pains to present him as spearheading Europe's response.

He was among the first to congratulate Trump, then to speak to him, in a call his office termed "very good", while officials emphasised his pre-existing relationship with the volatile Republican.

At Thursday's meeting of the European Political Community -- a twice-yearly forum that France originally launched -- the Elysee palace highlighted Macron's leadership in urging the bloc to "wake up" to a new reality.

His speech was incidentally the only one carried live aside from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the event's host.

The following day, as leaders pivoted to talks on reforming the European Union's economy -- the Elysee was briefing reporters that the agenda under discussion echoed longstanding demands by Macron.

- 'Hamstrung' at home -

After Trump took office in 2017, his relations with Macron -- then a fresh new face on the world stage, boosted by a resounding election win of his own -- had the initial makings of a "bromance".

Ties later cooled, as the US leader pressed on with a steady retreat from multilateralism that Macron proved powerless to prevent.

But still, "the president knows Donald Trump, how he thinks, how he works," said one French minister, under cover of anonymity.

"I am not suggesting that just because they know each other, they will agree on everything," the minister said. But "the fact they had a personal relationship, even if it was sometimes tough... will help to oil the wheels."

The contrast could not be more striking between Macron putting himself centre stage in Europe and his posture at home -- where he stands badly weakened by his centrist camp's election defeat earlier this year.

"In France, he is totally hamstrung," said political analyst Philippe Moreau Chevrolet. "Trump's election gives him some political breathing space again."

"Macron is someone who needs a political adversary," Moreau Chevrolet argued. "He has always needed to be the hero in one way or another."

"When he is in that narrative, he can be very effective."

- 'Perfect leader'? -

With Trump's return comes an opportunity for Macron to shine -- by pushing Europe to embrace his vision of strategic autonomy in terms of both defence and industrial investments.

This is Macron's terrain of choice -- where he has pushed a clear and consistent agenda over the past seven years, and again in Budapest, asking: "Are we ready to defend the interests of the European people?"

For Gesine Weber, a fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, this might just be his moment.

With Trump returning to the White House, "it's the right time to hope for a consensus" around Macron's ideas, she said.

"It's a chance to be the leader that Europe is missing in the wake of the US election," she suggested.

With fellow EU heavyweight Germany in the throes of a political meltdown, Macron pretty much has the stage to himself -- quite literally in the case of the EPC, which Chancellor Olaf Scholz missed to focus on the crisis at home.

Beyond France and Germany no other leader can claim to speak for Europe -- even if Italy's Giorgia Meloni hopes to play a growing role, stressing her attachment both to transatlantic ties and support for Ukraine.

"Forget about looking for the perfect leader -- for starters we need a leader, period," said Weber -- who sees no current option beyond Macron.

In practice, though, even in Macron's inner circle some acknowledge that his diplomatic wings risk being clipped by the continued instability at home.

"He no longer has the wind in his sails like in 2017," summed up Moreau Chevrolet. And "France's voice on the international stage has been very much weakened."

N.Fischer--NZN