Macron bashing is en vogue

That’s the way it goes: Only three years after his celebrated start as a reformer, France’s head of state Emmanuel Macron is now blamed for all the evils of the EU. Even in the Council.

At the October meeting of the heads of state and government in Brussels president Macron – as announced – resisted the start of accession negotiations for Albania and Northern Macedonia.

This has now earned him all kinds of imprecations. The Italian Prime Minister Conte – an advocate and ally of Albania – spoke of a “historical mistake”.

The same words were used by the head of the Commission, Juncker. Council President Tusk was so upset that he even questioned the right of veto that the EU states have over enlargement.

Perhaps the gentlemen should remember the “successes” of the last accessions. Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia – all three have turned out to be problem cases and weakened the EU.

But that doesn’t interest much. It’s about a general account with someone who questions “business as usual” and wants to reform the EU before it admits new members.

Suddenly everything comes up again: Macron’s blockade of the “Spitzenkandidaten”, his enthronement of Frau von der Leyen, his angry reaction to Madame Goulard’s failure in the EU Parliament.

He is self-opinionated and presumptuous, even the EU bosses and their otherwise so buttoned-up diplomats say. Only Chancellor Merkel did not say a bad word about her French friend.

She has repeatedly blocked Macron’s reforms, even with a German veto (scandalised by no one) – and is thus partly responsible for the current EU crisis.

But now it almost looks as if she were the last to refuse the rampant Macron bashing…

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator