Slide with Donald Trump? What does that have to be

The Ukrainian President and his European Line Backers in the White House, which was several hours, was by no means backbone, but rather without alternative. Top diplomacy, that has always been theater. What is so uncomfortable to look at this day is the very abrupt change from Shakespeare to Slapstick.

But if Wolodymyr Selenskyj can listen to compliments for his Sunday suit like a chubby communion büblein, while children are bombed dead in his home country, Merz, Macron and Co. also have to endure the verbal pataling and pattering of a man who has the power to put an end to the dying.

Who haven’t already scolded with empty eyes about a lousy joke of the boss? Why should state drivers behave differently than Otto normal powerful? It’s a game. With high operations. But just a game. And Trump, the oldest toddler in world politics, makes the rules. If he is not just throwing the board around, he even plays with: Merz is a “strong person, a strong leader”, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte a “very respected gentleman,” he praised theVisit. Speaking of rod. Of course, there must be limits even for result -oriented flattery. Namely, if the flatterer does not embarrass himself, but what he stands for. In that case the world’s largest military alliance – keyword Daddy Issues.

No, Europe must not submit to Trump entirely. But to accept that his counterpart sits on the longer lever and act accordingly, no European real politician may be too good for that. Merz did nothing else when he brushed the US President at the super summit on the one hand on the one side, but opposed him on the other hand by insisting on the need for an armistice. An impressive maneuver.

If you want to sell Trump something long -term, you have to sell yourself at short notice. Putin, the moral -compatible man at the other end of the value cheman, knows that and can. If this unscrupulousness goes off, only the silence remains away from the slime. Like that of the tech giants, who literally stood behind him at Trump’s crowning glory. Or that of the last old Republicans who have long since lost their strength to dance out of line. This silence is fine as long as it is about share prices and/or personal advantages.

Europe’s leader, and especially Selenskyj, do not hump for your sake, but for the people in Ukraine. Schleimens for peace – that’s disgusting, yes. But a moderate price – and not negotiable in the Trump era anyway.