I know this is a bold thesis. It is meant to provoke thought and encourage debate. Here are some of the considerations that led me to it:
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Europe depends on US military protection, and the US uses this “alliance” as leverage -> NATO gives Washington structural influence over European security choices.
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US tech firms dominate Europe’s cloud and software stack, creating digital dependency. Also, European data often sits under infrastructure exposed to US legal and corporate power.
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Russian energy dependence was a problem for Europe when the Ukraine war started. The US were quite eager when it came to “help” by replacing the Russian energy dependence with American energy dependence.
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US sanctions policy often forces Europe to absorb costs for Washington’s geopolitical priorities.
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American platforms shape European speech, commerce, administration, and most importantly: public debate.
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“Strategic autonomy” exists as a slogan because dependency is already the default.
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The system made him the winner, but i believe he lost popular vote both times and also a huge portion of the nation didn’t vote at all. Sure that also says something about the people of the nation but i think it is fair to to distinguish between a ‘a regime and the people and companies that support that’ vs ‘a national entity including all it’s people and history’.
So they have elected themselves a petulant toddler. So what.
So what???
If those people thought a petulant toddler was their best leader to lead, TWICE, just what does it make those people?
Do you think smart people would have elected him twice?
I don’t know. I’m not trying anymore to understand them.