No speech but a conversation. The format of Emmanuel Macron’s speech at the Munich security conference was not chosen at random. In recent months, the French President has had several opportunities to express his views on foreign and defense policy, notably at the conference of ambassadors on August 27, in Krakow on February 4, then at the War School in Paris, February 7. But it was sometimes at the risk of being misunderstood abroad. So what could be better than a dialogue to explain yourself in the hope of convincing? Since the “big debate” that followed the “yellow vests” crisis, Macron has shown that he appreciates this type of exercise. He demonstrated it again, Saturday, February 15, in the Bavarian capital.
Questioned by the German ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger, the organizer of this annual meeting of the world gotha of diplomacy and defense which is the conference of Munich, then by the assistance, Mr. Macron exhorted once of the more the Germans to be more ambitious. “I’m not frustrated, I’m impatient”he said, calling on Berlin to “Clear answers” in order to “Give a new dynamic to the European adventure”.
Unsurprisingly, the French president welcomed the remarks made the day before by his German counterpart Franck-Walter Steinmeier, accepting his proposal for “Strategic dialogue on the role of French nuclear deterrence in [la] collective security ” from Europe. “I found myself in sympathy with President Steinmeier’s speech”, declared the head of state, without however sticking to this satisfaction. Because in Munich, Mr. Macron had also come with the intention of questioning the Germans on another ground which complicates the relation between Paris and Berlin, and on which he was more discreet in recent months: that of economic policy.
Europe, NATO, Russia
On this point, the Head of State did not hesitate to be alarmist in portraying the situation in Europe. Since the 2008 crisis, too much priority has been given to reducing public spending and regulating the financial sector, a cocktail “Crazy” which has led to the despair of the European “middle classes”, he explained. While China and the United States “Have chosen to increase their public spending very sharply, (…) I see that in Europe we are continuing fiscal consolidation “, he lamented. Without naming them, the president clearly targeted the German conservatives, several leaders of whom were at the forefront, such as the Minister for Defense and President of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, or the president of the commission. Foreign Affairs of the Bundestag, Norbert Röttgen.
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