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“We behave like servants in front of Trump and we don’t know how to behave in front of the Chinese.” This is the sharp analysis of former Prime Minister Romano Prodi, who spoke at the Trento Economics Festival, where he denounced the weakness and lack of unity of the Old Continent: «Europe should have a united capacity for intervention».
“Now we are weak, we first sided with Trump and now he is playing his game a bit, but it is not said that we have a future in Europe,” he observed. “It takes a political plan and enthusiasm.” And on the evolution of the internal political framework, with the reference to Vannacci: «Now with Vannacci let’s imagine how the situation will evolve».
German rearmament and European leadership
Among the central themes of the speech, German rearmament, which according to Prodi represents “a great change within Europe”. «Germany has never spent anything on defense and in one day, in a change of government, it decides to allocate a budget double that of France. This changes the European structure and little is thought about it.”
The former president of the European Commission recalled how the continental balance has long been supported by an agreement between Paris and Berlin: «There has always been a tacit agreement between France and Germany to indicate European leadership. Suddenly Germany presents itself as a military leader. Do we really think of a Europe in which one commands and the other pays?”.
Hence the alarm about the stability of the common project: «Here we are not understanding the rules necessary to be together. Furthermore, France and Germany are friends but no longer brothers as in the past.” And the reference to the role of Rome: «It is the Italian function that is missing, that of the glue».
The Thucydides quote and the Trump method
On the balance of power with the United States, Prodi quoted Thucydides: «The real phrase of Thucydides to quote is that the world is like this, the powerful do what they want and the weak suffer what they can. Trump put it into practice.”
The power of big tech
There is also space for large technology companies and their market valuations. «There has always been a relationship with expected profit in prices. Here, immensely high profits are expected. I don’t know if there will be, but it is a change in the world and politically,” he said. «I don’t know where such control, even political, of all humanity by big companies could lead. A very complicated problem to deal with.”
«No return to politics»
Responding to the director of Il Sole 24 Ore, Fabio Tamburini, the “professor” ruled out his return to politics: “Even though I felt very comfortable at Palazzo Chigi.” Then he glossed over Schlein and Conte: «I don’t give unsolicited advice».