It seems that no American president has ever had such a low rating in his first year in office. The image of a weak old man created serious problems for the government.
The president managed to regain leadership thanks to the events in Ukraine. He began to prepare the world for the upcoming invasion and confrontation with Moscow (despite Zelenskyy's opposition), provided the first serious weapons to repel an attack (the delivery of several dozen Javelins during the Trump era was more of a symbol than a defensive factor), and so on.
You remember the subsequent events as well as I. Thus, the political situation in the United States probably saved Ukraine's sovereignty.
It seems that Macron's recent statements are of a very similar nature. He has never claimed to be a strong leader, and the attitude toward him has been respective of that. Just think of Putin's assessment in a conversation with Burns on the eve of the invasion of Ukraine (described in Burns' book): "The situation in Europe is the most convenient for me - Merkel is gone, and Macron is a weakling."
I don't understand much about the internal political realities of France, but it seems that under the pressure of a number of factors, there is a demand for a leader who is much tougher and more decisive (not Obama, but Reagan, relatively speaking).
And Macron is trying to meet this public demand. To the best of his ability, of course.
About the author. Karl Volokh, political analyst, blogger.
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