But if Ms. Merkel is confident, many of us are still unsure how to deal with Mr. Trump. On one hand, he might offer a corrective to the operational blindness of European elites when it comes to globalization — or “cosmopolitan overstretch,” as the Dutch sociologist Ruud Koopmans calls it. Inasmuch as Mr. Trump’s coarseness has a refreshing effect on public debates in America, that can already be felt in debates here, too. The classic Shakespearean fools were early Trumpish-speakers, summing up the absurdities of the main actors for the groundlings.
Maybe. But on the other hand, Mr. Trump’s witlessness will cause major damage if he doesn’t learn his lead role quickly. Just as the new president doesn’t know how many member states NATO has, he obviously has little clue about the anxiety his loose talk generates in Central and Eastern Europe. He uses the same words when talking to European journalists as he does speaking at Ohio campaign rallies: an admirable quality to some; a sign of deep ignorance to others.
That the same words can mean different things to different people — especially in different countries, with different cultures — is part of Diplomacy 101, and something people expect from even novice politicians.
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