How’s that working? Emmanuel Macron’s government is basically failing to do anything. Macron is trying to rebrand. His favorable ratings are sinking into Trump territory, and the public has labeled him a “president of the rich.” And Angela Merkel’s future is suddenly in doubt again. Months after the German election, Merkel has been unable to form a coalition government in Germany. The rise of the Alternative for Germany party was expected to only embolden her; instead, it has totally hobbled Merkel’s ability to govern. And she may find, like Theresa May, that forcing elections on an election-weary people will lead to disaster.

It’s not just the big countries. Leo Varadker was made taoiseach of Ireland by Fine Gael party insiders. His nation has the most to lose from Brexit, and its economic interests rank low on the list of priorities in London, Berlin, and Paris. In fact, many in Europe would like to see Ireland humbled for doing dodgy tax deals with American tech companies. Varadkar should be working fanatically to create ready-made solutions for the overwhelmed government in Britain to adopt. Instead, he says that he won’t help, in the hope that Brexit just won’t happen. Oh, and the Irish political class is preparing itself to finally accept Sinn Fein into potential coalition governments.

It’s getting so desperate in Europe that Italians are thinking of returning to Silvio Berlusconi for a modicum of stability. It’s like a drunk leaning on Boris Yeltsin to steady himself. All the popular leadership in Europe seems to be coming from the economically dependent Central European nations.