Xavier Bertrand could hardly be more different from Emmanuel Macron. The new standard-bearer for the centre-right in France is a hard-bitten career politician who has spent years, decades even, preparing for his tilt at the presidency. He knows where the bodies are buried. He will have buried some of them himself. And he is convinced that the time is ripe for a true professional to get his feet under the desk in the Salon DorĂ© of the ÉlysĂ©e Palace.Â
Germany and France are twin examples of the EU’s dramatic decline
Starmer is courting the EU at precisely the time when its moribund condition can no longer be concealed.
