May 2, 2024 - 5:30pm

→ Emmanuel Macron: all European nationalists are hidden Brexiteers

Emmanuel Macron is embracing his newfound role as Europe’s prophet of doom. In an extensive interview with the Economist published today, Manu takes aim at the usual suspects — Russia, men of fighting age who don’t want to be sent to Ukraine — but also finds room to make a comparison between European populists and Brexit supporters.

“So I say to Europeans: Wake up. Wake up!” the French President implores. “All European nationalists are hidden Brexiteers. It’s all the same lies. In the end, it’s the same results. And make no mistake. If you entrust the keys to people who think like they do, there is no reason why Europe should become a great power. No reason at all.”

Elsewhere in the Economist chat, Macron claims that “the best way of building together [in Europe] is to have as few nationalists as possible.” But hang on: what’s this? The man who would like to be known as Jupiter seems to have some nationalist impulses of his own. “The French nuclear deterrent,” he argues, “is the quintessence of the sovereignty of the French people.” Weapons as national symbols? We’re entering dangerous territory here…

→ Americans unite around Old Glory

Anti-Israel protests are uniting Democrats and Republicans, with the Mayor of New York City offering a full-throated condemnation of the flying of a Palestinian flag at Columbia University.

“You don’t take over our buildings and put another flag up. That may be fine to other people but it’s not to me. My uncle died defending this country,” Eric Adams said of the Columbia protests. “So blame me for being proud to be an American. We’re not surrendering our way of life to anyone.”

He joins the UNC Chapel Hill frat boys — who went viral for hoisting up an American flag in the midst of a campus protest — in a moment of national pride in Old Glory. Nothing like a campus protest to bring Americans together. 

→ Tories haemorrhage Leave voters

It was less than five years ago that Boris Johnson campaigned and won on a mandate to deliver Brexit, gobbling up the UK’s Leave vote. Now, according to the latest Times/YouGov poll, the Conservatives have fallen to third place among Leave voters. Reform UK’s total of 32% of the vote share may not be wholly surprising, but Labour now sits at 28% for Brexit supporters, ahead of the Tories on a dismal 27%.

Perhaps the most worrying part of the poll, for Rishi Sunak at least, is that Reform is still climbing. Richard Tice’s party polled at 16% among all voters, closing the gap with the Conservatives to just 2%. If Nigel Farage puts an end to the flirting and actually heads up Reform for the election, that 2% will surely disappear. With the Tories also third among Remain supporters, losing the Leave contingent makes one wonder what the party stands for anymore.