This Should be the UK's Moment to Lead

How Brexit passed the leadership of Europe's response to the Ukraine War over to France

For the past two weeks President Emmanuel Macron of France has been deliberately and repeatedly making an effort to take over the leadership of Europe’s efforts in response to the Russian full-scale invasion. He has made a number of very powerful and dramatic interventions, both claiming that European forces might have to be deployed into Russia and, just as importantly, reframing the Russian invasion as an existential threat to the Europe that has emerged after 1945.

Macron is trying to take leadership of European security that, without Brexit, would have been Britain’s natural role.

Macron Stakes a Leadership Claim.

Some of the rhetoric Macron has been using is striking. He has called for a “strategic awakening” and when he received some criticism for saying European forces might end up in Ukraine, Macron “double-downed”, saying his words were “weighed, thought through and measured”.

And its interesting to see how his remarks are having an impact. The Czech government, for one, after first disavowing the idea of European troops in Ukraine, changed its tone markedly on the issue two days ago.

Though, one of the most fascinating things surrounding Macron’s efforts is that had Brexit not occurred, it would have more likely been a UK Prime Minister rallying and leading a European response.