It’s been a year to forget for Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz. The German Chancellor’s coalition collapsed last month and on Monday he lost a confidence vote in parliament. Elections are now likely in February. The President of France has had a few election issues himself, as a result of which Macron is on his third prime minister in six months and his personal approval rating has sunk to a new low.
Politically, economically and socially, Germany and France are in crisis and no one is benefiting more than Ursula von der Leyen. The president of the EU Commission, who was elected for a second five-year term in the summer, is now the de facto leader of Europe.
Von der Leyen no longer pays much attention to Macron
In October, von der Leyen ignored opposition from Scholz to introduce five-year tariffs on electric vehicles made in China. Macron was in favour of the import duties (up to 35.3
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