Editorial: Seeking the political centre

The keynote speech made by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola recently in New York is a not-so-subtle warning against protectionism and populism, with many important messages to be read between the lines.

Metsola was talking to global leaders at the NYC Concordia Summit, stressing that the US and the EU needed to focus on the common ground between them even as she highlighted the realities of rising populism and extremism.

Her speech called on them to face up to the reasons why people were becoming intolerant and protective, saying they had to find solutions and not bury their heads in the sand.

She described the EU and the US as “two of the most powerful economic and democratic forces on the planet”, but this must be seen in the context not only of the size of the economy, but in terms of how it translates to the power of each household to survive and flourish.

The easiest thing to do in the world is to blame people for being too shallow and insecure. The hardest is to understand why they feel that their homes, livelihood, culture and jobs are threatened.

In her speech, she rejected the idea that lofty values could not co-exist with the reality of open trade, environmental protection, growth or innovation, among other things.

And she referred specifically to the need to “manage borders without losing our compassion”.

It is hard not to see her comments in the light of the US elections and the different approaches being adopted by the Democrats and the Republicans, especially when it comes to immigration, free trade and democratic values.

The EU and the US have been allies for decades but it would be naïve to ignore the gap between the two sides of the Atlantic, and how this could be affected by the outcome of the US elections in just a few weeks’ time.

Metsola was not only speaking about the US, however. Her message was also a clear one to leaders within the EU itself, where the far-right made inroads during the June European Parliament elections.

They placed first in five countries, and second or third in another five, but the fact that they did not do better than that was down to the fact that other parties saw the writing on the wall and reviewed their policies before it was too late.

This was not without risks: the more centre-right parties had to find a way to do this that did not pander to extremist views, while at the same time making voters feel that theirs was not a voice in the wilderness.

The EU vision is to replace uncertainty and fear with optimism, working to improve the economy and increase the number of jobs.

The main thrust is that rather than doing this by closing borders and slapping on tariffs it should become more competitive and smarter, using innovation.

Metsola warned that “isolationism, over-protectionism, and over-regulation” cannot work in the world we live in.

She was also clear about the global challenges, from Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and the risk of escalation in the Middle East, to the need to face up to China’s values and India’s expansion.

She claims the EU and US are a “partnership which stood the test of time”, but her call for the need to compromise reflects the reality that the partnership could fall apart unless efforts are made to reclaim “a strong political centre”, avoiding “a race to the bottom”.