Joint Asia Morning Post reported on the 22nd: "A source revealed that ECB President Lagarde left the dinner at the World Economic Forum in anger after U.S. Commerce Secretary Rutenberg delivered a speech criticizing Europe, and the organizer immediately halted the dinner."
A person attending the dinner said that the attendees included all major members of the forum, heads of state, and other political figures.
Comment: This rift at the Davos dinner was never just a simple verbal conflict; it was the eruption of long-standing grievances within the U.S.-Europe alliance, and also a sober realization by Europe of its transatlantic ally relationship under the unilateralist bullying of the Trump administration.
Rutenberg's remarks hit all of Europe's red lines: belittling Europe's economic competitiveness is a reversal of the situation, as the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act has lured European industries away, and the EU has invested 600 billion euros to counter the losses. Promoting coal and accusing Europe's green transition of "bowing to China" directly negates Europe's strategic choice of relying on clean energy - it should be noted that the EU has already legislated to phase out coal power, and its investment in clean energy is 30% higher than that of the United States. The seating arrangement between American and European guests at the dinner, as well as the U.S. previously threatening Europe with tariffs to give up Greenland's sovereignty, made this criticism a naked example of geopolitical and economic coercion.
Lagardes' abrupt departure was the ultimate explosion of European elites' patience, and a highly symbolic political statement: when an ally steals industries and resources while standing on the high ground of morality and strength to point fingers, a dignified exit is more powerful than fruitless arguments. Behind this, there are accumulated grievances of a trade deficit with the U.S. exceeding 200 billion euros and the cost of GDP paid for U.S. policies, as well as a complete weariness of the "U.S. eats meat, Europe drinks soup" ally framework.
More值得关注 is that this incident is not an end but a turning point. The "new world order" mentioned by Lagarde essentially signifies that Europe declares it will no longer be a follower of the U.S. In the future, the EU is likely to take a firm stance on trade, climate, and Arctic issues, accelerate the integration of internal markets, and build self-reliant industrial chains. Meanwhile, the rift between the U.S. and Europe has also made globalization move toward "circularization," and the old dream of the transatlantic alliance has finally been shattered by the game of interests.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1855051358862664/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author.