This Is What an Unraveling European Union Looks Like
There’s no single button to switch off decades of monetary and political union. But Trump, nationalism and sheer inertia pose genuine dangers.
Five days before Poland’s presidential election in May last year, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem landed near the country’s border with Ukraine to make voters an offer.
The US position was clear: If Poland elected nationalist candidate Karol Nawrocki, President Donald Trump would guarantee the country’s security, keep American troops on its soil and supply its military with US weapons. If voters backed the liberal frontrunner Rafal Trzaskowski, she said, their borders would be left unprotected. Faced with those options, Poles did just as Trump’s emissary demanded.