Globalist French President Emmanuel Macron told citizens in European Union (EU) countries to resist “nationalists and sceptics” and support him as he pushes for greater integration of the bloc.
Breaking from tradition by addressing “fellow citizens” in the EU rather than solely the citizens of the country he was elected to govern, President Macron told television viewers on Sunday evening: “2018 is a very special year and I will need you this year.”
“I need for us, together, not to give way on anything, neither to nationalists nor to the sceptics,” he said, in a thinly veiled attack on Central Europe’s efforts to sweep away remnants of its Communist past and its resistance to mass migration.
Macron, who had said he would rule like a Roman god and claimed his thoughts were “too complex” for journalists, added: “I will continue to work with all of our European partners, especially with Germany.”
Macron’s ambition for a “more united” EU mirrors that of former president of the European Parliament and contender for German government coalition partner Martin Schulz, who said he wants to see a federal “United States of Europe” by 2025.
In December, Macron and Merkel committed to plans for a “banking union” after Macron led the charge amongst member states for a centralised EU budget and finance ministry, a common European office for asylum to enforce the bloc’s migrant policies, and an EU Army.
After the mainstream media prematurely celebrated the waning of nationalism and populism following the French and Dutch elections, a progressive think tank released a report in December which found that the wave of populism has not yet crested and could likely become a permanent fixture of political structures in parts of Europe.
Conservative prime minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán warned the EU’s leaders to begin listening to the voices of their citizens lest they find themselves voted out of office.