Saving democracy

A European Union that goes to such lengths to express its relief and embellish situations so as to partially justify this relief probably doesn't trust the ideas, visions and values that are touted as being strong and dear to all its members.

In mid-March, we heard sighs of relief from Brussels and the capitals of the bloc's leading nations at the victory of conservative Mark Rutte in the Netherlands (though he won having lost a serious percentage of support) and the defeat of far-right Geert Wilders who, however, managed to increase his electoral influence and the number of his party's seats thanks in part to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Now the sighs are being elicited by the two-point lead clinched in France by centrist Emmanuel Macron over far-right Marine Le Pen in the first round of the presidential elections.

Yet there is nothing to be glad about in...