Macron’s plan to save Europe is compelling – but he’s on his own | Timothy Garton Ash

The French president is the best European leader we’ve got. But without support from Germany, there’s little he can do

France is back: vigorous, lucid, ambitious. Hurray. But who else is there to help get Europe going again? Italy is having a nervous breakdown, Spain weighed down by trouble at home, Poland throwing a massive wobbly, Britain hovering near the exit, and Germany slumped on the sofa. Talk about a dysfunctional family.

But let’s dwell for a moment on the good news. Macron is spelling out a coherent vision for reviving Europe, while briskly proceeding with long-overdue change at home. Twelve months into his five-year term, he has used his parliamentary majority and the extraordinary power of the presidency created by Charles de Gaulle to push through a whole raft of domestic reforms. His government is considering what Le Figaro calls a “vast programme” to cut public spending by around €100bn (£88bn) over the five years of his term. Here in Paris, train strikes make getting about a little bit more complicated, but the inevitable protests have so far been modest by French standards. If the eurozone economy keeps growing – and with the Italian crisis, that’s now a bigger if – France could not only have more growth but, crucially, more jobs.

Related: Macron went mano a mano with Trump, but will he have anything to show for it?

I looked across to Merkel and I reckon she gave about two perfunctory handclaps, maybe two and a half

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