"Patient explanation"

Juncker: “You have to treat Trump with respect”

Jean-Claude Juncker, former President of the European Commission

(Bild: www.viennareport.at)

The former President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, has caused a stir with his statements on Donald Trump in an interview. "There is no point in treating Trump like an idiot," he said. In discussions with him, he said, we should always pay attention to what moves him in terms of domestic policy.

After all, Trump is a domestic politician who sometimes strays into foreign policy, said Juncker. The future US president is "not deaf when you talk to him, but sometimes you have to speak up". The Luxembourg politician was also relaxed about his plans, such as military intervention in Greenland. "The fact that he is threatening military intervention will be driven out of his head by his advisors if he really means it - because Denmark is a NATO partner. And a NATO partner cannot attack another NATO partner. There are enough people in Washington who will say stop."

Trusts Trump's environment
His new environment will prevent Trump from doing "things that don't fit into the international landscape". "Trump had cranky ideas about Europe. He thought that the EU was a construct to fight America and harm it, especially under the influence of the Germans. You have to patiently explain to him that he is wrong," Juncker is convinced.

But we must not pretend that the US President-elect is "a lightweight". The politician from the Christian Social People's Party has already met Trump several times in the past.

Juncker admitted that he was not happy with the current political developments in Austria. "(...) The Austrians are responsible for their own actions. And I hope that they will continue to play a positive role in Europe, although I have considerable doubts about this. My experience, Orban included, is that those who puff themselves up at home quickly lose weight in Europe."