I think this news won't dominate the headlines, but I think it is a clear sign the circle of authoritarians have lost the plot. Europe turned out to have too many cards. This seems intended to hit Germany and destroy its industrial base (after the billions of dollars in coerced investments in the USA). But part of me thinks this is also an assignment given by the Russian handler in last week's 90 minutes phone call.

Note that Trump managed to alienate Stubb, Merz and Meloni by now. I left out Macron, as the rift with Macron came earlier. In my view, it is quite over now. I don't expect Merz trying to flatter the American president, nor do I expect Europe to accept further extortion.

I don’t think I can overstate how incredibly damaging to the US’s ability to negotiate anything, this constant changing/altering/reneging/tearing-up of deals is. Any state or organisation that fails to treat the USA as anything other than a bad-faith actor, is doing themselves and their constituents a great disservice.

I can’t imagine what (and how long) it might take for the USA to regain any credibility as a reliable party to negotiate anything with.