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As President Trump’s “shock and awe” policies radiate around the world, they are galvanizing support for moderate leaders and unifying Europe.
March 12, 2025, 12:01 a.m. ET
In Britain, a languishing prime minister is suddenly a statesman, while his up-and-coming populist rival has been thrown on his heels. In Canada, the incumbent Liberal Party has a chance to win an election long thought out of reach. In Germany, the incoming center-right chancellor is dominating the agenda after an election many feared would be a breakthrough for the hard right.
As President Trump’s “shock and awe” policies radiate around the world, they are reshaping global politics in unforeseen ways.
Mr. Trump’s sweeping tariffs and threats to the trans-Atlantic alliance have breathed life into centrist leaders, who are regaining popularity for their willingness to stand up to the American president. His clash with Ukraine and tilt toward Russia have thrown right-wing populists from Britain to Germany off balance, blunting, for the moment, their efforts to capitalize on Mr. Trump’s restoration to the White House.
“One of the great ironies of Trump is that he turns out to be the great unifier of Europe,” said Constanze Stelzenmüller, an expert in trans-Atlantic relations at the Brookings Institution in Washington. “It is impossible to overstate how shocked Europeans are by what’s happening.”
The “Trump bump” goes beyond Europe. In Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum has won praise, and stratospheric poll numbers, for her coolheaded handling of Mr. Trump’s tariffs. Mark Carney, a former central banker, was catapulted to the leadership of Canada’s Liberal Party with 86 percent of the vote on the belief that he can manage a trade war with the United States.
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