LONDON

“I AM REMINDED of Scarlet O’Hara when Rhett Butler is leaving her in Gone With The Wind,” insists Davis Monroe III, a fellow of the Splendid Isolation Foundation, a think-tank based in Washington, DC. “She begs: ‘Where shall I go, what shall I do?’ And Rhett Butler replies: ‘Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn!’ Well, imagine, Europe is Scarlet O’Hara and Donald Trump is Rhett Butler and you will understand what is happening between the two polities. The Europeans look more and more like a sponger who has been living off his friend, sleeping on his couch, eating his food, only to be suddenly told to leave. It’s a little sad! Generations of Europeans know no better. They have become so reliant on the United States that an American withdrawal causes a kind of panic. American came to Europe to fight Fascism and Communism. In case no one has noticed, they are both gone. Job done. Time to start coming home. Return to the status quo ante.”