State of the Union: Ursula von der Leyen has doubts about Europeans, but not about herself

There is a rather troubling recurring theme in the State of the Union address delivered on Wednesday by Ursula von der Leyen: the low level of trust placed in Europeans’ judgement. They must be protected, of course. And not only against Russia, social media platforms or algorithms, but also against their own opinions. This approach is nothing new. In 2024, whilst standing for re-election, the Commission President…