European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker had a moment of clarity once. He famously said, “When things get serious, you have to lie.”
Given the state of affairs in his beloved European Union right now Mr. Juncker and company are doing a lot of lying.
It is rare in politics to get that kind of honesty from a politician, especially one currently in office. But, Juncker’s statement shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who is even a semi-serious political observer.
It’s why I find it funny that the Democrats and Antifa-Left get so bent out of shape when Donald Trump exaggerates or outright lies. To him it’s a tactic. Catching Donald Trump in a falsehood is like trying to ladle water with a sieve.
So, by the Juncker Maxim, things must be getting very serious because the amount and type of lies being thrown around by people who are supposed to know better have been staggering.
To the point that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, “I simply don’t have any normal terms left to describe all this.”
Lavrov has been the world’s most effective diplomat over the past few years, effectively talking to and cutting deals with people who should hate him and Russia’s policies. What it highlights is that Lavrov and his boss, Vladimir Putin, have been effective simply because they make a deal and keep to it.
They are the opposite of Mr. Juncker. When things get serious they become honest, speaking with one voice.
Part of that comes from having a single administration in power for the past 17 years. It’s easy to keep to agreements when those in power don’t change. The U.S.’s diplomatic history with North Korea, for example, highlights the problems of shifting domestic political winds in…