Regarded by many elites, including themselves, as the solitary guarantors of the global liberal order, President Emmanuel Macron of France and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany are the toast of the town in every Western capital. But a fair assessment of these two would be far less flattering.

For all the criticism President Trump gets for undermining the West and the cause of peace, we believe a lot more is owed to the leaders of the greatest powers in continental Europe. Macron and Merkel are to blame for many of the ills of today’s world.