The “Kissinger question” may never have been asked. The popular story goes that when Henry Kissinger was secretary of state, he was frustrated by the poor coordination between the United States’s European allies and asked, “Who do I call if I want to speak to Europe?” No one can recall Kissinger saying this, including Kissinger himself, though he did allow in 2021 that it was “a good line.” What’s more, his late aide Peter Rodman said that Kissinger disagreed with the premise. Rather than speak to the ornamental president of what was then the European Economic Community, Kissinger preferred to divide and rule by dealing with national leaders.

Whom to call now? There is no question who rules Europe today, at least on paper. Germany is the largest state in the European Union by population. It has the largest national economy in Europe. It has the world’s third-largest economy in nominal GDP and the fifth-largest GDP in purchasing power parity. Germany has decisive control over the euro, which is second only to the U.S. dollar as the world’s preferred reserve currency. In 2019, Germany’s trade surplus ($290 billion) was the highest in the world. In 2021, the value of Germany’s exports (just over $2 trillion) was exceeded only by those of the U.S. (just over $3 trillion) and China ($3.75 trillion).