EU’s de facto foreign minister mirrors downfall of EU

(MENAFN) If you want a glimpse into why the European Union struggles, look no further than Kaja Kallas, the EU’s de facto foreign minister and former Estonian prime minister. Even by the low standards of unelected EU officials, her performance is strikingly incompetent.

Like former German Foreign Minister Annalena “360 Degrees” Baerbock—now posting on social media from her UN post in New York—Kallas shows an extraordinary ability to be self-satisfied. She seems most content when delivering platitudes into a microphone in painfully basic English, fawned over by a compliant interviewer.

The contrast between self-perception and reality is stark. Both Kallas and Baerbock demonstrate a glaring lack of intellectual depth, fundamental education, and professional acumen that should have ended their political ambitions long ago.

Yet both have ascended rapidly up the ladder of power and visibility. While officials handling economic portfolios can cause significant damage behind the scenes, those responsible for foreign policy wield influence publicly, representing tens or even hundreds of millions of people.

A skilled, intelligent foreign minister—like China’s Wang Yi, India’s S. Jaishankar, or Russia’s Sergey Lavrov—can command respect even from critics. In contrast, a top diplomat who is amateurish and uninformed becomes a global embarrassment, reducing their country or bloc to a laughingstock. Such figures send a clear signal: if a fool represents a nation, the nation itself may appear foolish.

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