J'accuse — the Cowardice of Europe's Leaders

Today, I am feeling ashamed. Ashamed of the moral hollowness of those who claim to lead us. I’ve just returned from the hashtag#ChangeNOW Summit, where thousands of young entrepreneurs gathered—not with slogans, but with real, determined, practiced hope—for a just future. Yet what I heard in countless conversations left me stunned: when asked to defend Europe’s hard-won environmental protections, or to stand firm against Trump’s reckless crusade to dismantle DEI, the CEOs of Europe’s largest corporations responded not with principle, but with hesitation, calculation, and fear.

I accuse Europe's leadership—not of ignorance, but of cowardice.

You see the truth. You sit in Davos and at COP. You commission reports, hire sustainability officers, tout ESG rankings. You know the science. You know what’s coming—but you don't acknowledge. Because you would rather hide.

You imagine yourselves as leaders of “purpose.” You deliver eloquent town hall speeches, produce glossy green ads, commission diversity pledges. But when a bully in the White House sends a letter demanding your submission—you fold. You cut your programmes. You comply with coercion.

You run institutions with vast capacity—over policy, over resources, over the future of nations. And yet, when threats emerge, when the call comes to lead
—to take a stand, to step into the storm— you act as if your hands are tied.

You hedge. You wait. You protect your share price, your US contracts, your quarterly guidance. You do not rise in defense of dignity, of justice, of the future.

Why? Because you never believed your values were worth fighting for in the first place.

This is not a failure of strategy, but of character. Of seeing the truth and averting the gaze. Of recognizing injustice and refusing to name it. Of knowing what matters, but choosing comfort over conscience.

But no spreadsheet can calculate courage.
No KPI can substitute for moral compass.

You stand at the threshold of history—and choose profit over principle. And in doing so, you stain the integrity of Europe. You betray not only your purpose but the very society that enabled your success.

Justice, when not practiced, is perverted.
Courage, when not chosen, becomes complicity.
This is what it means to be unworthy of power.

We built Europe not just on markets, but on ideals. On the belief that power must be directed toward the common good. That human dignity, freedom, and justice are non-negotiables.

But you—our economic stewards—have become the weakest link.

If you cannot find the moral strength to stand for what is right when it's hard, then step aside. Europe needs visionaries. Defenders of the good. Architects of hope. Stewards of our shared future.

I say this without apology: I am ashamed of you. We will not accept your silence as inevitable.

Europe deserves better. The world demands better. And history will remember who stood—and who knelt.