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ALPERN AT LARGE - Having been gone a few weeks in Europe, enjoying the historic and cultural highlights of some amazing cities while staying tuned in to the BBC and Sky News, and also CNN International, I had both a restful and enlightening life experience with my family that was a trip of a lifetime…but I did see a few inevitable truths.
1) It’s hot as Hades here, but it’s hotter than Hades in Europe.
Whether it’s the El Niño phenomenon or Climate Change (man-made included), the bubble of hot air from North Africa over Europe is creating 100+ degree Fahrenheit temperatures that Europe is just not prepared for.
The argument over whether or not having air-conditioning (A/C) is appropriate for the environment (and with respect to Climate Change/environmental issues) is moving dramatically towards having MORE A/C.
Having people suffer and even die is not OK, and those upset about America’s use of fossil fuels (which includes A/C) and energy usage are backing off in light of China’s own energy usage (which is exploding in proportion far more than anything going on in North America).
The fires in France and Spain and throughout Europe are extraordinary and historic in nature, and the green parks of England are now brown and lifeless this time of the year. Water and energy policy is being reviewed.
The installment of A/C in homes and buildings (roughly 90% in the U.S., 50-60% in Italy, but only 10-20% in England) is going UP. Costs vs. Survival is the issue here.
2) Much of Europe may not like Trump, but the speaking of English on the Continent is going up and Americans may be more welcomed than in previous years.
Maybe it’s the tourism dollars, and maybe it’s the goodwill persisting from the U.S. hosting the 2026 World Cup in soccer, but the relaxed choice of Americans speaking English--and the host Europeans of France and Italy cheerfully responding in English--was a surprise to me.
And no signs or protestors opposing Trump, the U.S., or even foreign policy to be found that I could see.
Perhaps it was too hot. Perhaps Americans’ dollars and Euros pouring into Europe was something the locals cherished and/or the governments wanted to support
—but as cautious and polite as I was as a non-English-speaking guest, no anti-American/Trump sentiments were on display in the cities I visited.
The new Spiderman movie in Rome had small Italian subtitles at the bottom of the scree, but the movie was in English.
I do think that the political upheaval that saw Prime Minister Keir Starmer resign in disgrace in Great Britain, and Andrew Burnham’s efforts to replace Starmer with a few moderate-to-conservative economic moves suggests that economically Europe may be edging to the right.
Ditto with Italy and France, although it’s anyone’s guess what the socialist leadership in Spain will do with that nation’s moribund economy.
3) Europe’s love-affair and obsession with soccer looms large and strong.
Being in London during the Britain-Argentina semifinals, and in Paris during the Britain-French consolation matchup to determine third place, was enlightening. The passion Europe has for soccer is something that myself and other Americans might never understand, but the gusto displayed was a spectacle to behold.
The controversies involving Giovanni Infantino as FIFA/soccer president are complicated but took up a lot of time on the news cycle—so it’s huger than huge, and as huge as the aforementioned wildfires in France and Spain in any given news cycle on CNN International, Sky News, or the BBC.
4) The focus of Trump and American politics is prominent in the minds of the European media.
Whether it’s Iran, Ukraine, the American economy, the dollar vs. the Euro, or the upcoming elections, Great Britain and the Continent appear intrigued by what might happen in the U.S. this fall and beyond.
In the U.K., the media spent about as much time on Trump as they did with their new Prime Minister Burnham, and in France and Italy I think I saw very little about French President Macron and Italian Prime Minister Meloni.
I couldn’t help but think that the wave of Moroccans who swam and rampaged into the Spanish African enclave of Ceuta, and the angry response of the rest of the European Union against Spain for Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez’s immigration and economic policies, suggests that Western Europe is slowly or even sharply (in contrast to previous years) moving economically and politically rightward.
Does Western Europe like Trump? I strongly doubt it! But despite his style President Trump appears to have proven a few points that the U.K. and E.U. are tacitly acknowledging.
In short, I recommend visiting Europe, but NOT in mid-July…but despite all the hot air from Trump and Europe’s leaders, pro-Western sentiments appear on the rise as Western Europe confronts socialism at home and the need to galvanize each nation’s economy, energy grid, and infrastructure needs, and also to address crises both economic in nature and disastrous changes in Europe’s weather patterns.
(Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D, is a dermatologist who has served in clinics in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and is a proud husband and father. He was active for 20 years on the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) as a Board Member focused on Planning and Transportation, and helped lead the grassroots efforts of the Expo Line as well as connecting LAX to MetroRail. His latest project is his fictional online book entitled The Unforgotten Tales of Middle-Earth, and can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. Alpern.)
