Peter Orszag, the chief executive of Lazard, urged European politicians to seek greater independence from the United States. “European leaders need to ask themselves how much volatility from Washington they are willing to tolerate” he told Handelsblatt in its Tuesday edition.
During the Munich Security Conference, Orszag applauded Canadian prime minister Mark Carne’s proposal to build a coalition of middle powers. He questioned why the EU should not join an Asian free‑trade area, noting that the world is fragmenting into the blocs of the United States, China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. “In that environment, it would be unwise for Europe to be left on the sidelines” he said.
Lazard has long been known for its strong focus on geopolitics and regulatory issues. Orszag himself moved from Washington’s political arena to the financial world after working for Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Looking back at the Trump administration, he warned of the dangers associated with Trump’s “discretionary state capitalism”.
Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. government took stakes in several companies-an unusual move for the United States, according to Orszag. “There were no clear rules; decisions were made largely on an ad‑hoc basis rather than a comprehensive framework” he noted. “In the long run, this approach breeds more lobbying and raises the risk of improper conduct, because firms can suffer significant losses if they fall out of favor”. He argued that the system of checks and balances has been weakened, concluding that while there are fewer safeguards than many would like, some controls still exist.
