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Penguin Diplomacy: Why the EU is reacting with memes to American bullying

2026-02-02 17:30:42Pikëpamje SHKRUAR NGA STEFANO MONTEFIORI

The time for penguin diplomacy seems to have come. Faced with a disappearing old world, Russian disinformation and American bullying, Europeans are responding by any means possible, even using a communication style more inspired by TikTok than ambassadorial dinners.

Finally, in an episode of a meme that was born in early January, the usually serious German Foreign Ministry published a video on Instagram two days ago showing a penguin walking resolutely towards a mountain decorated with the colors of the European flag. On its back it carries a bag with the faces of French President Macron, German Chancellor Merz and British Prime Minister Starmer, while in the background Macron's words at Davos about defending Europe can be heard, with his famous "fo shur" ("of course", with a slightly French and slightly theatrical pronunciation).

German diplomats haven't suddenly gone "crazy," or at least they're not alone. The lone penguin has become a meme following the success on social media of a scene from Werner Herzog's documentary Encounters at the End of the World, where an animal breaks away from the group and dares to explore the ice alone.

Why? A spirit of conquest in the tradition of the American "new frontier", or a suicidal instinct? The White House gave a first version, posting an image created with artificial intelligence of a penguin marching with President Trump towards a mountain in Greenland. In addition to the fact that penguins live in the southern hemisphere and not in the north, Berlin wanted to respond with a European penguin, imitating the communication style of the French Response, the Quai d'Orsay account on X (formerly Twitter), which after months of testing is becoming a kick for Russians and Americans.

At the ambassadors' conference on January 9, Minister Jean-Noël Barrot explained that "French Response aims to leave nothing to chance in the battle of narratives, and it does so with style and spectacular results. Thanks to the team mobilized 24 hours a day, France raises the tone, increases the volumes, and we will not stop there."

The team consists of about ten people working in shifts on the first floor of the Quai d'Orsay, with a more simplified "approval procedure". Normally, every word that comes out of the ministry must pass several levels of control, a slowness that no longer matches the new rhythms of international politics. Traditional accounts resist, with more controlled words, but they are accompanied by the courage of the French Response, which also deals with the "dirty work".

If Elon Musk asks on X “why is the British government so fascist”, French Response immediately responds by posting the famous image of Musk giving the Nazi salute, seen by 7.5 million people. If Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev attacks “EU bureaucrats who in panic continue to criticize X”, French Response responds with the phrase “here are the European bureaucrats in panic” and a video of Andrea Tirone and Roberto Conigliaro, the Turin DJs recreating Italo Disco from the balcony with cigarettes and Campari.

And if the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, insists on X, talking about a "culture that will lead Europe to self-destruction", French Response responds a little later "here is our culture" with a ruthless comparative table EU/US: "Life expectancy 82/72, public debt 81%/120%, infant mortality 3.3/5.6, murders per 100 thousand inhabitants 2/5", and so on.

Europeans seem determined to follow the example of California Governor Gavin Newsom, who many months ago began responding to Trump with the same coin, including the abuse of capital letters.

It is a path not without risks, because whoever gets into the mud, can get stuck in the mud. But the expansion of European awareness also goes through the battle against disinformation and the attempt to capture, not to suffer, the communicative style of social networks./ Corriere della Sera


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