We are at that moment in Animal Farm when the gentle carthorse Clover looks through the window to see the pigs playing cards and drinking a toast with men.

Speaking in Munich last week, America’s vice-president, J.D. Vance, offered a taste of how the home of fine wines, classical architecture and welfare cheques faces humiliation, when he ridiculed Europe as decadent and undemocratic.

Remarks by Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are fueling concerns that the U.S. will move away from Europe and align with Moscow.