Peter Orszag, the head of U.S. investment bank Lazard, urged European leaders to pursue greater independence from Washington. “European politicians need to ask themselves how much volatility from Washington they are willing to endure” he told the Handelsblatt in its Tuesday issue.
In a side comment at the Munich Security Conference, Orszag welcomed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s idea of building an alliance of middle powers. “Why shouldn’t the EU join the Asian free‑trade zone? In a world that is drifting into the power blocs of the United States, China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, Europe should not be left on the sidelines” he said.
Lazard is known for its sharp focus on geopolitics and regulation. Orszag himself left Washington for finance after working for Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. He warned that the Trump administration’s ventures into a variety of companies represented a highly unusual departure from traditional U.S. practice, lacking clear rules and relying heavily on “individual decisions rather than a comprehensive regulatory framework”.
Orszag argued that such a discretionary approach to state capitalism increases lobbying pressure and the risk of inappropriate conduct if firms lose favor. He said that the system of checks and balances has been weakened and that there are fewer oversight mechanisms now than many would like. “In short, there are fewer controls than we would prefer, but that does not mean there are none” he clarified.