The West was constituted in its modern form in January 1917. World War I was raging in Europe at the time and in Washington, DC, President Woodrow Wilson told his country that it was time for Americans to take responsibility for "peace and justice." In April he said: "The world must be made safe for democracy." He declared war on Germany and sent soldiers to Europe to secure victory for the Western democracies - and the United States assumed the leadership of the Western world. It was an early phase of political globalization. One hundred years later: Trump.

Trump, who wants nothing to do with globalization; Trump, who preaches American nationalism, isolation, partial withdrawal from world trade and zero responsibility for a global problem like climate change. And all of this after a perverse election campaign marked by resentment, racism and incitement.

We now face emptiness - the fear of the void. What will happen to the West, to Europe, to Germany without the United States as its leading power? Now we must come to terms with a lack of Western leadership.

America was long the benchmark for the West. But if Trump governs as he promised he would during the campaign, the land of the free will abdicate its role as leader of the free world. Then, it will be Europe's turn. The continent must resist populism, with a smart mixture of taking fears seriously and confronting the rage, but without curbing freedoms.

And it is high time Europe places a stronger emphasis on the European Union. This has been said and written thousands of times already, but perhaps the Trump shock will help to ensure that it finally happens.