Putin ‘Radically Rational’, Not Mad: Former French President

Elysee Palace Hosts the "Normandy Format" Summit In Paris
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Peter Caddle

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is not a madman but “radically rational”, according to Emmanuel Macron’s predecessor as President of France.

François Hollande, who served as President of the Fifth French Republic from 2012 to 2017 and employed eventual successor Emmanuel Macron as his economy minister, has dismissed claims that Russian leader  Vladimir Putin is insane, instead describing him as a leader who is “radically rational”.

Many have tried to paint the Russian head of state as a madman since Moscow seriously escalated its military activity in Ukraine in February 2022, with former British prime minister Boris Johnson even at one point blaming the ongoing invasion on Putin’s “toxic masculinity“.

However, according to a report by POLITICO, Hollande does not seem to believe insanity has anything to do with Putin’s decision-making, with the Socialist Party grandee instead painting a picture of a leader concerned with the dynamics of political, social and military power.

“He is a radically rational person, or a rationally radical person, as you like,” the former French President — who repeatedly led negotiations with Putin during his time in office — said of the Russian leader.

“He’s got his own reasoning and within that framework, he’s ready to use force,” Hollande explained.

“He’s only able to understand the [power] dynamic that we’re able to set up against him.”

Such claims stand in stark contrast with those made by others in the West, with many senior politicians repeatedly questioning how rational Vladimir Putin really is, and even whether he is the one making the key decisions in the Kremlin.

For instance, while speaking at the globalist World Economic Forum (WEF) conference in Davos, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly questioned whether Putin was really “alive”, saying that he was not sure whether the Russian head of state was actually the one making the decisions or was just an individual who “sometimes appears against a green screen”.

The aforementioned Boris Johnson has also previously questioned Putin’s rationality in invading Ukraine in a more comical manner, suggesting that the decision to send troops into the nation could have been inspired by some inherent flaw in the Russian leader as a man.

“If you want a perfect example of toxic masculinity, it’s what [Vladimir Putin is] doing in Ukraine,” Johnson previously declared regarding the invasion.

However, while Hollande seems to be in complete disagreement with such figures on the rationality of Putin, he does seem to agree on the prevailing approach to him, claiming that there would be very little point in engaging the Kremlin in dialogue at this point in time.

According to the former French president, the question of how much utility dialogue has in currently ending this conflict has “unfortunately” already been “settled” by previous attempts, with previous talks — in his view — only providing the benefit of depriving Russia of “any arguments or pretexts”.

Hollande also appeared to warn against Western overconfidence in relation to the war, saying that the idea that political power in the European Union was moving east to more pro-intervention nations like Poland was an illusion, and that the bloc was still overly reliant on the United States for its defence.

“These countries, essentially the Baltics, the Scandinavians, are essentially tied to the United States. They see American protection as a shield,” he remarked, adding that while the United States had so far been willing to help the EU out, things may change in the future.

“[President Joe Biden has shown] exemplary solidarity and lived up to his role in the transatlantic alliance perfectly. But tomorrow, with a different American president and a more isolationist Congress, or at least less keen on spending, will the United States have the same attitude?”

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