The uniform of Europe’s governing elite — the politicians, senior civil servants, think-tankers and advisers who run governments from London to Brussels to Moldova — is the dark-blue suit.
Go to one of the tribe’s conferences and you’ll see hordes of white men, aged 45 to 60, in the blue kit. For a male tribe member to wear anything else would be a revolutionary breach, and Europe’s governing elite doesn’t do revolutionary breaches. That is part of its problem.
Europe is under unprecedented pressure from Russia, China, climate change, AI and Donald Trump (who the tribe has finally, quietly, accepted is an enemy). This tribe hopes to ward off multiple catastrophes at once by following its trusted method: wait until adversaries act, then respond feebly. To understand its ineffectiveness requires understanding the well-meaning people who staff it.