Our World in 2018

A few years ago I was fortunate to meet
one of his personal friends, a person who
travels often to Greece and is a top executive
in the German automobile industry. I asked
him how did the late Chancellor assess
the situation after the economic crisis. He
replied that he was more concerned about
the stability of the European infrastructure.
His statement was reported on all the
German newspapers at the time: “I will not
allow them to destroy the Europe we build
.
was not able to act on it…
Going back in time, during our private
dinner 15 years ago, he had explained why
things have changed so dramatically: “The
old guard of European leaders we have
all lived through war. We know, thus, that
we have to do everything in our power to
avoid it. To do so you have to make mutual
compromises. You also need to understand
one another, the problems of each one and
The Europe of Kohl, Mitterrand,
Adenauer and De Gaulle had no
room for herd mentality like the one
we often see today. Central bankers were
not the ones who decided upon the social
face of politics.
There was no room for nationalist
racism from the part of the bigger countries
towards the smaller ones, of the Northern
countries to the southern ones. Even if
some thought of it they did not act on it. It
was not recorded in the decision making of
the then European Economic Community
(EEC) or in the actions taken by the big
European powers.
Nowadays the South is referred to in
the newspapers of the Northern countries
with the uncourteous label P.I.G.S. which
includes the initials of all south European
countries (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain).
T
pigs.
In February 2016, Holland and Austria
decided to organize a summit with the
participation of the Balkan countries
concerning the refugee issue. The summit
did not include the most prominent
OUR WORLD | 2018
Theodore
Roussopoulos
Theodore
Roussopoulos is
a Journalist, and
Adjunct Professor
in History of
communication
at European
University Nicosia.
He has served as
Minister of State of
Greece, and holds
a PhD in History
from Edinburgh
University.
EUROPE’S FUTURE
European Balkan country, Greece, and the
one that is mostly dealing with the huge
waves of refugees in the Aegean islands.
When it comes to statements there
seems to be some kind of support but not
when it comes to actions.
Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic
violating all the European agreements do
not allow in their territories any refugees
coming from Greece or Italy.
It is in the shores of Greece and Italy
where millions of refugees either struck
by war or in search of the promised land/
of better living arrive in the European
continent. Once upon a time we all, more
or less, felt as Europeans maintaining at the
same time our pride, culture and history.
We were assimilated by the participation
in the common currency, the freedom of
movement and the European vision. Today
it seems that these ideals give way to petty
interests. Many leaders, nowadays, are
strengthless/powerless.
Instead of taking bold decisions and
leading their people through harsh times
they choose to follow a mob of populist,
right wing extremists and in some cases
even fascist elements. Those actions,
though, lead Europe into becoming an
appalling formation, one that, like a
disease, kills itself.
Helmut Kohl, who died in 2017, was
the last of those political leaders who lived
E
was divided by war and not just economic
inequalities.
include a good deal of social perception
and sensitivity. Did the vision of another
Europe die with him? The Europe that so
eloquently described one of the greatest
political leaders of the 20th century Winston
Churchill when he said:
“We hope to see a Europe where men of
every country will think of being a European
as of belonging to their native land, and…
wherever they go in this wide domain…will
truly feel, ‘Here I am at home’”
What happened to that vision? Where is
that home?
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