Italian PM Mario Monti, Greek PM Lucas Papademos, German chancellor Angela Merkel, French president Nicolas Sarkozy and European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi.

Europe says goodbye to solidarity

The solidarity that has always been at the heart of the European project is based upon hard-headed self interest. For the union to survive the current crisis, it needs to relearn this simple principle.

Published on 24 February 2012 at 15:02
Italian PM Mario Monti, Greek PM Lucas Papademos, German chancellor Angela Merkel, French president Nicolas Sarkozy and European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi.

Some words are the property of continental Europeans. You do not hear many Brits or Americans talking about “solidarity”. The expression belongs to the soggy (to Anglo-Saxon minds) consensualism of social market capitalism and to prophets of European unity. What’s happened lately is that solidarity has dissolved. This explains why the euro, and the European Union, are in so much trouble.

Another week, another sticking plaster. The deal to prop up Greece has bought some more time. The important thing – or so we are led to believe – is that the wound has been cauterised. Again. Yet, it should be blindingly obvious to all that, in the great scheme of things, the latest bail-out is a sideshow.

Two things are needed if Greece is to avoid catastrophic economic and social collapse. They apply whether it stays in or leaves the euro. The first is sufficient political resolve within Greece to reform radically the state and economy; the second is a reciprocal willingness among other Europeans to foot a sizeable bill for the failures and fraud of past Greek governments.

The pertinent question is whether such a bargain is available. The omens are not encouraging. Behind the name-calling that marks out Greece’s relationship with its eurozone partners lies a complete breakdown of trust. Many Europeans – and I am not talking only about Germans – do not believe that politicians in Athens will keep their promises; many Greeks think that the draconian austerity demanded as the price of debt relief is calculated to punish rather than rehabilitate. A fair observer would probably say that both sides have a point.

Receive the best of European journalism straight to your inbox every Thursday
Tags

Was this article useful? If so we are delighted!

It is freely available because we believe that the right to free and independent information is essential for democracy. But this right is not guaranteed forever, and independence comes at a cost. We need your support in order to continue publishing independent, multilingual news for all Europeans.

Discover our subscription offers and their exclusive benefits and become a member of our community now!

Are you a news organisation, a business, an association or a foundation? Check out our bespoke editorial and translation services.

Support independent European journalism

European democracy needs independent media. Join our community!

On the same topic