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Hernando Today

European Union Anything But Unified

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JOHN REINIERS, Special to Hernando Today

Published: February 2, 2008

From a reading of or listening to our traditional media, one gets the impression that European governments are models to be emulated, and their citizens are thrilled; whereas the U.S. is hopelessly flawed. Perhaps a more accurate view is that we all have shortcomings, but the preferred media attitude - as well as that of the United Nations, a hopeless failure itself - is to find fault with the U.S.

One thorn doesn't make a rose bush, but one disgruntled Belgian is so sick of the political divisiveness in Belgium that he recently posted on eBay that Belgium was for sale. It could be said the divide between the Flemish and Waloons in Belgium is somewhat similar to the fractious red and blue divide in the U.S., but the difference is that Belgium is dangerously close to separation. (And it is after all, the seat - the capital - of the European Union.) This divisiveness is seen as a microcosm of the problems facing the EU, which is anything but unified. A political science professor at the University of Antwerp observed that it will be hardly possible to create a Unified Europe "if you can't even bring a small country like Belgium together."

What would be the attitude of the United Nations if it were faced with the possibility that the United States was in the process of disintegrating? So while Democrats and Republicans may be sniping at each other, Belgium and other Europeans don't exactly have bragging rights over political harmony.

And L'Humanite reports that all is not well in France: That newly elected President Nicholas Sarkozy and "his pals, the big bosses and billionaires ...know that the class struggle continues." (That is the mantra of the Democratic "Two Americas" Party.) And in eerily familiar Bush-whacking language "that after six months with Sarkozy as president, the people are beginning to understand that his policy is directed against them... a total rethinking of the ...consensus underlying the welfare state." (That's exactly right. Sarkozy is attacking their welfare state to keep France from going down the tubes.) As one economic commission concluded: The French need to know "that the future of work is no longer in the public sector." On top of that Sarkozy never did convince the French to work a 40-hour work week. But you watch. It's only a question of time before the liberal left calls for more strikes to send a message to the government.

France and Europe are still paying the price for too many years of rule by Jacques "Iraq" Chirac, who famously said to Saddam Hussein, "You are my personal friend. Let me assure you of my esteem, consideration, and bond." (It's no mystery why Hussein thought the U.N. would never follow through on its sanctions.)

What would European critics of the U.S. say about America if we had rampaging youths throwing Molotov cocktails and setting fire to cars in Washington, D.C., and a president who had saluted Saddam at every opportunity? Yet they and our traditional media keep hammering away at U.S. failures in both domestic and foreign policy.

But not to pick on the French - and this pains me because of the Italian side of my family. The former Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, is said to have gotten into politics to preserve his many companies from corruption charges. Makes sense. His brother then confessed to corruption charges, and guess what? Berlusconi's government then passed a law to excuse imprisonment for most corruption crimes.

Then to go one better, the government passed a law granting Berlusconi personal immunity from criminal prosecution until he completed his term of office. (He allegedly bribed judges.) Why? Berlusconi was about to be convicted and sentenced to jail right after he took over the chairmanship of the Council of the European Union. Interestingly, President Chirac sought similar changes in French law to avoid corruption charges while mayor of Paris.

This kind of stuff makes one wonder about the constant drumbeat of blaming America first for all the ills of the world. But the Democrats, the European media - and ours - keep flailing away at the U.S.

Europe can do no wrong. America can do nothing right. Maybe we both have problems. They embrace socialism with all its flaws, and we, capitalism with its many obscenely compensated CEOs and debacles such as the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and the sub-prime mortgage crisis we face today. The difference is that capitalism can be fixed, whereas socialism is forever.

Somehow we've got to get beyond cutting "everyone down to the same level" and figuring out how to make everyone just a bit taller.

John Reiniers, a regular columnist for Hernando Today, lives in Spring Hill.

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