Europese Unie, crisis, banken, 2011

A nice nostalgic view on the recent European calamities. Mak's main explanation is that the war generation is dying off. People who had experienced the horrors of war were convinced about the need of European cooperation and integration. Younger politicians like Gerhard Schröder, Tony Blair, Nicolas Sarkozy were quite willing to sell out Europe for their personal gain. Mak's quest for a European Roosevelt is futile, though, because politicians compete for a national not a European audience. It is also a sad fact that while Europe as a whole is losing economically, the Davos crowd is gaining relative ground. Increasing the contradiction, up to know, has been a winning strategy for them and it looks like they will continue to play the same game. Mak's short essay thus can but end in nostalgia and an appeal to hope. ( )

Mak toont zich uiterst kritisch over de wijze waarop Europa de financiële crisis te lijf gaat, wijst met name Duitsland maar ook Nederland en Finland met de vinger ('moraalridders') en gelooft nauwelijks nog in het voortbestaan van de unie in de huidige vorm. ( )