Guardian opinion: Europe is drifting and divided. This feels more like 1914 than 2014.
With every day that passes it gets easier to see how Britain might accidentally stumble into withdrawal from the European Union into a highly uncertain future by 2017. More than that, with every passing day that the eurozone fails to address its economic malaise and political paralysis, it becomes easier to imagine the EU’s eventual break-up into … well, no one knows, but it will not be pretty.
As in much else in 2014, it feels eerily like the prelude to the outbreak of war in 1914 must have felt. Everyone knows something is terribly, dangerously wrong with the way we are conducting our collective affairs, woefully short-term in our responses, seeking safety by compromising on the basics – like a householder cancelling the fire insurance to save money.
On top of which, Cameron’s repeated failure at alliance-building in Europe, his willingness to blink rather than call Ukip’s bluff, is craven. Who in sight would be better? I’ll ring you back. Is Merkel up to the important job of saving him from himself? It’s beginning to look like No.
Disappointment and suspicion abound; the public mood is ugly. Yes, the xenophobic sentiments have alerted sensible opinion and raised public support in Britain for the EU to its highest level for 30 years. But that could so easily be swept away by miscalculation and jingoism on both sides of the EU debate as Cameron’s promised 2017 referendum looms, much as the peace party was swept aside in 1914. The same goes for Europe if it can’t shake off recession: a north-south split anyone?
http://www.theguardian.com/world/blog/2014/oct/29/europe-divided-drifting-feels-like-1914-2014
There seems to be much to recommend about this editorial in terms of its assessment of the future of a united Europe. I hope it turns out to be unduly pessimistic. The idea that history cannot repeat itself is a dangerous one to rely on.
