Europe to face great changes due to its rulers
By Hans Vogel
It seems outrageous to assert European rulers are stupid, yet there is no other qualification that better describes their current behaviour. You want proof? I shall give you proof.
Confronted with the biggest crisis of capitalism in more than a century, hardly any single politician currently in power in any European nation has had the courage to call a spade a spade and to tell the electorate what is going on. Not a single politician has told his voters: “we are in deep trouble, things are going to be even worse and no one knows when and where this will end. We are at loss, we don't know what is happening nor what measures to take, but please, let's stick together and ride out the storm. We will do everything in our power to ensure you and your loved ones will be safe. We can give no guarantees, we will protect you from harm as much as we can, but you must support us.” As a matter of fact, that would be the ONLY sensible and decent thing to say. Because, let there be no mistake about it, most societies in Europe are in jeopardy of utter desolation, of dissolution even.
Those in power are fully aware of this, but they don't know what to do. They are afraid—no, correction, terrified—of being thrown out of office by popular rebellion. I guess this is the only thing they are sure about since, like all political animals, they have developed a keen sense of danger, especially concerning their own survival. The governments of Iceland and Latvia, two small, peripheral countries, have already been brought down by angry crowds. It is merely a matter of speculation when the next government will fall. It is certain that more will follow the fate of the Latvian and Icelandic rulers.
When the government of the first major European country is toppled, this may be unleash a full-scale European revolution comparable to the great 18th and 19th century revolutions sweeping across the continent. We may indeed be witnessing the beginning of a profound change. As a matter of fact in Europe, such changes tend to take place every four or five generations, that means every century or so. However, these changes never coincide with the calendar, occurring instead some ten to fifteen years before or after turns of centuries.
Great Britain looks like the first candidate for violent change in the coming months. Already there is talk of an upcoming “Summer of Rage,” starting when the G-20 leaders will meet in London at the beginning of April. British authorities are certainly bracing themselves for what is coming, with 130.000 heavily armed policemen nationwide ready to quell street revolts. If that will not prove to be enough, army units will be deployed. Indeed, the British army has broad experience in controlling urban crowds. After all, that is essentially what the army has been doing all those years in Northern Ireland and Iraq (Basrah). Students are angry and have been occupying some 30 universities in protest against British government support of Israel trying to revive the Warsaw Ghetto in the Gaza strip. Pensioners are angry and desperate, the middle classes are fearful of joining the proletarian masses in Britain's horrid slums, and the millions of Muslims in Britain are also enraged. In short, Britain is a powder keg just waiting to explode.
Like the British, the French are angry. Despite the bitter cold only a few weeks ago, there have already been mass demonstrations against government policies, mobilizing millions of people. The French are particularly worried at President Sarkozy's agenda for converting France into a bastion of anglosaxon neoliberal capitalism precisely at the moment when this economic model has shown to be every bit as faulty as rigid stalinism. And let us not forget that in the 2005 referendum, the French massively rejected the proposed European “constitution!” Barely two years later, in 2007, the French government signed the Treaty of Lisbon, which is essentially the rejected constitution with some minor cosmetic adaptations. What a way to betray the voters! Such behaviour will certainly be punished one day, and that day might be nearer than many think.
Looking around, it is plain to see that many Europeans are enraged at their governments. They feel betrayed and left in the lurch. The Germans—beware when they get angry—are enraged about the imminent collapse of their fine industrial base. Germany is still one of the world's major powerhouses of industry and its demise would entail the end of Germany. The Ossis (the inhabitants of the former German Democratic Republic) have long been angry since 1989 for being relegated to the status of second-class citizens in Europe's richest country.
Many Italians are feeling cheated by Berlusconi and are angry, the Irish are enraged and desperate and barely a week ago came out in massive numbers to protest against the government's austerity measures. The Greeks (at least the younger ones, unable to find jobs), have practically destroyed the inner city of Athens in weeks of angry protests. The Spaniards (for instance the Galicians and the Basques) have expressed their anger at the polls last Sunday March 1, voting for parties that aim to turn Galicia and the Basque country into independent states.
