The two shores

The presidential campaign for the election of George W. Bush’ successor was surely experienced with identical pathos on the two shores of the Atlantic, but with differing objectives and interests: both in content and form, since the financial and economic crisis was the sole common denominator. While America’s citizens and business community focused their attention primarily on the Country’s new social and economic deal (which is the underlying reason for Barack Obama’s victory over Hillary Clinton and John McCain), the Old Continent gave priority to the redefinition of international relations and to the need to relinquish Europe’s subordinate role that was partly triggered by White House foreign policies which took effect starting in the year 2000. How will Obama’s installation affect the European Union and its Member States? A serious approach entails a certain degree of caution: hasty speculations over America’s third new deal (or potentially so, after the real deals implemented by Roosevelt and Kennedy), along with its external repercussions could trigger false impressions and prejudices – for the good or for the bad – that would be hard to emend. In the course of America’s electoral campaign, European analysts had sought to describe the possible advantages and disadvantages that Obama’s election would bring to Europe compared to McCain or the Clinton clan. Questions like, “what is best for the EU”? Or “is inexperienced and pacifist Obama to be preferred to seasoned and interventionist McCain?” have largely been debated by television and press analysts, without bringing to exhausting answers supported by evidence. The opposite would have been surprising. We are sure that if America were to isolate itself focusing on its national problems, it wouldn’t be “playing into the hands” of Europe, which wishes to hold an open attitude, and in order to do so needs the vicinity of its historical ally. It goes without saying that the improvement of transatlantic dialogue and the prosecution of Europe’s political and economic interests don’t only depend on Washington. A crucial role will be played by the EU’s ability to take a univocal stand in the realm of foreign affairs. Brussels and the European Governments must be committed in this direction and relinquish once and for all the usual ritual of pompous, expensive missions along with the questionable (scarce?) usefulness of EU’s Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, to the benefit of a more organic and substantial approach. Why not follow the model of the World Trade Organization, where one single EU representative speaks in everyone’s name with excellent results? It’s a political choice, marking genuine integration and constructive Community spirit, which if concretized could even drive America into a virtuous cycle of effective pacification commitment, true intercultural dialogue, efficient humanitarian aid and cooperation for sustainable development. Finally, two words on the economy and its world decline: an issue that is sadly shared by the City and by the slums, whose common origin is to be found across the ocean. Trillions were nowhere to be heard since the times of the quarrels between Uncle Scrooge and Rockerduck. It took Barak Obama to revive the legendary gold rush, which now has the more humble and – to many also tragic – attire of the flight from world bankruptcy where we hear the cries “every man for himself!” The anti-crisis package presented last week at record-time by Obama’s Cabinet and promulgated not without reservations on the part of the Congress, amounts to 819 billion dollars, and is expected to reach over one trillion. These measures -whose hedging has been questioned -entail high inflationary risk, while their rapid finalization have raised much surprise. Exportation Europe – whose financial survival is strictly linked to global economy performance – would do well to remind the US Treasury that Rockerduck was the one who always ended up eating hats, ill advised by his hastiness and for hankering after competition. The world recently registered a downward trend, and the crisis in values is no worse than the crisis in the financial system. Trigger-happy Bush and the ostrich-like attitude often adopted by the European Union, the discouraging leit-motifs of the past decade, aren’t alien to it. We believe that Washington and Brussels can only do better.