It should be built by the English. If the Russians built it, there would be communism and squalor; if the Germans built it, there would be tyranny and brute force.Don't dismiss Churchill's viewpoint out of hand, is all I can advise. (TNI's choice of an article title is certainly more than interesting.)
Oh, but history repeats itself... not unexpectedly... The predicted end will be Germany in charge, with France and Italy tagging along behind, holding up her train. The dog returns to it's vomit.
Churchill was right.
It was inevitable that Germany would take a leading role in Europe. It’s the largest economy and it has the highest population. The Germany Churchill warned of is not the Germany of today. Let them have their time in the sun.
“The financial mess has completed Germany’s redemption from pariah to the leader of Europe. …”
That is the plan?
For decades Germany was the number three economy in the world, that is hardly a “pariah”.
In Germany there is an opposite view about the bailouts that I think is more fitting: Germany has become the slave of Europe.
How else do you describe handing over your wealth to other people?
Could you imagine if it were the other way around?...
Europeans handing over their wealth to Germany....?
Let’s try that and see how it goes. LoL!
Germany as created in 1870 was truly speaking the Prussian Empire extended over Germany.
It imposed the Prussian tyranny and brute force over lands that had not known it -- indeed the differences between the Prussians and say the Bavarians still exist and the western Germans were different. The Germans of pre-Prussian era (before the 30-years war) were cultured, scholarly etc., quite unlike our image of Germans which is really the Prussian image
Germans of today are also quite removed from both the Prussians and the previous Germanics.
Similarly the English of today are unlike the English of Churchill's day. IMHO, if the English of today were to build Europe it would be squalor and communism-lite (English socialism). The Russians would impost tyranny and brute force. The Germans would just be obnoxious boors.
Europe united as a federacy that does not fight each other makes sense, but it should not be led by any one country.