The EU Debt Crisis Imperils Democracy

Italy and Greece are not Germany. Until recently, Germany did not want them to be. They were lands of the sunny south, of less work-driven, more pleasure-oriented cultures. To Germans, they smelled of sex (see Thomas Mann) and good food. Consider, as one illustration of Europeâ??s cultural divide, the argument recently advanced by Italyâ??s embattled (and perhaps outgoing) prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, to demonstrate that his nationâ??s economy is actually in good shape: â??Our restaurants are full of people,â? he said. I doubt thereâ??s a single German leader, of any political persuasion, who would measure Germanyâ??s economic well-being by restaurant patronage. . .