The European Emperor is Naked
The results of the recent European parliamentary elections rattled the continent's political establishment, with the characterisation of the results as a ‘political earthquake' being very much en vogue. The chief source of concern was the spectacular increase in support for Eurosceptic parties across the continent. The strongest effects were felt in Britain, France and Denmark, where the National Front (25 percent), the UK Independence Party (27.5 percent) and the Danish People's Party (27.5 percent) won their respective elections outright. Total support for radical rightwing and leftwing Eurosceptic parties more than doubled.
There can be no doubt that high levels of unemployment, voter apathy, the continuing Euro-crisis as well as the rise of nationalism and anti-immigration sentiments played important roles in the voting patterns. But something much deeper lies behind the economic and political crisis in Europe: the failure of political leaders to articulate a clear vision of where European integration is ultimately headed. The spike in support of Eurosceptic parties has vividly exposed the fundamental contradiction of the European Union (EU). It is a half-baked Union of economic integration without sufficient political integration.
The attempt to ascertain the root cause of the crisis in Europe must commence with an examination of the reunification of Germany in the early 1990s. It is of course common knowledge that the process of European integration accelerated significantly since the iconic tumbling of the Berlin wall in November 1989 and the associated collapse of the Soviet Union. While the reunification of Germany in and of itself is often not included in current debates about Europe, it offers valuable insights into the underlying political processes that are involved in any attempt at integration.
The one feature that stands out unopposed in any study of German reunification is the fact that there was no possibility for the continued existence of two, separate, sovereign Germanys. The idea naturally sounds preposterous today, as most people simply assumed that the former West- and East Germany needed to be reunited and fully integrated. But this seemingly obvious principle of total political and economic integration had important consequences that expose the weaknesses of the current European project.
From a financial perspective, integration meant that the Länder of the former West Germany had to subsidise the regions of the former Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR). The subsidies were - and still are - massive. Berlin, the former capital of the DDR and once again capital of a reunited Germany since 1998, has effectively been bankrupt for the last few decades. The system is largely maintained through the subsidies paid by wealthy western regions.