Non
[David Poither has been kind enough to donate this editorial on the recent French EU Constitution Referendum]The word non has become the death knell of "L'Europe Politique." This
beautiful vision of a strong, united continent, bound together by
sentiments of shared solidarity and vision is no more. It was cowardly
killed by a combination of disgraceful personal opportunism and
juvenile political populism. To all those currently residing in
Germany, I apologize in the name of my fellow countrymen for the
premature demise of the Franco-German partnership, the engine of Europe
and a beacon of hope for the rest of the world. The 60th anniversary
of the end of the Second World War and the defeat of the 20th
century's most destructive plague, Nazism, has been overshadowed by
unnecessary political division and turmoil. In their arrogance, the
French people chose to sacrifice a great historical vision in order to
punish their own government's failings. And, unfortunately, however
many times we Europeans make clear our outrage about the events that
have just past, nothing will change the fact that Europe has been dealt
a severe and irreversible blow.
Where to from here? There are some in France who declare that it is
now the responsibility of those who campaigned for the No vote to
assume their responsibility and present the French people with their
own political vision. Hear nothing of it. I do not trust the likes of
Laurent Fabius, Marie-George Buffet or Jean-Marie Le Pen to create the
Europe we all strive for. Nor do I want France, in its desperation, to
fall into the hands of Nicolas Sarkozy. The French Referendum has
generated a political crisis not only in Europe, but in France as well.
This great nation, the birthplace of the political enlightenment that
was the French Revolution, is no longer in a position to lead. It has,
by this very vote, signaled its indifference towards what lies outside
its borders. Hence, the first step towards a European reconstruction
implies a drastic revamping of the domestic political scene itself. I
do not mean to discredit the French people for making their discontent
about the contemporary political and economic environment clear. They
are in their right to do so - and indeed, the country is in a grave
crisis, and has been so since the 21st of April, 2001. 10%
unemployment, low economic growth, and lack of political vision are all
things which necessarily need to be rectified. But the French people,
the poor French people, were fooled by the insignificant ambition of
petty politicians. They sacrificed their historical role as the leader
of political internationalism in the name of of an illusion. What
shortsightedness!
To those we believed that a No vote would create the conditions
necessary for la rupture, I pity your naivete. Of course this break
with the inhumane nature of modern-day capitalism is something we all
strive for, but you have chosen to sacrifice your most effective weapon
in exchange for immediate (and transient) gratification. Francois
Mitterand, in all his wisdom and all his faults, understood that the
future of socialism lied not in the increasingly insignificant
structure that is the nation state. Europe was to be the new platform
where this struggle was to be extended. Now, after last Sunday, all we
can expect from Europe is an extension of that dreaded "Anglo-Saxon"
liberalism which you all passionately fought against. What irony!
Perhaps the future now lies in creating a smaller, more compact
political unity between the countries that first established the
European Community. But doesn't this seem foolish to you? Have we
really spent 50 years battling the skeptics, the xenophobes, and the
ultra-nationalists just to return to square one? Perhaps. All that
can be said is that I have been greatly disillusioned by the events of
the past few days. I thought France was capable of much better. I
thought European civilization was capable of much better. I was proved
wrong. But perhaps, just perhaps, something good will come out of all
this. I cannot see it now, but I have hope (indeed, that is all I am
allowed to have at the present time).
David Poither is a dual Canadian-French citizen who, after living in Paris, Brussels and Boulder, currently studies in Vancouver.
The Language Playing Field
This week has found me embroiled in several multi-hour presentation preparation meetings with 2 Germans, 1 Bulgarian (who studies in the US), 1 Chinese, and 1 Latvian. This unit for our International Strategic Management course is in English - as opposed to my array of German projects in other courses. Finally having a German course in my native tongue has been a valuable window into the fundamental differences in our education systems and culture.
It was almost impossible to cite the origins of any difficulties I encountered working with others in German due to the "fog of language". Was I not understanding them? Was I under-educated? Was I under prepared?
Perhaps the tables have been turned. Regardless, without the language barrier it became clear that the Germans work differently than we've been trained in the States. True to the stereotypes, the Americans wanted to keep things flexible and fill in details on the fly during the presentation, while the Germans wanted to make sure everything was explicitly stated on the PowerPoint slides. This is but one small example, although it gives you a feel for the situation at large. The best part was afterwards: the Germans turned to us and said "We've noticed that we work differently..."
