Southern European Alliance Concept

Jolts European Union Politicians

This essay is dedicated to Alain Minc who has been a continuing infuence in the creation of it...

Stratagem A

T H E S O U T H E R N E UR O P E A N A L L I A NC E

One of the most staggering misfortunes to have befallen modern European

history has been the reluctance of Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece to join
forces to form a Southern European Alliance. Such a union would have
offered these southern sovereignties the opportunity to share their common
interests, fortify themselves under the umbrella of a unifed force, and
further their wishes to be considered more seriously among all the
European nations.

The Southern European states have long suffered the brunt of ridicule—
even insults—from other nations in Europe. They have been thought to be
excessively, traditionally provincial-minded and uneducated. Often referred
to as the PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain), one German economist
went one further classifying them as the GIPS (Greece, Italy, Portugal,
Spain)—“gips” being a pun on the word “gyp” which means “swindle.”
Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece have generally taken these jibes without
thinking of punching back because their citizens are prone to be
introspective and often are intolerant to criticism. “Latins” can easily be
racist, xenophobic, and even “paranoidish.” They prefer to let their
problems simmer inside them until their suppressed emotions take hold of
them and are then brought to the surface, often violently.

There are many explanations that defne the northern-southern European

Divide. The northern countries must prepare themselves for cold winters;
southern countries proft from relatively mild weather. Europe's northern
countries are more Protestant than Roman Catholic, and their work ethics
are incompatible. Above all, the educational levels between the north and
south of Europe are distinctively varied. Fifty percent of the citizens of a
combined Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece possess a high school diploma.
There are roughly 60,000,000 Italians; 46,000,000 Spaniards; 10,000,000
Portuguese; and, 11,000,000 Greeks—approximately 130,000,000 individuals
making up the projected Southern European Alliance.

In an article, “Insuffcient Schooling,” published by the Peterson Institute

for International Economics, 3 May 2013, Professor Anders Aslund listed
statistics related to the educational levels of southern European countries:
38% of the Portuguese, 54% of the Spaniards, 57% of the Italians, and 66%
of the Greeks possessed a high school diploma according to his research
fndings. Professor Aslund further stated with reference to Italy, Spain,
Portugal, and Greece: “With such a lack of education available to its
citizens, the actual elevated standard of living will be diffcult to be
maintained.” He correlated economic growth with levels of education.
Professor Aslund also pointed out that the quality of the education in these
four countries was generally inferior.

There have been umpteen studies made regarding the educational levels of
peoples throughout the world. Why should southern Europe be considered
educationally inferior? Perhaps the warm climate? The south of the
DisUnited States, once an oasis for mosquitos, was almost uninhabitable
until air-conditioning was introduced permitting high schools and
universities to function as well as the schools in the north—especially
northeast—of the DUS. Another negative infuence that has hampered the
intellectual evolution of southern Europe has been the Roman Catholic
church. Often dogmatically fxed in its ethical stances, the Roman Catholic
church has kept southern Europe, more than northern Protestant Christian
Europe, fxed to its bosom in a much more fervent manner. And although
the Roman Catholic church is often anti-scientifc, negating scientifc
discoveries that have acted as a threat to its authority, in recent years it has
embraced the use of electronic “miracles” such as social media outlets
employed to publicize the church's real presence which is losing members
en masse. Nevertheless, it is diffcult to fnd a priest or nun who does not
possess a smartphone or computer.

Interestingly, one southern European nation, Italy, offers a strange

inexplicable twist to the discussion of who is smart and who is not in
southern Europe. According to IQ Research, the benchmark of IQ tests,
Italy is ranked ffth in the world on the list of countries coupled to their
average IQs. Only Hong Kong (108), Singapore (108), South Korea (106),
Japan (105), China (105), and Taiwan (104) outdistance Italy's 102 average
IQ. Italians are quick to do things, especially when they are called upon to
fx what has become broken without thinking beforehand to perform the
maintenance checks that would have prevented the breakdown in the frst
place. Italians rush here, rush there—often without gaining traction on the
road to their business endeavors. If things don't come to them as fast as
they wish, they quickly abandon the project and seek another alternative.
They are also quick-tempered, contentious, often sulky, and fnd it terribly
diffcult, regrettably, to regenerate their own race.

Stratagem B

DOORS OPEN TO FRANCHIZING

An obvious lack of know-how in southern European countries is what

shackles Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece to their pasts. Worse, it is not
that they are living in the Past—if only they were!—but they are prisoners
of their pasts! They cannot handle the confict that has torn them apart
keeping them stuck between choosing between the traditions of their years
gone by and the demands of modernity that attract them but do not
convince them that “computers and smartphones” are, for them, what they
should be hugging—somethings that might convince them to educate
themselves more, to learn to cooperate with other countries more intensely,
and to be members of a planetary community and not a retroactive,
xenophobic, often racist, member of an international conglobation.

It should be obvious that Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece need HELP!
Yes, they need support to assist them in overcoming their fears and
reluctances. Most of all, they need supporting structures that can help them
develop their potentialities. They need a continuing relationship with
someone who will provide the necessary means for them to do business and
offer assistance in organizing, training, merchandizing, marketing, and
managing in return for a monetary compensation. For instance, the Swiss
can assist in perfecting the southern countries post offces; Hong Kong
offcials can help in the building of metro systems; French and Japanese
museum curators can rejuvenate museums in southern Europe; the
Americans can take charge of their hospitals and medical services; and, the
Belgians can improve sanitation facilities throughout southern Europe.
Short-term or long-term contracts can be adjusted to the needs of each
country and the times needed to teach them new techniques. This concept
will also encourage transnational interchange of cultures and their ideas
that will enrich all of us. The European Union can, fnally, enjoy
transnational migration beneftting all nations throughout Europe and the
world.

THE MANIFESTO OF
THE SOUTHERN EUROPEAN ALLIANCE

The Southern European Alliance (SEA) is a union

(Italy, Spain, Portugal, & Greece)
that conforms to democratic principles and supports
the rules and regulations of the European Union
of which it is a member.

The SEA seeks cooperation and friendship between not only its fellow
members, it labors to have serious rapports with all
European Union members and all governments
throughout the world.

The SEA acts to promote the interests of

Italy, Spain, Portugal & Greece
both as members of SEA and the European Union,
desiring to directly enhance and enrich its own capabilities
especially in relation to its fellow European neighbors.

The SEA wishes to befriend and collaborate with all nations.

The SEA clearly understands that its dismal fnancial status

is a threat not only to the unity of the European Union,
it is a scourge on its own citizens
who are burdened with exorbitantly high-ranking
unemployment and poverty levels
that offer little hope of recovery without intervention.
 6

SEA needs help, know-how, and the tools needed to exit this crisis.
Once freed from its medieval “voodooism,” it is certain
that, on the right path to success, the members of SEA
will fnally prosper and come to share their own responsibilities
with other nations in the European Union,
and become an integral part of that union.

The success of SEA will have a contagious effect

that will show other members of the European Union
how easy and proftable it is to work together in unison,
attempting to attain those goals benefcial to all.
In unitate est virtus.

The SEA is crucial at this time and place. The unfavorable political, social,
and economic predicaments these countries are suffering today, cannot
persist without doing harm to all people within the European Union. Italy's
condition is dramatic. It was once thought that Italy was a Comedy of
Errors. Now it is thought of as a Tragedy of Errors. Italy is stagnant. It does
not move. It is waiting for a “miracle” that will never ever arrive to pull it
out of its pathetic nosedive. Italy risks becoming the Venezuela of the
European Union.

If the Southern European Alliance is not instituted, and the economic

decline of Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece make headway, the eventual
disaster might call for Germany, the deputy sheriff of the DisUnited States,
to “take hold” of Italy and become the savior of the European Union—
keeping Italy from ruining itself as it slips and slides into its black hole of
greed, corruption, and ignorance.

Quod erat demonstrandum...

Authored by Anthony St. John

Calenzano, Italy
1 November MMXVIII
anthony.st.john1944@gmail.com

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