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WHERE SIZE MAKES EUROPE EASIER
[EDIT/WEBCAST:
Eupen, July 30]
Those readers familiar with English Literature will know Gerard Manley Hopkins’ great poem, The Wreck of the
Deutschland - written to memorialize the death of five Catholic Franciscan nuns fleeing from Westphalia
and Bismarck’s anti-Catholic Kulturkampf in the 1870s. The poem signals a break in German tradition. Before
Bismarck created the German state, the German-speaking world was a collection of smaller states, which
generally received an excellent press, in US literature, in particular.
The image of these attractive little princely states was one of curious local traditions, excellent beers
and wines; and, a white-horse-inn life-style, always populated both by jovial characters in local costume
and local geniuses who imparted an intellectual gloss to the whole scene. So much so, that for Americans
at least, the German Universities in the XIXth century were the only place, where serious study could be
undertaken; and, all US Profs had German PhDs.
Strange to relate, this world still exists. In Meuse-Rhine, there is a latter day princely state, with a
population of 73,000, where the prince and his subjects brush shoulders in the local taverns; where local
industries (Capaul) supply the world’s aerospace giants (Airbus and Rolls Royce) and the cable company
lights up the world’s airport runways. However, there’s a chocolate museum too; lakes to go boating on
and ski-slopes for the winter. Then there is the Carnival season, when the ladies dress up in petticoats,
veils and little pillbox hats and cut off men’s neckties if they have the bad luck to be wearing them.
It sounds like a cliché, but it really does seem like one big happy family; and, even the outsider feels
able to fit in. No mean feat, when we realize that this state is the German-speaking Region of Belgium
(DG). Belgium is a delightful country, but one where communal discord can lead to political stress. This
is now the case, with the PM having recently tendered his resignation. However, in the DG everyone seems
to speak your language and maybe they can give Belgium, as a whole, some good advice. This is no doubt
why the King of Belgium has included Karl-Heinz Lambertz, President of the region in the triumvirate
called upon to provide guidance to the country.
Watch the webcast that accompanies this text. It will give you an idea of the DG and of the wisdom and
political insight of its leadership, as it encapsules some of the good sense in Eupen - where size makes
Europe easier. Incidentally, on the day following publication of this letter, the triumvirate will be
presenting their advice to the king, on the country’s future. A more thoroughgoing presentation of the
wit and wisdom of Karl-Heinz Lambertz will appear in a Dutch/French bilingual tome on the relations
between Luxembourg and Limburg/Meuse-Rhine, scheduled for publication in November. The argument
demonstrates the very real advantages of small states in resolving political disputes.
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