Most Americans born after World War II take peace and democracy in Western Europe for granted. Enfolded in the European Union, France and Germany became allies and Spain absorbed democratic values. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, former communist countries joined the fold and embraced parliamentarynorms.
But we forget all too easily that the 70 years since 1945 are an anomaly for Europe, whose previous 150 years of history were marked by war, ideological strife andrevolution.
Last weeks Greek elections, in which voters chose a left-wing populist party in protest against nightmare economic conditions, should flash
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Most Americans born after World War II take peace and democracy in Western Europe for granted. Enfolded in the European Union, France and Germany became allies and Spain absorbed democratic values. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, former communist countries joined the fold and embraced parliamentarynorms.
But we forget all too easily that the 70 years since 1945 are an anomaly for Europe, whose previous 150 years of history were marked by war, ideological strife andrevolution.
Last weeks Greek elections, in which voters chose a left-wing populist party in protest against nightmare economic conditions, should flash awarning.
If the foundations of Europes postwar order erode or are deliberately dismantled by misguided policies in Berlin and Brussels, that era of peace and democracy is atrisk.
The Syriza party of the new Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, won a near-majority by pledging to challenge the harsh austerity policies the European Union and the International Monetary Fund imposed on Greece in return for a 2010 bailout. Greece could not pay its debts in the tough years after the 2008 crash. In truth, the government and private borrowers had been profligate when European banks were lendingfreely.
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Europe should watch signals from Greece - Wed, 04 Feb 2015 PST