Reflections On The Revolutions Near Europe

As David Cameron returns to Britain from his travels in the Middle East, perhaps he has reflected on the recent revolutions near Europe as manifestations of "The Big Society" in action. For events in North Africa and elsewhere seem to reflect the aspirations of citizens to replace "Big Man" politics and corrupt government bureaucracies, long supported by countries like our own, with something akin to the kind of democratic government enjoyed in most of Europe.

In some respects, these revolutions also read like a sequel to Christopher Caldwell's well-written and thought provoking book "Reflections on the revolution in Europe" which gives an account of immigration into countries such as Britain, France and Germany following World War 2. The book proposes that a European Islamic revolution is already underway and poses a threat to the cultural values of the West: a view which, needless to say, is widely challenged.

My own view is that the course of history in "Greater Europe" - extending to North Africa, the Near East and Russia - as I shall call it, is certainly at something of a watershed. Indeed, water will be one of its key resource issues, but I am less concerned with the role of Islam than with the wider economic and environmental challenges, as well as opportunities, posed by population and resource factors.

These economic and environmental challenges now need to be firmly grasped not only by political leaders and governments throughout Greater Europe, but also by "Big Society" - to use Mr Cameron's touchstone - movements within countries and across the region. The alternative scenario is likely to be more akin to that which preceded the Second World War, rather than the one which emerges in Christopher Caldwell's "Reflections".

To conclude, if the "Booming Noughties" resembled the "Roaring Twenties", the next decade may have more in common with the 1930s. This situation calls for a very different kind of politics, particularly in Greater Europe. It also calls for a very different kind of media coverage, particularly from organisations like the BBC, whose reporting of European issues has been lamentably weak and Anglo-centric in recent years*.

*Postscript March 14 - The appointment of Chris Patten as chairman of the BBC Trust might help tackle this problem.

HOWEVER, THIS LADY IS NOT FOR TURNING... !

I just love this 1920s photograph of a young girl riding an alligator, first sighted yesterday on the cover of an album called "Different Gear, Still Speeding" by the group "Beady Eye" led by Liam Gallagher, formerly of the 1990s "Brit Band" Oasis.

PUBLIC FORESTS: THE LADY IS FOR TURNING

"You turn if you want to, the lady's not for turning" was former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's famous pronouncement on the subject of government U-turns.

Yesterday, Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman made a rather spectacular U-turn on the proposed sale of publicly-owned woodlands, following a national campaign whose celebrity supporters included editor of "The Lady" - and sister of Boris - Rachel Johnson.

IMF AND IMPORTANCE OF CONTRARIAN VIEWS

"IMF admits wilting under Brown Treasury" is the title of an article in today's Financial Times. The Fund's independent watchdog has drawn attention to the UK Treasury's pressuring of IMF officials to tone down adverse interpretations of Britain's economic and financial data and regulation in the run-up to the banking crisis, during Gordon Brown's tenure as chancellor and when Ed Balls "was a key figure". Now there's a surprise !

The watchdog's report concludes, according to the FT, that "in future the Fund should seek contrarian views and be less concerned about crying wolf".

This is an important message not just for the IMF, but for many other institutions in this country and elsewhere. The rise of "The Monstrous Regiment of Yes-People" was one of the defining features of corporate culture - private and public - during 2000s decade. Contrarian voices were generally ostracised, or belittled. Hopefully, this "Yes-People Culture" is now in decline, but I'd advise a cautionary approach to any news of its demise. Watch this space !