Guardian
June 20, 2011
José Manuel Barroso sings the Kinks. By far the strangest story of the weekend was news that the president of the European commission has taken to quoting Ray Davies, the quintessential English bard, in his speeches. Barroso burst into song in Brussels last week with his rendition of Village Green Preservation Society, complete with its references to Desperate Dan and strawberry jam, to make a point about emissions trading.
This is a trend to be encouraged. With the crisis in Greece threatening the stability of the euro area, we could have Jean-Claude Trichet belting out the lyrics to Where Have All the Good Times Gone. As he sits in Athens wondering when the International Monetary Fund is going to deliver another bailout, George Papandreou might be tempted to hum a few lines of Tired of Waiting for You. We can only wonder what Davies – the chronicler of the quirky and the offbeat, of steam trains and little men in suburbia – would make of the euro, the great modernist project, with its strict rules and straight lines.
Not that it can be doubted that the architects of the single currency had the best intentions. They believed monetary union would boost trade, make commerce simpler, smooth out the differences between the economies of member states. It would make Europe safe and sound.
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