Recent weeks show how tough it may be for America to unite behind an economic fix-it plan. Some governors differ with the president, while in Congress, Republicans and Democrats bicker. In Europe, though, a financial crisis pits nation against nation, East against West. The crisis threatens a decades-long drive toward unity. Or does it? It may yet happen that the economic challenge in Europe becomes so acute that, in the end, the crucible of crisis actually forces stronger financial and political bonds between countries. French President Nicolas Sarkozy serves as Exhibit A.This week, he and other West European leaders endorsed a global doubling of contributions to the International Monetary Fund. The IMF can surely use the infusion as it tries to catch tumbling economies in Eastern Europe.While exposing divisions, the financial and economic crisis in Europe also reveals how connected and interdependent all of these countries are. It points to the need for pan-European solutions, not a retreat to nationalism.
Encouragingly, such solutions are starting to be voiced. The idea of a euro-bond has been raised as an economic burden-sharing tool to support weaker countries. Austria, whose banks have the largest exposure to Eastern Europe, is pushing for a broad effort to help the East. Now, crisis is tearing Europe apart by the seams. In the long run, it could stitch it closer together.
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