This idea of the existence of a 'second' Europe has always troubled me. When I was still a student I came across the terms 'southern problem' and 'Mediterranean syndrome' in one of my one o'clock in the morning bat-cave revision moments. This soon led to the discovery of the acronym PIIGS and an academic (and journalistic) paper trail debating the genuine existence of a governance disease on the peripheries of 'real Europe'. I wish this were a bad joke but it's not - it's the elephant in the room that sits at the negotiating tables in Brussels.
How do you convince entire populations that you are acting in solidarity, given this largely unquestioned 'them and us' attitude?
'Maybe it's the heat? Or something in the Guinness?'
'Othering' has evidently entered Maltese political consciousness, too. I find this pretty ironic. We go from considering ourselves to be an active part of 'real Europe' ("Issa, show me the money, Greece! Lazy tax-dodgers!") to victimised members of 'second Europe' ("because, we're not big, they don't care about us, hux"). The change in attitude is, of course, entirely issue-dependent. The outcome of the Greek election has put us firmly back on the 'real Europe' side, and comment sections in Maltese newspapers, Facebook exchanges and not-so-subtly written articles seem to assume that the Greek population has absolutely no idea - no grasp - of the enormity of the situation.
In approaching the debate this way we are only perpetuating this notion of two Europes. This is an ugly destructive concept, which should not prevail because it will inevitably lead to the end of what we, as Europeans, are trying to build together.
A change in attitude cannot come from our politicians alone: it has to come from each and every one of us. We have to give a damn. Not because what is happening in Greece has collateral macroeconomic effects in Malta, that is only part of it. No, we should give a damn because what is happening in Greece - to the Greeks - has a human cost that should be met with real solidarity, patience and friendship, not a snigger. Call me naïve, but I thought this is exactly what the European project is all about. After all, the union is not built on the economy alone; it is, and should be, much more than that.
Mediterranean Syndrome: Greek symptoms
I have written to a few Greek friends to ask them what they thought because, believe it or not, they can speak for themselves. It would be a bit rich for me to do otherwise.
So what did Minos, Rodis, Elpida, Alexandros and Theodore think about Syriza's not-so-radical-any-more victory in this week's election? What does it mean?
Alexandros called it "a milestone in Greek political history". This much is certainly true. The election has brought with it an unusual variety of trepidation. I can only really compare it to the way the world felt as Americans held their breath for hope in 2008 after Obama was first elected - the 'can he do it?' breath.
Minos pointed out something I thought was not only interesting but also a sign of the new government's commitment to setting itself apart, to giving governance a new tone by recognising the value of political symbolism. He said: "The metal bars adorning the Parliament building in Syntagma Square have now been removed because the legislature should not be threatened by its people; the 400 sacked Finance Ministry cleaning ladies... are to be immediately rehired; but, most importantly, in a secularist move that shakes off the country's traditional church-state paradigm, the new Prime Minister and the majority of his Cabinet refused to take a religious oath and took office by swearing on their honour". The change is almost regime-like, designed to be noticeable and noticed. And it is not merely symbolic, as the move to break with the EU's policy on Russia shows us. I cannot put it any better than Minos did when he said: "The new Greek government is fresh, democratically legitimate and prepared to face the challenges ahead".
Still it has been met with inherent suspicion. "I reserve my judgement for three months' time" Rodis wrote back to me. The thing about this time around is that 'hope' has been bandied around freely and incautiously. 'Hope' is a political minefield that needs to be taken seriously and with the requisite responsibility. Like Theodore, I worry that not recognising the enormity of this task will lead not only to disappointment but to the 'degradation of social cohesion. Crucially, they were all deeply sceptical but willing to wait and see.
Elpida, whose name quite aptly means hope, talked about shape-shifting ideology: "Ideology is playing less of an important role in motivating people at this specific juncture... it is the real price of the crisis". In fact, Theodore called this a "downgrade in democracy". Clearly, the shift in Greek perception of Tsipras' Syriza from a radical party to a mainstream one that should be perceived as such did not baffle them because, considering the dire straits that the Greek people are in, they seem to want to try anything to change their fate.
There were two things, however, that already irked them: the coalition with the similarly anti-austerity but openly far-right Independent Greeks (an unholy alliance to say the least) and the fact that women only make up 20 per cent of the cabinet. Not quite so radical, not quite so forward-looking.
The election results in Greece led to the perfect media storm in Germany and the rest of 'real Europe', with similar undertones to those I expressed above. All of it focused mainly on two words: debt cancellation. After all, €322.5 billion is no small sum (184 per cent of Greek GDP). I wondered if the Greeks thought cancellation was the way forward for them. Rodis claimed that the mere idea was absolutely ludicrous: 'No effing way. You can't cancel debt... and you can't act as a precocious child, demanding to stop paying people the money you owe them". Even a moratorium seemed a little too lax. This sentiment was echoed across the board. The notion that they can get away with this lightly was repugnant to them: "The pre-crisis 'lost paradise' of a carefree Greek dream cannot (and should not) return", said Alexandros.
The whole time we spoke I could see that a lot of what my friends were saying had everything to do with pride. They have to negotiate this crisis; they have to reverse the legacy of political structures in tatters and they are looking for the road to recovery without taking short-cuts. All they want from us is dialogue without derision and a collective belief that they can do this through equitable means. Of course, that is easier said than done.
Just One Europe
These are hopes that we can share with the Greeks because we have nothing to gain from a Greece perpetually on crutches. Investing our hope in Greece also means that we are investing our hope in Europe. We are not part of a 'southern problem' or a 'second Europe' because it doesn't exist. It shouldn't even exist as a concept. In my eyes, there is only one Europe; it may need a lot of work, but it's getting there, it's coping. The crisis in Greece is that process writ large.