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Another populist won in parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic. This puts nearly the entirety of eastern Europe under the control of nationalists, who don’t share the European values and aspirations and only want to be members of the EU for financial and security reasons. Brexit has turned out a disaster here and there. Countries such as Ireland and Scotland are in danger of being worn down between the U.K. and continental Europe and damaged badly in the process.

But Spain and its way of treating Catalonia is the biggest problem of all. And this is only the tip of the iceberg: In Spain, unlike in most other countries, there’s a gulf between politics and sociological structure. Even after the creation of an autonomous region, Spain remains a centralist state, and not a federation. A state that enjoys fiscal sovereignty with only a few exceptions. By contrast, Spanish citizens first and foremost are loyal to their province and even more so city of origin; region defines identity – Basque, Asturian, Catalonian, Andalusian.

«Spanish secession isn't constitutionally possible»

In addition to that, the Spanish acquired a unique taste for vicious fighting through a long and often bloody history. The schisms that divide Spanish society are more bitter and full of hatred than elsewhere. Spaniards hated the Basque, the parties in the civil war fought to the last drop of blood, on the republican side communists quarreled with anarchists, on the royal side the Carlists with the Juanists. Toreros kill the bulls and sometimes a bull kills a torero.

A nuanced approach to a problem isn’t a Spanish trait, a character often described as pretty austere.

And that’s symptomatic of the current prime minister. Rajoy is typical West Gothian, as they say in Spain: severe and monkish. And that’s the way he approached the problem with the Catalonians. He and his entourage from the very beginning and consistently haven’t relied on the political argument, but solely legal: the Spanish constitution doesn’t provide for the possibility of secession of a part of the country, and hence it isn’t possible.

«EU has too many open questions to react adequately»

When the crisis escalated, there was no attempt made to look for a political solution but instead the full legal arsenal of the state was put into play: invoking article 155 of the constitution, dismissal of the government, placing under legal guardianship and installing a governor, followed by charges and arrests of the separatist leaders implemented by submissive judges used as instruments by politicians.

Rajoys approach has badly damaged the basic idea of democracy, because he never seriously considered entering into dialogue with the separatists. He also made clear through his actions that Spain still isn’t a state under the rule of law, because there is no reliable division of powers and even the highest judges dance to the tune of politicians. The whole world became a witness to this, but the EU look the other way. In the meantime, the bloc has too many questionable situations in respect to democracy and rule of law to react adequately.

The short European summer thus ended with a series of worrying situations. The European traveler remembers the slight breeze that accompanied him on his way down from the gardens of villa Borghese through Via Veneto, instilling a bright spring mood. Autumn took an end in a terrible and dark storm sweeping across Ireland. In summer, the traveler took to the roads in a sense of optimism, eager to explore the periphery of Europe, only to find himself in a more pensive mood in the autumn, coming to a rather negative conclusion.

«Common European values don't exist in reality»

First of all, travelling the borders of Europe shows that the frequently-invoked common European values don’t exist in reality. The nationalist tribalism in the east which all too often go hand-in-hand with a generally accepted level of corruption is hardly consistent with the idea of the rule of law predominant in the core of Europe. Religious conservatism and rigid traditional forms of behavior witnessed in various ways in Poland, Spain and at times also in Ireland, falls foul of a modern, liberal opinion in large European cities.

Second, the citizens of Europe are still far more influenced by their immediate environment than by grand programs and visions of Eurocrats. Their concepts aren’t being heard and sometimes one thinks that they are becoming more and more removed from everyday life, with figments disappearing into alien orbits to dissolve in some distant future.

«Commit no miracles, postpone no bills»

And lastly, the dominant European politicians and bureaucrats are less and less able to solve the problems at hand. That was understandable in complex situations such as the Greek crisis and the refugees. But not to find clear words or will to mediate in a fairly simple situation such as the flagrant violation of democracy and the rule of law in Spain is a warning sign.

In Dublin, I went to visit Sweny’s Pharmacy, the famous drugstore where James Joyce’s main character in «Ulysses» buys his lemon soap. Today’s owners have put up a quote taken from «Finnegans Wake» in their shop window: «Commit no miracles, postpone no bills.» Europe’s politicians obviously never read this sign and adhere strictly to the opposite principal, and that’s the main problem: every possible miracle is being promised and not a single commitment kept.

And Switzerland? I’d give the same answer as the big Elmar Brok, but in another tonality: ah, let’s leave it. Nothing new. Let’s stick to drinking tea as I suggested in a previous commentary. We won’t miss out on much with Europe, but we can commit a lot of mistakes.

Peter Kurer is a partner with the private equity firm BLR & Partners. He studied law and political science at the University of Zurich and the University of Chicago and started his professional career with law firm of Baker & McKenzie where he became a partner in 1985. In 1990, Peter Kurer was a founding partner of the Zurich law firm Homburger where he headed the corporate law practice. 

In 2001, Kurer joined UBS as general counsel. He served as the chairman of the bank during the crisis of 2008-2009 and then retired. He now is also chairman of Kein & Aber, a Swiss book publisher, and Sunrise, a Swiss telecommunicatons provider. Kurer writes and speaks frequently on M&A topics, corporate governance issues, and legal and compliance risk management.

Previous contributions: Rudi Bogni, Peter Kurer, Oliver Berger, Rolf Banz, Dieter Ruloff, Samuel Gerber, Werner Vogt, Walter Wittmann, Alfred Mettler, Peter Hody, Robert Holzach, Craig Murray, David Zollinger, Arthur Bolliger, Beat Kappeler, Chris Rowe, Stefan Gerlach, Marc Lussy, Nuno Fernandes, Richard Egger, Maurice Pedergnana, Marco Bargel, Steve Hanke, Andreas Britt, Urs Schoettli, Ursula Finsterwald, Stefan Kreuzkamp, Oliver Bussmann, Michael Benz, Peter Hody, Albert Steck, Andreas Britt, Martin Dahinden, Thomas Fedier, Alfred Mettler, Brigitte Strebel, Peter Hody, Mirjam Staub-Bisang, Nicolas Roth, Thorsten Polleit, Kim Iskyan, Stephen Dover, Denise Kenyon-Rouvinez, Christian Dreyer, Peter Kurer, Kinan Khadam-Al-Jame, Robert Hemmi, Claude Baumann, Anton Affentranger, Yves Mirabaud, Katharina Bart, Frédéric Papp, Hans-Martin Kraus, Gerard Guerdat, Didier Saint-Georges, Mario Bassi, Stephen Thariyan, Dan Steinbock, Rino Borini, Bert Flossbach, Michael Hasenstab, Guido Schilling, Werner E. Rutsch, Dorte Bech Vizard, Adriano B. Lucatelli, Katharina Bart, Maya Bhandari, Jean Tirole, Hans Jakob Roth, Marco Martinelli, Beat Wittmann, Thomas Sutter, Tom King, Werner Peyer, and Thomas Kupfer.