Spain and Portugal charge against the north: "This is a ship, if you sink it doesn't matter what ticket you have"

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"We are together on the same European ship. We have hit an iceberg and now we are all at the same risk. There is no time for discussions about alleged First or Second Class passengers ." European politicians use images of natural disasters or nautical metaphors during a crisis is very common. That they do it to blurt out or ugly behavior in public to their colleagues, and with such direct lines, no. But this is not a crisis like the others. Paraphrasing the economist Carmen Reinhart, "this time it is different."

Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya, settled pending accounts on Friday with Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra. Openly, on his Twitter account, wanting the message to sink in and circulate. A few hours earlier, coordinating the strategy, the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, had sent a similar message, but somewhat more subtle, through the same channel: "The Covid-19 affects everyone. It does not understand borders, gender or class. The The EU must learn the lessons of the past and not fail its citizens again. The European response must be one of solidarity, targeting the most vulnerable. Some EU institutions are already doing so, "he pointedly blamed the European Council, which in the day before he disappointed and irritated tens of thousands of Spaniards with his poor conclusions.

The reaction to the coronavirus, or rather the lack thereof, has reopened the scars of the financial and debt crisis. The same dynamics, the same errors. The slowness, the division between north and south, between Hanseatic and Mediterranean, between frugal and friends of cohesion. There are many names, but the same prejudices and grudges. And the protagonists themselves. On the one hand, Spain, Portugal, Italy, as in 2012. On the other, Germany, Austria, Finland and, prominently, the Netherlands , who is being the target of criticism.

Coldness and selfishness versus not doing homework

The south reproaches coldness, selfishness, lack of solidarity, responsibility and a sense of state . Lack of vision They believe that the rich countries of the north are not knowing how to gauge what is happening, they do not understand the devastating effects that it will have. In death toll, job destruction, economic paralysis. And on a dissatisfied citizenry that has austerity very fresh. They reproach them with a arrogant attitude, an unbearable arrogance, an undisguised attitude of superiority, of feeling first class Europeans, Triple A rating . They accuse them of repeating the fatal mistakes of 2008, 2010 and 2012, and of having also blocked the reform of the institutional architecture of the Eurozone, with essential elements that will be lacking in the face of a shock of this magnitude.

The North believes that although it is clear that the pandemic is not anyone's fault, it is once again evident that the South never does its homework , is unprepared, and has not used the years of growth to build a fiscal cushion. He believes that health management has been unsuccessful and that the economic responses required of them do not correspond to the situation. They do not want to "run out of gas" too soon, and they understand that with the flexibility, state aid and freezing measures of the Stability Pact, in addition to the ECB, enough has been done for now. They swear and swear to be aware of the nature and magnitude of this crisis, but prefer to have more data before launching new instruments. "There are already mechanisms for crises, they are the ones to use now," says Rutte. Rules always before improvisation.

The distance that separates them goes far beyond economic analysis and macroeconomic instruments. It has to do with opposing philosophies, with a different vision of the role of the State and Parliament internally and in relation to the EU and the institutions. " In Spain Euroscepticism grows every time there are no great economic responses from the EU. The opposite occurs here . Anti-Europeanism increases when there are bailouts and aid, and that must be understood in Madrid and Lisbon. We all have citizens, but we must assume that they think very differently and irreconcilable in some respects, "sources from the Dutch government point out. They also recall that the percentage of skeptics and Europhobes is much stronger there and that it grew precisely after the debt crisis and the "solidarity" measures adopted.

There are, without a doubt, ethical and moral considerations as well. Ants that think they are surrounded by cicadas. And a rooted lack of confidence, something deep, not superficial. On Thursday night, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa lashed out with unprecedented force against the Dutch finance minister, whose comments in recent days he called "repulsive", "pointless" and unacceptable " , referring to the fact that Hoekstra criticized countries that had not done their homework and called for them to be "investigated." For Costa, "this recurring pettiness threatens the future of the EU."

Three years since the last scandal

Exactly three years ago from the last scandal with the same protagonists, when the then president of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, raised the south. " In the euro crisis, the countries of the north have shown solidarity with the countries affected by the crisis . As a Social Democrat, I think solidarity is extremely important. But whoever requests it also has obligations. I cannot spend all my money in liquor and women and then ask for help, "he said then. The reading from The Hague remains the same. That is why on Monday, at Ecofin, as Spain and Italy approached 1,000 deaths a day, Minister de Rutte spoke of the "moral hazard" of mutualization and gave patronizing lessons in economic recovery.

The wrath of the south has come to the Netherlands. They think the debate "is too emotional" right now, and they try to tone down and show empathy, in their own way . But they reiterate that they do not understand the insistence on discussing instruments related to debt, be it in the form of Eurobonds or the role of Mede, when all countries have easy access to markets. Rutte maintains that the problem will be precisely the return to normality, to competitiveness, and that requires healthy, efficient, reformed and resilient economies. Something that conditionality programs favor struggling economies, according to their vision. He and Merkel are practically the only ones in the European Council who experienced the previous crisis, and it is possible that this is pushing them to replicate the recipes and negotiating techniques of the time. Without calibrating the scale difference.

The debates in any case are not monocolor. Bank of the Netherlands Governor Klass Knot said in an interview on Friday that "this is a test for the Eurozone, and the request for solidarity from Spain and Italy is fully understandable ." Rob Jetten, leader of the D66, warned in an interview: "The Netherlands has been enriched by the EU. We must not let our friends suffocate, only together can we save ourselves."

Spanish diplomatic sources, who are well acquainted with Dutch behavior after years of direct negotiations, advocate leaving the laments behind and replying in the same way. "I appreciate them for the clarity of the approaches and because they accept that if they are like that you do the same to them. With the Dutch you know what to expect and you can respond in the same terms . But you have to have weapons, a background of reason and things to offer, "they explain.

In a few days, the Eurogroup has to come back with fresh and ambitious ideas. The pressure today is maximum, but everything depends on the dynamics of the coming days. How the virus hits in Lombardy or Madrid, but also in the heart of the continent, in the founding countries, and in the markets. " Until they see, hear and smell the recession under their windows, they will not move, " they lament in the European institutions. Because the Hanseatic thesis is that you have to act, but the urgency is relative. The countries are approving huge and unprecedented measures, but they will have to pay the bill later. "There is some margin, it is not like in 2012 with the premiums, with banks without liquidity or countries that could not pay payrolls," explain German sources.

On Friday, an increasingly harsh and disappointed President Sergio Mattarella, the last bastion of Italian Europeanism, warned again: " We are living a very sad page in our history, we have seen images that we will not be able to forget . Or the EU understands the severity of the threat or it will be too late. " This time, from Berlin, some listened to him: "We should shame Europe's selfish people, because Italy and Spain will not forget it. The virus will not destroy Europe, but our selfishness may," threatened former Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel.

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