At this calamitous point in European history, on its eastern marches and on its Atlantic seaboard, the EU should raise statues to Francesco Schettino, the skipper of the cruise-ship Costa Concordia and the very embodiment of European values. In 2012, having driven his vessel onto some rocks, he promptly fled on the first lifeboat, shouting over his shoulder that he was just off to get rescue helicopters for the passengers, 32 of whom then died.
In 2020, after China had unleashed its Covid bioweapon on the world, the German government invoked the spirit of St Francesco and banned the export of masks and vaccines to other EU countries, declaring: “The government’s aim is to protect people in Germany. Equally, the government’s central principle is to ensure European solidarity at the time of the coronavirus crisis.” (My italics).