The Economist - USA (2022-01-29)

The Economist January 29th 2022 Europe 27

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ovid-19 hasbeena mixedbagfor

Europe’sarchitecturaltreasures.

Duringthepandemic’sfirstyear,over­

nightstaysbyinternationaltourists

droppedby68%acrossthecontinent.

Fewervisitorsmeanslesswearandtear

onmonuments,butalsolessincometo

maintainthem.Gargoylesarenotfalling

offcathedralsyet.Butwhileattention

wasdistracted,authoritieshavecarried

outsomedubiousrenovations.

TaketheAcropolis.(Xerxesdid.)

DuringGreece’ssecondlockdownin

October2020,builderspouredwide

concretepathwaysarounditstemples.

Authoritiessaythepathsimproveacces­

sibility.Criticssaytheyarecausing

floods.Oneacademicaccusedthesite’s

administrationofusingthelockdownas

a “smokescreen”.

Atleastthepathwaysaremeantasan

improvement.Elsewhereheritagesites

have been levelled. In May 2020 Alba­

nia’s government bulldozed the National

Theatre in Tirana to make way for com­

mercial development. The theatre was a

humble modernist brick building built in

1939, but theatregoers loved it. Protests

had blocked the demolition for years.

Also felled in 2020 was the y­Block in

Oslo, a curvy concrete icon of 1960s

minimalism, though its Picasso murals

were removed first.

The latter two monuments had been

among the seven “most endangered”

heritage sites listed annually by Europa

Nostra, a cultural association. Its secre­

tary­general, Sneska Quaedvlieg­Mihai­

lovic, says 2020 was the only year in

which sites on the list have been demol­

ished. Whether or not city planners

deliberately took advantage of the pan­

demictoletthewreckingballsswing,the

distractioncannothavehurt.

Europe’sbiggestheritage­siterestora­

tionprojectisinParis.Authoritieswant

torepairNotreDamecathedral,damaged

bya catastrophicfirein2019,beforethe

cityhoststheOlympicsin2024.The

church’sageandfamemakeit lessvul­

nerabletoill­consideredupgrades:gov­

ernmentsarelesscavalierwith12th­

centurychurchesthanwith1960soffice

blocks.Crowdfundingmayhelp,too.

Tensofthousandsofpeoplehavedonat­

edtotherestoration,andtheywantto

knowhowtheirmoneyisbeingspent.

Themodernisationplanshavetouched

offcontroversiesinthemedia.Allthe

better;asAthenshaslearnedthehard

way,publicdiscussionbeforeplansgo

aheadisa goodthing.

Architecture

Lockdown knockdown

Whilecovidraged,famousEuropeanbuildingsweredemolished

What would Pheidias say?

many’s refusal to arm Ukraine, or to allow
allies to do so, betrays a misunderstanding
of  the  concept  of  deterrence.  It  has  been
deaf to allies’ concerns over Nord Stream 2
(ns2),  a  completed  but  not­yet­approved
gas  pipeline  from  Russia  to  Germany  that
bypasses  Ukraine,  depriving  it  of  leverage
and  income.  The  Social  Democrats  (spd),
who lead Germany’s government, are par­
ticularly guilty in this telling. Critics spy a
party  stuffed  with  Putinversteher (Putin
sympathisers) basking in nostalgia for the
days of cold­war Ostpolitik, when spd­led
governments opened up to the east. 
Yet there is little evidence that Germany
has gone soft where it matters. The govern­
ment  has  signed  up  to  the  European  con­
sensus  that  further  Russian  military  ag­
gression  against  Ukraine  will  carry  “mas­
sive consequences'', in the words of an eu
communiqué  last  month.  There  is  broad
transatlantic concord over potential sanc­
tions, if disagreement on details. Germany
has  even  hinted  at  a  shift  on  ns2.  Asked
about  the  pipeline  last  week,  Olaf  Scholz,
the chancellor, said “all this will have to be
discussed” should Russia invade. His ns2­
sceptical  Green  coalition  partners  have
been clearer still. Few imagine the pipeline
will begin operating if Russia does attack.
A bigger problem is the chancellor him­
self.  The  three  parties  in  Germany’s  new
“traffic­light” coalition are visibly split on
Russia, and Mr Scholz, a taciturn type who
tends to speak in abstractions, has allowed
a degree of cacophony. He has made no at­
tempt  to  prepare  Germans  for  trials  that
may lie ahead should Russia escalate, from
rocketing  gas  prices  to  a  refugee  influx.
Nor has he responded to Germany’s chorus
of critics. “This government has a terrible
communications  problem,”  says  Stefan
Meister,  a  Russia­watcher  at  the  German
Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin. 
That extends to the international scene.

A  comparison  with  Angela  Merkel,  Mr

Scholz’s predecessor, is telling. When Rus­

sia  annexed  Crimea  in  2014  Mrs  Merkel

marshalled the eu’s 28 fractious members

to impose sanctions. Together with France,

Germany  established  the  “Normandy  for­

mat” with Russia and Ukraine, placing Eu­

rope at the negotiating table. Her chancel­

lery co­ordinated closely with Barack Oba­

ma’s White House whenever Russian forc­

es  probed  Ukrainian  defences.  Today  Mr

Scholzis one European leader among ma­

ny, Normandy is moribund and the trans­

atlantic  relationship  looks  testy.  “It’s  not

that Germany has impeded consensus de­

cision­making in nato,” says John Lough,

author of “Germany’s Russia Problem”. “It’s

just that it is not carrying as much water as

many of us would like.”

Mrs Merkel also enjoyed Mr Putin’s re­

spect, even as she came to despise his lies.

She  discussed  Ukraine  and  eastern  Euro­

pean security with Russia’s president half a

dozen times in her last months in office. In

his seven weeks Mr Scholz has done so on­

ly once, despite the urgency. Mr Putin now

prefers to talk to America over Europeans’

heads. By weakening Europe, an equivocal

Germany  plays  plumb  into  the  Kremlin’s

hands,  says  Mr  Meister.  Mrs  Merkel

learned that Russian menaces were better

faced  down  if  Germany  ledEurope’s  re­

sponse. It is an idea in whichhersuccessor

has so far shown little interest.n