The impact the financial crisis of 2007-8 has had on Europe has actually not been financial at heart. For what was a financial crisis triggered by bad debt in the United States has given birth to a re-emergence of island-state nationalism coupled with national egotism. In so doing the financial crisis is rapidly morphing into a crisis of the European idea. It is doing so because politicians have resolutely ignored the linkage and have allowed economic arguments to be hijacked and used to inculcate fear. A fear of what? A fear of further losses? That seems improbable? A fear of job losses? Well that has only happened in the Romance countries. So perhaps the key fear is that of having to alter a lifestyle…