Holland has a population of 16 million, yet
Pieter Dorsman of Peaktalk is my guest today at noon. We’ll discuss this topic, Europe, and more. Join us!
The Dial In Number is (646) 652-2639
This was a most interesting podcast. Siggy and Mary, both of which had been my guests, called in. I’ll post more about it once the podcast is archived.
Update: You can listen to the podcast
Pieter Dorsman posts,
It is important to understand that failed Muslim integration to a large extent has resulted from the long held belief that allowing different religious pillars to exist in The Netherlands would contribute to a solution like it had in the past for the Catholic-Protestant divide on which the nation was built. The problem is that a template for neutralizing religious tensions between a culturally and economically largely homogenous group has limited use to integrate a group that both ethnically and economically occupies a different and separate world. Add to that the fact that Catholic and Protestant structures have largely become defunct in one of Europe’s most secular nations and you can picture the divergent tracks in Dutch society.
Secondly, following on caller Siggy’s questions – check out his blog here – the EU has gone through very different stages. From an economic project to a political “counterweight to the US” effort and now that its sheer size makes it impossible to foster a single European identity, a rather uncertain future. Again, the years of a Franco-German axis setting a largely political agenda appear to have waned, but it is not unthinkable that a possible Merkel-Sarkozy alliance could breathe new life into it. They could however shift the attention towards more economic reform and growth, but that is hopeful speculation on my part.
Go read the rest of his post.
I hope to have Pieter as a guest again soon.
