I have been a Europhile all my life. Consequently I have favored most initiatives to deepen and/or expand the European Union. I am not completely naïve and recognize that Europe has many failings, not least of which has been the poor quality of its leadership for the last three decades, whether at the level of EU institutions or individual European governments. As a Frenchman and a European I cringe at the very thought of “my” uninspiring mediocre leaders François Hollande and Jean-Claude Juncker. Blaming leadership, however, is easy. The truth is that we get the leaders we deserve. The disease in Europe is not European leadership but the prevailing non-communitarian feelings of the European people. Or, to put it another way, endemic and rampant Euro-tribalism hampers the creation of a viable European Union. There are many tribes in the EU, but there is no such thing as a European tribe. Thus, while India is composed of numerous tribes, they do come together as one Indian tribe under certain circumstances - eg a cricket match!
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