The struggle to ease anxieties over a single currency, immigration, cross-border crime and continental defenses may reflect the failure of Europe's traditional movements to adapt their message to modern priorities. A recent survey in Germany showed political parties ranked at the bottom of respected institutions, and that only 43 percent of voters believe their elected representatives can solve the nation's most pressing problems. Italy's Christian Democrats, who ruled the country for four decades, have nearly disappeared as a viable political force in the wake of a corruption scandal. In France, Gaullists are questioning their political identity after losing power last year. In Germany, many Christian Democrats are asking what their party really represents other than a vote-gathering machine to keep Kohl in power.
Visions are nothing but strategies for action.
The one we had helped us rise from the ruins of World War II to build a social market economy for the prosperity of all. Our political elites need to get out of the trenches of dogma and decide society's course for the 21st century. We must take the lead, not stumble behind.