After a long decline, Europe tries for a comeback

The region is bedevilled by deep-rooted demographic and structural economic problems. (Image: 123rf.com)

Sat, 29 Mar 2025

By Gerard BakerAs metaphors go, the complete closure of Europe’s busiest airport this month because of a fire in a suburban electricity substation is a timely one. If you believe that the old continent is collapsing into a decrepitude of its own economic dysfunction, the symbolism of Heathrow’s shambles has strong symbolic value. It can even be made to work, with a little imagination, as a parable for Europe’s wider existential retreat: decades of environmental extremism that has battered its competitiveness, multicu...

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