Out of all of the religious paintings I saw in Tuscany, I can only remember one that addressed Purgatory, which makes sense; who would want to paint a picture of someone waiting endlessly in Newark Airport for a connecting flight? All of the drama is in the other two places.
The EU is in a position uncomfortably similar to Purgatory. One of the potential solutions to the euro issue is the creation of more effective federal institutions, but that would only lead to more German-imposed austerity and bailouts, and no one, even the Germans, really wants that. On the other hand, to move backward and ditch the euro would be an admission of failure, and the powers that be just can’t swallow that medicine.
I always thought the euro was a mistake. Today, defending a decision that was largely intended to be symbolic of the ultimate commitment to federalism has become an end in itself, and has done untold damage to the EU. Everyone would be better off if the EU would go backward, get rid of the euro, and focus on improving the single market, which appears to have the general support of the community; more federalism should be pushed off into the future, when Europeans have a greater sense of themselves as one nation, and economic conditions are better. Unfortunately, I don’t expect that to happen anytime soon.