Europe and the End of the Age of Innocence

“Bongiovanni’s message should be heeded, especially in Brussels, Berlin and Paris” – John Peet, Political Editor, The EconomistFrancesco Bongiovanni returns with a sequel to The Decline and the Fall of Europe, a book Guardian journalist Nils Pratley labelled 'a wake-up call for the twenty-first century'. Since 2012 Europe has been confronted with new, unexpected game-changing challenges such as the refugee crisis and its human tsunami, the surprise of Brexit and the explosion of 'alternative' politics. Europeans have finally come to realize that the open-societies that they have been comfortably living in are under threat and fragmenting, leaving their survival uncertain. Minorities are falling prey to an Islamist ideology that conveys values and customs diametrically opposed to European ones. Terrorist acts have become the 'new normal', part of daily life. The North-South cleavage brought about by the eurozone crisis is now completed by a deep East-West cleavage born from the refugee crisis. Against this backdrop, a Germany that is not all that it seems has become Europe’s de-facto ruler, but is unfit to lead, while Trump’s America cannot be counted on as it once used to be, forcing Europe to fend for itself. A beacon of stability and prosperity in the past, a naive and unprepared Europe, facing new and terrifying challenges is today more than ever torn apart, increasingly unstable and adrift.

Francesco M. Bongiovanni holds an MBA from Harvard, USA, and a doctorate in engineering. He has lived in Europe, Asia, the USA and the Arab World. A former investment banker in Wall Street and London, he subsequently worked as an entrepreneur and advisor in direct investments and private equity. He has been made a Knight of the Order of St Charles for his contribution to humanitarian endeavours and biodiversity protection. Bongiovanni is also an author and composer of classical symphonic music and jazz.Find out more at: www.francescobauthor.com