Eager to witness the beautiful serenity of a Syracuse fall, German Consul General Busso von Alvensleben will be visiting for the first time Wednesday to deliver a speech discussing the chaos of the European crisis.

Von Alvensleben, former German ambassador to Sweden and Ireland, as well as a former Commissioner for Global Issues, said he will focus his speech on decisions being made in Europe regarding the failing economies of multiple countries in the region.

The speech, ‘Germany and the Current Crisis in Europe,’ will take place in E.S. Bird Library, Room 114, from 12:45 p.m. to 2 p.m.

‘I have seen that it is not easy to understand what the mechanisms of decision making are in Europe,’ von Alvensleben said. ‘I want to explain how things work so the audience might have a slightly better picture about what is going on.’

Glyn Morgan, associate professor of political science at Syracuse University, said the crisis occurred because Greece and Italy borrowed more money than they could finance. If Greece and Italy default, Morgan said, many European banks will be gravely affected.

‘The nightmare scenario is a rerun of the global financial crisis of 2008, when Lehman Brothers collapsed,’ Morgan said in an email.

The leaders of the European Union are in the process of bringing life to the European financial market, aiding Greece with its enormous debt and preventing the failure of various European banks, according to an article published by The New York Times on Sunday.

Mainly because of its economy’s strength, Germany is viewed as one of the few countries to initiate the decision-making process of what is going to happen in Europe, von Alvensleben said.

‘It is a very costly and crucial process,’ von Alvensleben said. ‘This is not up to one government. You need a majority of coalitions and broad popular support for measures of this overwhelming importance.’

One of the biggest points von Alvensleben said he would make is that finding a solution to the crisis is more complicated than most people imagine.

Von Alvensleben referenced SU’s focus on media education, specifically in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, by saying, ‘the picture that is reflected in the media has to be broadened and has to be explained in detail.’

Von Alvensleben said he hopes his speech will teach students about the complexity of European politics and how it affects students on a local, national and worldwide level.

Karina von Tippelskirch, the German program coordinator in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics and coordinator of von Alvensleben’s visit to SU, said she believes the consul’s speech is an opportunity for students to meet with a German diplomat who can give them a perspective of German culture.

‘He can answer questions that only practitioners and people from the inside can answer,’ von Tippelskirch said.

The one question that von Alvensleben will leave unanswered is when the crisis will be resolved. Von Alvensleben said he believes because of all the conflicting and different interests, the solution to the European crisis will take a long time.

‘There is not a big bang and then the solutions are solved,’ von Alvensleben said. ‘That, unfortunately, is an illusion. All of the decisions that are being made have to build confidence in the financial market. There is no clear cut answer.’

mhnewman@syr.edu 

Published on October 24, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Meredith: mhnewman@syr.edu | @MerNewman93