Während auf beiden Seiten des Nordatlantiks gegen die Schuldenkrise gekämpft wird, haben die Australier ganz andere Probleme. Sie müssen sich entscheiden, ob sie Teil des Westens bleiben oder sich verstärkt Asien zuwenden wollen. Angesichts der wirtschaftlichen Rahmenbedingungen sollte sich diese Frage eigentlich von selbst beantworten.

To describe Australia’s traditional position in the world two classic expressions come to mind, Geoffrey Blainey’s ‘tyranny of distance’ and Donald Horne’s ‘lucky country’. Both sum up Australia’s self-image as an outpost of the West, blessed with natural resources.

Despite their superficial straightforwardness, the terms have often been misunderstood. Blainey referred to the enormous distances within Australia as much as to Australia’s distance from Europe and America. And Horne’s saying was rather mockery than praise, which is obvious when you read the complete quote: “Australia is a lucky country, run by second-rate people who share its luck.”

As Australians watch countries on both sides of the North Atlantic struggling with their economic crises, these two phrases have come to sound different.

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(Dr. Oliver Marc Hartwich)