In an editorial in the German conservative newspaper Die Welt Thomas Kielinger referred yesterday to the different ways in which British and Spanish politicians reacted to the bombings in London last week and Madrid last year. “London differs from Madrid in this respect that there were no panic reactions from politicans calling for a departure of troops from Iraq. For the first time this demand has even become an issue of secondary importance. For the first time in five years Tony Blair is experiencing a precipitous rise in popularity. The people sense how in a moment of crisis they have a head of government who does not simply talk about leadership, but lives it. A nation that is led like this is united in itself and with its ruling elite and will remain prominent.”

In his article Kielinger tries to find an answer to the question “what makes the British such a prominent people.” “The Stoicism of the British is not an eccentric virtue, but a readiness in their whole society not to allow themselves to be driven by fear. […] Bravery is the management of fear. This is what springs to mind when one sees the millions of Londoners taking the tube again today. One has to admire them. They are apparently unmoved, but in reality they are courageous. Of course they are afraid, but they control themselves so as not to grant victory to the terrorists.”

Kielinger says that Europe is very fortunate that it still has societies “that do not allow themselves to be intimidated by the global threat, but confront it with the powerful resistance of a nation united around its leader.”