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Europe and my quadriga-spotting tour

Will Self ponders the future of Europe, as he stands by Berlin's Brandenburg gate and asks whether we should consider an end to the European Union 'in its current banjaxed form'.

Will Self ponders the future of Europe as he stands by Berlin's Brandenburg gate.

"As in Greek mythology" he writes, "the sun god Apollo Helios drives his chariot across the skies...so the charioteer and four horses that surmount the Brandenburg Gate...embody the idea of contemporary German nationhood".

On his "quadriga-spotting tour", Will weaves his way through the complex history of this symbol and its relevance for the rest of Europe.

In the end, he controversially asks whether "an end to the European Union in its current banjaxed form might allow all of us to experience a new dawn, drawn by a new charioteer".

Producer: Adele Armstrong.

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10 minutes

Last on

Sun 20 May 2012 08:50

Broadcasts

  • Fri 18 May 2012 20:50
  • Sun 20 May 2012 08:50

Podcast