Cretian attitude towards labour spats

Given the readership of this esteemed organ, I hesitate to say I was in the cradle of civilisation recently. My schoolboy days were founded on the unfailing certainty that life as we know and value it began between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, in the great cities of Tyre, Biblos and Ur.

So my sojourn to the south-eastern Mediterranean island of Crete was not in fact a homage to the cradle of literature, measured thought and the life of the mind, but it was definitely a close second, a wander through the kindergarten. Between 2,600 and 1,100BC the Minoans established a naval empire in the Mediterranean, based in Crete. The flourishing culture of the arts and sciences were swept away by erupting volcanoes and then invading Achaeans and Dorians. Romans, Arabs, Venetians and Turks occupied Crete for the next two thousand years or so.

And now Crete is Greek (or rather it's Cretian, and part of the Greek nation). So technically, Crete is just another, fairly chunky part of the European Union (the island, second-biggest in the eastern Mediterranean behind Cyprus) has a population of some 600,000, and is in many ways very modern. But Crete is part of the truly old world, not the brand-new construct that is the European Union. There is a kind of existential grandeur about the place, a quiet pride in its timeless antiquity that reminds me more of Syria and Sidon than Stuttgart or Silicon Valley.

So, yes, you pay in euros at the restaurants, but the pace of the meal, service, the town (I was in the ancient seaport of Agios Nikolaios), of life itself, feels not so muc European, but ancient. Crete has a pace and a rhythm of life that's respected in old countries – a rhythm I find deeply satisfying.

Witness the Cretian attitude to striking. The lorry drivers were upset about the cost of fuel in May, and took a day's industrial action. It made a few headlines back in early summer. But then a canny understanding of life took over. Whereas in Britain of the 1970s (and increasingly in what we refer to, rather jejunely, as the naughties, meaning the 00-decade) strike action would have intensified when most economic damage was to be done.

Not so in Crete. The Cretian economy is hugely dependent on tourism (accounting for roughly half of gross domestic product), so everyone's earnings – individuals' income and the aggregated cash that is state income - are highly seasonal. The lorry drivers reserved their rights in May, and struck again at the end of October – the day before "Ochi Day".

Ochi Day is a Greek national holiday to celebrate the refusal of the Greek government to accept a 1940 ultimatum from the Italian ambassador in Athens to allow Italian and German troops to occupy unspecified positions "of strategic importance" in Greece, or face war. The government's response, apparently, was "Ochi", or "no".

War duly followed, and the Greeks celebrate their naysaying day as a national holiday. The fact that Ochi Day fell on a Tuesday was just to much temptation. The lorry drivers resumed their action on the Monday, making for a very enjoyable, late-October long national holiday week end – something it was clearly impossible not to say "yes" to.

The week before had seen trouble a little more serious. The Cretians, and Greeks in general, were angry and upset by the European Union diktat that working hours had to be limited. Hoteliers and restaurateurs make their money not just in the summer months, but by working exceptionally long hours during that period. There is a vigorous demand for hospitality services early in the morning through till late at night, and the dedicated business people will cater for that demand by staying open and working through it all themselves, if they have to. Consequently, there was a series of minor stoppages involving many service industries (including air-traffic control) in protest against the arrogant tower of centralised command that is Brussels. If the Eurocrats think they can change the way of life of the old countries, of places such as Crete, they need to think again. There's a lot more "Ochi" than this latest little labour spat waiting down the line.


Unified approach

That said, there are some areas where uniformity and a little bit of clever regulation are welcome. Witness this week's meeting of European Union finance ministers in Brussels. As the dust (or should that be white-hot, nuclear debris?) settles on the remnants of the banking system, the Europeans are trying to agree a consensus position as to how banks should be regulated in the not-so-brave new world. It's important, of course, to have a unified, coherent position if one wants to influence events. The United States have had it their own way for so very long by virtue of being the most powerful and unified market place. The US is way smaller than an aggregated Europe, but more uniform in its demands, much easier to sell to.

The word is that a document is being passed amongst Europe's senior civil servants ahead of a big meeting of heads of state in a fortnight's time.

If it's agreed, that will help shape events in what we all hope is the early stage of a post-meltdown world (US businessman and commentator Steve Forbes is on record as saying the worst is over – but that doesn't necessarily inspire confidence in me, at least).

Of course the paradox of so many things pertaining to the European Union is that the superfluous, negative things (inappropriate working schedules for seasonal economies) can be agreed. The important matters end up with disunity or flagrant disregard from self-interested member states. I fear there may be a pan-European Ochi Day with dismal consequences for the financial system.


Tourism boom

Finally, as predicted in this column, the flow of people towards the Middle East is increasing. But this time, I'm not talking about labour, but tourism.

"The dramatic desert landscapes and ancient culture of the Middle East is luring visitors in their droves," according to UK travel company, Travelsphere.

Offering holidays to Egypt, Jordan, Libya and Syria, the tour operator has reported a 108 per cent year-on-year increase in bookings to the Middle East.

"We're thrilled, but not that surprised, to see how well the region is performing for us," said a company spokesperson.

- The writer is an author and commentator on international business affairs