Like it or not, the national stereotype is still alive and kicking. It just keeps on popping up in different disguises.

Brushing aside the histrionic antics of Italy's prime minister (Italian friends say they will hand in their passports if he gets reelected), we see plenty of evidence of the subterfuge use of stereotypes in the world of both politics and entertainment.

On the political front, we have the case of the two people who think they are really running Europe, the German and French prime ministers. According to the New York Times, the conviviality demonstrated by Merkel and Sarkozy is skin-deep. "She makes fun, in private, of the way he walks and talks, of his rapid, jerky gestures and facial grimaces." That could be almost any German woman talking about a Frenchman. Meanwhile, Sarkozy lets drop his otherwise carefully guarded opinion that the Germans are ponderous and slow to react. So what else if new?

The truth is that, just as the English and French have a love-hate relationship because (thank god!) they happen to be different, the Germans and the French have a similar problem. These things are not stereotypes, they are realities. From the febrile Sarkozy's point of view, Merkel comes across as just stuffy. As the NYT says, "Merkel is a coalition politician who wants to bring others along." But that is precisely the German way of doing things: coalition, consensus, conformity, continuity… and, inevitably, constitution (you will rarely see a German TV newsflash that doesn't make some reference to the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe).

So there is a deep-rooted cultural division of views and values. The two communities have different ways of thinking and doing. To the Germans, the French are almost unreal: Rudolf von Thadden, a German government adviser on foreign policy, says "the French are an autistic nation." That's strong language!

At least some French people are aware of the impression they make on foreigners. Chantal de Bourmont, the French ambassador to Slovenia admits that "I know that many people see the French as haughty and conceited, but believe me, we are not aware of this. We genuinely do not realise that we carry ourselves like this."

On the entertainment front, the French director danny Boon has followed up his blockbuster Bienvenu chez les Ch'tis with a new film Rien à Déclarer that pokes fun at the 'oh so near, yet oh so far' cultures of Belgium and northern France (which, after all, used to be more Belgian than French until the Thirty Years War). In this case, the stereotypes - unashamedly portrained in the film - are that the Belgians are "thick" and the French are, again, arrogant and smug. Boon claims that his film is a satire on racism. We'll see…

Belgian filmmaker Yolande Moreau's knows something about these stereotypes: "We used to be looked on as clods and Belgian cinema was snubbed, but since the Dardenne brothers, we've come up in the world."

In its most pristine form, the national stereotype pops up as 'national identity'. But, in this case, it expresses itself in an insider's sense of pride rather than an outsider's sense of ridicule. In this case, it's kosher.

Stereotypes aren't what they were, though. Our favourite is one that was recorded nearly 400 years ago by two travelers form the British Isles, Francis Bacon and William Lithgow: "The French are wiser than they seem and the Spanish seem wiser than they are." Now that's harmless, insightful… and Sicilian. Having been exposed to the occupying troops of both nations, the Sicilians had plenty of time to learn about their unwanted visitors.

For anyone who has a feeling for the French and the Spanish, this dictum contains profound truths. It also has the virtue of comparing two cultures rather than picking on just one.

"Good clean entertainment in this pub every night except Tuesday"

EUROPUBLICATIONS EBOOKS

Europublications, the book publishing arm of Europublic, continue to work and develop their new eBookshop and a launch date is now scheduled for March. An email announcement will be sent to inform you of the exact date when the project will go-live.

The new website will allow easy downloading of files that can be used on Kindle and other tablet-type readers.

Initial titles will include books written by Richard Hill, John Alexander, Carol Allan, David Howorth, and Eric Liggett.

Richard Hill needs no introduction, his work being widely read and referred to by those who are interested in diverse aspects of European Affairs and Intercultural concerns.

John Alexander, who lives and works in Stockholm, is an expert on Nordic and Baltic issues and a familiar face on Swedish television.

Eric Liggett spent many years teaching at one of the major Scottish universities and has authored books on British Political History and Political Issues.

Europublications would be interested to have full details about any unpublished manuscripts or ongoing projects, related to all aspect of European affairs, with a view to appraisal and publication as an eBook.

This a joke taken from an anthology of European jokes, collected and commented by Richard Hill, “Have You Heard this One? which was published in four languages, English, French, German and Dutch.

The situations described in these traditional European jokes are noticeably and appropriately low-tech. But with progress, ships, caves and the like are progressively giving way to space probes, aircraft and such.

Here is an example:

The European Union invites applications from astronauts for the first European manned mission to Mars. The first to apply is an Englishman who says he will go for 2 million ECUs, one million for himself and one million for his wife. Next comes a Frenchman, who asks for 3 million ECUs, one million for himself, one million for his wife and one million for his mistress. The final applicant is an Italian who asks for 4 million ECUs. "Why so much?", the project manager asks him. "One million for you, one million for me and two million for that silly Englishman..."