Editing Sick man of Europe (section)

==Post-World War I usage==
After the demise of the Ottoman Empire, writers have described many countries as the "sick men" of Europe or the [[Old World]].<ref name=":0" />

=== France ===
During the 1950s, [[France]] was characterized as the "sick man of Europe", due to a combination of economic issues and a fading optimism since the country was [[French Fourth Republic|reestablished]] after [[World War II]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Peterson |first=Wallace C. |date=April 1957 |title=Planning and Economic Progress in France |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/world-politics/article/abs/planning-and-economic-progress-in-france/A9BF423F23D104A4BAE91111A6CA91A9 |journal=World Politics |language=en |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=351–382 |doi=10.2307/2008919 |jstor=2008919 |s2cid=156469824 |issn=1086-3338|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In 1953, [[Paul Reynaud]] described France as such to the [[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 June 1953 |title=THE SICK MAN OF EUROPE |pages=16 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.comhttp//arch-timesmachine-fe-prd-40741-2-575473780.us-east-1.elb.amazonaws.com/timesmachine/1953/06/20/84407482.html?pageNumber=16 |access-date=2023-08-16}}</ref>

A 2007 report by [[Morgan Stanley]] referred to France as the "new sick man of Europe".<ref name="morganstanley">{{cite web |last=Berner |first=Richard |date=2 March 2007 |title=Does Market Turmoil Change the Outlook? |url=http://www.morganstanley.com/views/gef/archive/2007/20070302-Fri.html#anchor4498 |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927021756/http://www.morganstanley.com/views/gef/archive/2007/20070302-Fri.html |archive-date=27 September 2007 |accessdate= |publisher=Morgan Stanley}}</ref> This label was reaffirmed in January 2014 by European newspapers such as ''The Guardian'' and {{lang|de|[[Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung]]}}.<ref>{{cite news |last=Finkenzeller |first=Karin |date=21 January 2014 |title=Der kranke Mann Europas |language=de |trans-title=The sick man of Europe |newspaper=Die Zeit |url=http://www.zeit.de/wirtschaft/2014-01/frankreich-reformen-europa-hollande |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230514073548/https://www.zeit.de/wirtschaft/2014-01/frankreich-reformen-europa-hollande |archive-date=14 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=28 January 2014 |title=Frankreich holt sich Rat von Peter Hartz |language=de |trans-title=France seeks advice from Peter Hartz |newspaper=Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung |publisher=Frankfurter Allgemeine |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/wirtschaftspolitik/arbeitsmarktreformen-frankreich-holt-sich-rat-von-peter-hartz-12773174.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510203538/https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/wirtschaftspolitik/arbeitsmarktreformen-frankreich-holt-sich-rat-von-peter-hartz-12773174.html |archive-date=10 May 2023}}</ref> They justified this with France's high unemployment, weak economic growth and poor industrial output.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Elliott |first=Larry |date=2014-01-14 |title=France: the New Sick Man of Europe |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/14/france-sick-man-europe-economy |accessdate=19 April 2014}}</ref>

=== Germany ===
In the late 1990s, [[Germany]] was often labeled with this term because of its economic problems, especially due to the costs of [[German reunification]] after 1990, which were estimated to amount to over €1.5&nbsp;trillion (statement of [[Freie Universität Berlin]]).<ref name="The real sick man of Europe">[https://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=3987219 "The real sick man of Europe"], ''The Economist''. May 19, 2005.</ref> It continued to be used in the early 2000s, and as Germany slipped into recession in 2003.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/node/209559 |title=The sick man of the euro |newspaper=The Economist |date=1999-06-03 |accessdate=2017-07-02}}</ref> In contrast, a 2016 article by ''[[The Guardian]]'' described the German economy under [[Angela Merkel]] as a "revival" from the country's previous "sick man" status.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/18/angela-merkel-sick-man-of-europe-germany-economy-chancellor |title=Angela Merkel and the revival of the sick man of Europe |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2016-11-19 |accessdate=2017-07-02|last1=Oltermann |first1=Philip }}</ref> However, when Germany was experiencing economic issues again in the 2020s, concerns about the "sick man" characterisation reemerged, with [[Kiel Institute for the World Economy|Kiel Institute]] President [[Moritz Schularick]] saying: "If Germany does not want to become the 'sick man of Europe' once again, it must now courageously turn its attention to the growth sectors of tomorrow instead of fearfully spending billions to preserve yesterday's energy-intensive industries."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Böhme |first=Henrik |date=1 August 2023 |title=Germany: The return of the 'sick man' of Europe? |work=[[Deutsche Welle]] |url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-economy-weakens-2023/a-66403943}}</ref>

=== Italy ===
In 1972, [[Italian Democratic Socialist Party|PSDI]] politician [[Luigi Preti]] wrote a book titled ''Sick Italy'' ({{Lang|it|Italia malata}}). In it, he says that [[Italy]] was at risk of becoming "the sick man of Europe who has proved unable to keep in step as soon as he reached the first milestone on the road to well‐being".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hofmann |first=Paul |date=26 November 1972 |title=Spreading Malaise Vexes Italy |pages=1 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/11/26/archives/spreading-malaise-vexes-italy-growing-malaise-worries-italians.html}}</ref>

In May 2005, this title was again attributed to Italy, with ''The Economist'' describing it as "the real sick man of Europe". This refers to Italy's structural and political difficulties thought to inhibit economic reforms to relaunch economic growth. In 2018, [[Italy]] was again referred to as the "sick man of Europe" following post-election deadlock.<ref>{{cite web|author=Mehreen Khan|url=https://www.ft.com/.../ac7e7446-20c9-11e8-9efc-0cd3483b8b80 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/.../ac7e7446-20c9-11e8-9efc-0cd3483b8b80 |archive-date=2022-12-10 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Italy's populists are Juncker's big headache|website=Financial Times|accessdate=6 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/surveys/displayStory.cfm?story_id=5164061 |title=Addio, dolce vita |newspaper=The Economist | date=24 November 2005}}</ref> In 2008, in an opinion piece criticizing the country's approach to economic reform, ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' also used the term to describe Italy,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/3557277/Italy-The-sick-man-of-Europe.html |title=Italy: The sick man of Europe |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=2008-04-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091220040904/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/3557277/Italy-The-sick-man-of-Europe.html |archive-date=2009-12-20|url-status=live|access-date=3 May 2023}}</ref> as did a [[CNBC]] op-ed in 2020.<ref>[https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/03/italy-the-sick-man-of-europe-tries-to-administer-its-own-medicine.html "Op-Ed: Italy, the 'sick man of Europe', tries to administer its own medicine"]. ''CNBC'', 3 March 2020.</ref>

=== Russia ===
The [[Russian Empire]] in 1917 was described as the "Sick Man of Europe" in an edition of ''The New York Times'' from that year. In the 1917 article by [[Charles Richard Crane]], the illness metaphor is used more directly, with the empire described as "Suffering From Overdose of Exaggerated Modernism in Socialist Reform Ideas", and "the danger for the patient lay in the fact that too many quacks and ignorant specialists were contending for the right to be admitted to the bedside and administer nostrums."<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=1917-09-26 |title=CRANE DIAGNOSES RUSSIA'S AILMENT; She Is Suffering From Overdose of Exaggerated Modernism in Socialist Reform Ideas. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1917/09/26/archives/crane-diagnoses-russias-ailment-she-is-suffering-from-overdose-of.html |access-date=2021-12-21 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Post-Soviet [[Russia]] has also been referred to as such in the 2007 book ''Kremlin Rising: Vladimir Putin's Russia and the End of Revolution'' by [[Peter Baker (author)|Peter Baker]] and [[Susan Glasser]],<ref>Peter Baker, Susan Glasser, ''Kremlin Rising: Vladimir Putin's Russia and the End of Revolution'' (Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books, 2007), pp. 179–176.</ref> and by [[Mark Steyn]] in his 2006 book ''[[America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Steyn |first=Mark |title=America alone: the end of the world as we know it |date=2008 |publisher=Regnery Publ |isbn=978-0-89526-078-9 |location=Washington/D.C}}</ref>

In the aftermath of the [[Wagner Group rebellion]] during the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]] (and [[Vladimir Putin]]'s perceived weakness in confronting it), political scientist Aleksandar Đokić said in 2023 that the "sick man of Europe" moniker "seem[ed] fitting for Putin’s Russia". While acknowledging the term itself to be simplistic, Đokić stated that:

{{Quoteblock|text="The [[poetic justice]] of the imperialistic, [[Orientalism|orientalising]] and commonly overused term coming back to haunt its place of origin aside, Putin’s Russia has decidedly found itself in a military, economic, political, demographic, and even conceptual dead end."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Đokić |first=Aleksandar |date=19 July 2023 |title=An empire on its deathbed can still cause pain and suffering |work=[[Euronews]] |url=https://www.euronews.com/2023/07/19/an-empire-on-its-deathbed-can-still-cause-pain-and-suffering}}</ref>}}

===United Kingdom===
Throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, the [[United Kingdom]] was sometimes characterized as the "sick man of Europe", first by commentators, and later at home by critics of the [[Labour government, 1974–1979|third Wilson/Callaghan ministry]] due to industrial strife and poor economic performance compared with other European countries.<ref>[https://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=3987219 "The real sick man of Europe"], ''The Economist''. May 19, 2005.</ref> Some observers consider this era to have started with the devaluation of the pound in 1967, culminating with the so-called [[Winter of Discontent]] of 1978–79. At different points throughout the decade, numerous countries such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, and Greece were cited by the American business press as being "on the verge of sickness" as well. 

In the summer of 2017, the United Kingdom was again referred to as the "sick man of Europe" due to the [[Economic effects of Brexit#Immediate impact of the referendum|immediate impact]] of the [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum|EU referendum results]].<ref name="SMOE">{{Cite news|last1=Branchflower|first1=David|title='Britain is fast becoming the sick man of Europe' – experts debate Brexit data|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jul/24/britain-is-fast-becoming-the-sick-man-of-europe-experts-debate-brexit-data|newspaper=The Guardian|accessdate=24 July 2017|date=2017-07-24}}</ref> The term was used frequently by the early 2020s with regards to the [[Economic effects of Brexit|economic effects]] of [[Brexit]], [[United Kingdom industrial disputes and strikes (2022–present)|ongoing industrial action]] in the public sector, [[July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election|leadership turmoil]] within the Conservative party, and the [[2021–present United Kingdom cost-of-living crisis|cost of living crisis]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/uk-news/tory-party-leadership-race-brexit-guy-hands-b2209460.html|title=Tories turning UK into 'sick man of Europe', says top party donor|date=October 24, 2022|website=The Independent}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/uk-set-to-be-sick-man-of-europe-says-tory-backer/ar-AA13je8Y|title=UK set to be sick man of Europe, says Tory backer|website=MSN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-63371743|title=UK doomed without Brexit rethink, warns City boss|work=BBC News |date=October 24, 2022}}</ref> As of June 2023, the label is still frequently applied to the United Kingdom as inflation and price increases continue to generate economic uncertainty within the country.<ref>{{cite news |title=Why does Britain have the worst inflation in the G7? - BBC Newsnight |url=https://theglobalherald.com/news/why-does-britain-have-the-worst-inflation-in-the-g7-bbc-newsnight/ |access-date=5 June 2023 |publisher=BBC News |date=5 June 2023}}</ref>

The term was also more literally applied during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] after a new strain of coronavirus, the [[SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant|Alpha variant]], led to a number of countries closing their borders to UK air travel.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-britain/sick-man-of-europe-uk-cut-off-over-fears-about-new-covid-strain-idUSKBN28V0OT|title='Sick man of Europe': UK cut off over fears about new COVID strain|publisher=Reuters|last1=Mey|first1=Gerhard|last2=Makori|first2=Ben|date=2020-12-21|accessdate=2020-12-21}}</ref>

=== Other uses ===
Swedish Diplomat and former Prime Minister [[Carl Bildt]] once referred to [[Serbia]] under the rule of [[Slobodan Milošević]] as a candidate for the new "sick man of Europe" in 1997. This is due to political instability in [[Serbia and Montenegro|Yugoslavia]] and its former territories caused by [[Yugoslav Wars]] that rocked the Balkan region from 1991 until 2001.<ref>{{cite web |date=1997-01-09 |title=Western Press Review: Milosevic And The New 'Sick Man Of Europe' |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/1083031.html |accessdate=2021-11-19 |publisher=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]]}}</ref>

In 2007, ''[[The Economist]]'' described [[Portugal]] as "a new sick man of Europe".<ref>[https://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9009032 "A new sick man of Europe"]. ''The Economist''</ref>

In July 2009, the pejorative was given by EurActiv to [[Greece]] in view of the [[2008 Greek riots]], rising [[unemployment]], and [[political corruption]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 December 2008 |title=Greece to appear 'sick man' at EU summit |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/social-europe-jobs/news/greece-to-appear-sick-man-at-eu-summit/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230503012039/https://www.euractiv.com/section/social-europe-jobs/news/greece-to-appear-sick-man-at-eu-summit/ |archive-date=2023-05-03 |access-date=3 May 2023}}</ref>

In spring 2011, [[Eurozine]] suggested that the [[European Union]] was the "sick man of Europe" by entitling an event focusing on the [[Eurozone crisis]], "The EU: the real sick man of Europe?"<ref name="eurozine">{{cite web |title=The EU: the real sick man of Europe? |url=https://www.eurozine.com/the-eu-the-real-sick-man-of-europe-2/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702040949/https://www.eurozine.com/the-eu-the-real-sick-man-of-europe-2/ |archive-date=2022-07-02 |access-date=3 May 2023 |work=Eurozine|date=5 August 2011 }}</ref>

In 2015 and 2016, [[Finland]] was called the "sick man of Europe" due to its recession and lacklustre growth, in a time when virtually all other European countries had recovered from the [[Great Recession in Europe|Great Recession]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Khan |first=Mehreen |date=2015-11-13 |title=Finland emerges as the 'new sick man of Europe' as euro's worst performing economy |newspaper=Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11993040/Finland-emerges-as-the-new-sick-man-of-Europe-as-euros-worst-performing-economy.html |accessdate=2017-07-02}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Walker |first=Andrew |date=2016-02-29 |title=Finland: The sick man of Europe? |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35656150 |access-date=2017-07-02}}</ref>