[Skybird]

Nations and people are not the same. Some constitutions seem to imply that, and democracy claims that, in a way, but it simply is wishful thinking only. Nations are monsters living a life of their own - and often without the people living in them being aware of it.

While indeed the ordinary, "private" people in most countries probably indeed meant it honest when congratulating the Germans, politically the issue was another story. Leaders and politicians obviously were anything but pleased by what was happening. After fourty years, one had arranged oneself with the status quo in Europe and Germany, and very comfoprtably so - the German division was to the advanatge and greater influence of practically all other nations in the West. Reunification thus necessarily came at the loss of such boosts in influence for the other nations - and not only for the big players like France and England, but also medium powers like Italy and small ones like Holland, Belgium, Denmark.