Last but not least: The cost of love

 
It seems like a grotesque, but it's not. The online dating agency Parship uses its self-made cost-of-love index to compare the sums spent in the search for, well, a partner. Of the 13 countries listed, the Emerald Isle is the frontrunner. The Irish spend 915 francs per capita per year, with the Netherlands bringing up the rear at 106 francs. Switzerland is in seventh place with 383 francs. The commentary goes like this: The Irish are the "most generous", the Dutch are "stingy" (who probably hardly need dating agencies due to their regular football orgies), and there is also talk of "annual budgets". But this talk leaves a stale aftertaste. Why is that? Is it the romantic spirit? Is there something resisting the management of even the last human emotion? Is it the measurement of love, which, counted and weighed, is robbed of its magic? Who knows, maybe it's just summer, and the stars are shining brightly, and the mild wind is swaying the waves. And 383 francs somehow doesn't fit into the concept.