Jack. I have lost both my parents.
Lady Bracknell. To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.
Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
In this initial post, I would like to share a recurring thought. In pondering about the current crisis, I am often reminded of the above exchange in Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. Yes, I know that the Portuguese situation has its own very particular (perhaps even peculiar) national dimensions - just like the Greek and Irish crises have their own domestic specificities, echoing Tolstoy's oft-quoted dictum about each unhappy family being unhappy in its own way. Yet I find myself invariably returning to Lady Bracknell’s response above. To paraphrase Wilde, if losing one (Greece) could be considered misfortune on the part of the Eurozone, to lose three really does look like carelessness. With another two or three (Italy, Spain, maybe even Belgium further down the road?) edging towards the brink, it seems that Europe has yet to fully realise the political importance of being Euro.
Spain is TBTF, so it must be rescued at all costs with every last dime - real or printed. Failure to do so assures a full Euro currency collapse.
ReplyDeleteItaly? "Foggeta 'bout it!", Italy is TBTB (Too big to Bail). Tell me, whom exactly can afford to bail out Italy? Italy's failure to pay its debts to France, would imediately take France out with a TKO; the Euro would be game over in matter of days.
The polical importance of having a united Euro-zone is indeed highly (!) significant; two world wars should be enough to remind anybody.