Fire up the pop corn.
The French president, who is struggling in his bid to be re-elected, said he intended to insert the "balanced budget" rule into the French constitution, as agreed in the pact. But in a concession that will dismay the German Chancellor, he said he was prepared offer the electorate a say on the controversial issue.
"If the Senate were to block the rule's adoption, then before the end of 2012 I would organise a referendum to ask the French people what they think," he said.
Ms Merkel has said that the pact, which binds eurozone countries to keeping their deficits below 3pc, was "non-negotiable" and would "last forever".
Mr Sarkozy had been her key ally, along with Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister who was deposed at the weekend amid a political rebellion against the pact. The Netherlands' Queen Beatrix said elections would be held on September 12.
Francois Hollande, the front-runner in the French presidential race after the first round on Sunday, said on Wednesday he planned to re-write the fiscal pact to make it a "growth pact". The socialist leader told reporters that if he were elected on May 6, he would immediately send a letter to EU leaders to propose a new agreement that would include a financial transactions tax and so-called eurobonds, or debt issued by the eurozone collectively.
Continued on Page 47
The eurozone is in danger of collapsing in a manner similar to the old Soviet Union, which fell apart amid a crumbling economy that led to social upheaval, says billionaire financier George Soros. "Europe is similar to the Soviet Union in the way that the euro crisis has the potential of destroying, undermining the European Union," Soros said at a debate on public policy in Budapest, according to The Wall Street Journal.
"With the profound social, economic and moral crisis that Europe is in, we can see a similar process of disintegration." So how can he a) facilitate the collapse and b) profit by it?
Soros has made similar calls in the past, including recently in Denmark. "I'm afraid that the euro crisis is getting worse. It's not over yet, and it is going in the wrong direction," Soros said recently, according to Reuters. Maybe if he is quoted often enough, it will come to pass, and he'll get even richer.
"The euro is undermining the political cohesion of the European Union, and if it continues like that could even destroy the European Union," Soros said.
Soros recently called on Germany to do more to fight the crisis, according to an interview published in the weekly newspaper Welt am Sonntag. "The Germans should decide if they want the euro or not. If so, they have to carry out financial transfers. If not, they should leave the eurozone," Soros told the weekly, as picked up by the AFP newswire.
If Germany chooses to ditch the eurozone, Soros warns, the country's exports would suffer as the "new German currency would find itself at a high value." Leaves you longing for the good old days, eh, George? Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/25/2012 10:01 ||
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#1
Soros is merely trying to get the German state to rob Germans and send the money to the feckless where he'll loot a bit on the way...
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