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| Europe |
| Europe cracks in the heat of Greece's flames |
| 2010-05-10 |
| AN explosion of violence in Greece against austerity measures to save it from bankruptcy gave the country an almost revolutionary air last week, as if the people, with their rocks and political slogans, had risen up to overthrow corrupt and incompetent leaders. The burnt-out shell of Marfin Egnatia bank in central Athens became a shrine to the dead -- three employees, including a pregnant woman, killed when the building was set alight by protesters on Wednesday. "The people who did this should be hung upside down in the square," said a middle-aged woman placing a bunch of flowers at the marble threshold. By the weekend, however, when the tear gas had lifted, Europe was left to confront a reality even more momentous than the mayhem convulsing its southern frontier. Financial experts concur that Greece's woes may push the world back into recession just when people thought the worst of the crisis was over. Political leaders, meanwhile, are facing the possibility that their vision of Europe will come under threat, dooming to failure any future efforts to promote further integration. The level of concern became apparent on Friday when an official from the European Central Bank went on the record to deny that Europe was "breaking apart" as leaders met in Brussels for an emergency summit. They agreed a package of measures to defend the beleaguered single currency, but this may not be enough to end the turmoil. The survival of the European Union's present structure could be at stake, according to Lüder Gerken, director of the Centre for European Policy, a German think tank, who said "the struggle will be to preserve the EU as it exists". Today, on the 60th anniversary of the conception of the European community, the gloom will be intensified by the release of a report by Felipe Gonzalez Marquez, the former Spanish prime minister. He predicts that Europe could end up as "an insignificant peninsula on the Asian continent". Part of the problem is the sputtering demise of the "Franco-German motor", the impetus behind Europe's grandest schemes. Another is public disgruntlement with Europe's governing elite. Germany, once the EU's most enthusiastic champion, has emerged at the forefront of the backlash against European ideals, preferring to focus on national interests. After paying for reunification with the east, fiscally prudent Germans are horrified at being told they must bail out the profligate Greeks. Thomas Klau, of the European Council on Foreign Relations, spoke of a "fundamental change" in the way Germans think. "The almost instinctively Europhile discourse looks a thing of the past," he said. "Any argument for further integration will have to be fought for very hard." |
| Posted by:lotp |
| #8 Prediction: Now - big show of resolve and unified action to deal with the crisis. In a few months when things calm down, France and Germany will quietly shove Greece out of the Euro zone. BTW, headline would be better w. phrase 'Greek fire' |
| Posted by: DMFD 2010-05-10 10:57 |
| #7 Oh, the situation is grim NS. The only way to get out of the economic death spiral is to cut entitlements. And if you think a democratically elected government will commit political suicide I have some nice ocean front property in Nevada for ya. I see this as the decade of massive economic turmoil and violence for the west. We'll see if it recovers. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2010-05-10 08:12 |
| #6 Enough to make one wonder if the lights are going out. But the markets are pleased to have the appearance of being appeased, so everyone will be happy. Today. And then the hangover. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2010-05-10 07:09 |
| #5 Behold the result of outcome egalitarianism. Destroyed property and murdered pregnant girls. Some individuals/groups/countries/civilizations/societies are less good at creating wealth or a standard of living than others. Get over it. Nothing humans can do will make the differences between individuals or societies go away except for violence and tyrrany. The result of efforts to make everyone's economic outcome equal will ALWAYS be worse than letting people rise or sink to their own standard of living based on their own skill level, work ethic, and smarts in whatever technological milieu exists at the time. Why hasn't the left figured that out? They seek to make everyone equal by tearing down the best, by spreading mediocrity instead of allowing people to achieve their best. Trying to make everyone all the same to suit some leftist ideology or narrative will never, ever work. Read Federalist #10, or Hayek, or Friedman. |
| Posted by: no mo uro 2010-05-10 06:19 |
| #4 So, EU suggests cutting back on spending and the Greeks go crazy, kill three people, and insist that no changes are needed. They'll kill to keep their free-spending way of life. Meanwhile, EU elites ignore those pesky treaties to do what they know is best, because they're the best and know what's best. Always. |
| Posted by: gromky 2010-05-10 06:04 |
| #3 Too bad these two sentences weren't in the same article: To get around these obstacles, European officials appear to be relying on vaguer parts of the treaties, or on novel interpretations. Casue and effect: Another is public disgruntlement with Europe's governing elite. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2010-05-10 05:53 |
| #2 Money: meet black hole. Jump on in. Room for all the money. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2010-05-10 02:09 |
| #1 The WSJ has some of this weekend's developments; BRUSSELS—The European Union agreed on an audacious €750 billion ($955 billion) bailout plan in an effort to stanch a burgeoning sovereign debt crisis that began in Greece but now threatens the stability of financial markets world-wide...The measures discussed in Brussels make clear how far the crisis is stretching the founding principles of the common currency. Those principles emphasize that each euro-zone country is committed to managing its own fiscal affairs...The EU treaties contain a so-called no-bailout clause, which forbids the bloc or any member to "be liable for or assume the commitments of" another EU country. The treaties bar the European Central Bank from lending to countries or buying their debt directly. To get around these obstacles, European officials appear to be relying on vaguer parts of the treaties, or on novel interpretations. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2010-05-10 00:37 |