Saving the Euro

German anger at the 750 billion Euro Greek bailout to defend the debt crises from spreading to Portugal and Spain is growing. Today, the headline of Germany's biggest newspaper read "We are once again the schmucks of Europe".

They are very worried about other nations with the worst debt and unless they are addressed, the bailout package isn't going to fix the problems.

Germany has a floundering coalition government and taxpayers are being asked to make more sacrifices to save a currency they never wanted in the first place. Britain's bill for the bailout varies between £10bill and £43billion but there is no doubt that it is Germany that is picking up the lion's share of the bill. On Monday Angela Merkel said Germany's share would be 123 billion Euros for its bankrupt neighbours. That leaves no money for promised tax cuts which now must be shelved, hence the comment 'Are we really the schmucks of Europe?'

Voters are spitting chips and in a regional election last Sunday, they kicked Merkel's party out and there are rumours that the right-wingers in her conservative CDU party are plotting a coup against her.

'It's the biggest 'all-in' in the history of poker,' was how one economist called the massive aid bailout to save the Euro from collapse. But many people see it as delaying the end of the Euro and not preventing it.

I think the world is in deep do do.

2 comments

My personal thoughts are that the Euro was finished, form the

moment Britain refused to adopt the currency. I think that the

demise will just come quicker with the looming bankruptcies

of Spain, Portugal & Italy. I don't think it is a matter of IF, only WHEN.

The Germans are also cranky because the Greek government has known for years that they were badly in debt and did nothing about it.

Also that the Greek retiring age is a lot earlier than the German one, which leaves the Germans thinking that have to continue working past the Greek retiring age, merely to support the Greeks who have retired early.

PS. Do you have access to smileys on this forum?

2 comments



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