Do the single currency’s 17 members sincerely want to save the euro?
“Yes,” their governments all reply in unison, though, judging by the latest polls, many of their electorates are less than sure. According to Pew Research, 40pc of Italians want to return to the lira, while, in France and Spain, more people now think the euro has been bad than good.
That’s a huge turnaround from just two years ago. Support for the single currency is fast ebbing away. To the extent that it still exists at all, it seems wholly dependent on fear of what might happen if and when things fall apart.
Monetary union has become like an inoperable tumour; few now embrace it with any enthusiasm, but it seems impossible to remove for fear of the potentially fatal consequences.
Events are fast moving beyond the control of policymakers. As Spain’s elder statesman, Felipe Gonzalez, has said, “we’re in a situration of total emergency, the worst crisis we have ever lived through”. Policy makers are like rabbits in the headlights, apparently unequal to the scale of the banking crisis in their midst. If something else doesn’t derail the single currency first, it will soon fall to popular insurgency.
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The euro-crash is coming. Will Ireland vote to be part of it?
Afternoon Updates:
12:02 pm EDT, May 31st, 2012 — Europe’s top officials warn euro’s survival at risk
12:03 pm EDT, May 31st, 2012 — Capital flight from Spain hits record $66bn
12:04 pm EDT, May 31st, 2012 — Spanish bailout fears rock European stock markets
12:05 pm EDT, May 31st, 2012 — Investors flood into cash as eurozone break up fears escalate
12:06 pm EDT, May 31st, 2012 — Spain is crying for help, but is Berlin listening?
12:07 pm EDT, May 31st, 2012 – Tax evasion arrests reach 499
12:08 pm EDT, May 31st, 2012 — Euro break-up ‘could wipe 50pc off London house prices’
12:09 pm EDT, May 31st, 2012 — Spain faces ‘total emergency’ as fear grips markets
12:10 pm EDT, May 31st, 2012 — Draghi tells EU get a clear vision for euro or risk disaster
Reading selected articles at the Irish Times this a.m. the information is interesting to say the least and purposefully confusing.
So far, with five hours to go for voting as it concludes at 10 p.m., less than 20 percent of eligible voters have registered their vote. Eight thousand (8,000) voted early from hospitals and old age homes.
Declan Ganley has weighed in recommending a “NO” vote, but he won’t rule out running for EU parliament.
The electorate hopefully are onto the fact that this is only about banks getting more bailouts from future generations of what’s left of the tax base.
It’s a very disgusting situation and what it means at base that Ireland gives up its hard fought sovereignty, gained in 1922, so it enjoyed it for less than one hundred years.
The results will be available in about five hours or less I figure.
I’m thinking Enda Kenny is a sap altogether and in collusion with his banking buddies, he’s the unfortunate instrument through which Ireland is betrayed/lost to its unique nationshood.
Celtic Tiger going down for good, I’m afraid. Sad day for its diaspora.