"So why does Europe cling to its suspension of disbelief? The answer is that it cannot bear to face up to reality. If coordination, rules and sanctions, processes and agreements and mechanisms cannot deliver a sound set of policies for the Eurozone over a prolonged period of time, then the choice must ultimately be between discarding the euro or taking the plunge into a federal structure complete with Eurobonds, a common set of core policies, a bigger and more flexible EU budget, and so on. This is definitely not the kind of argument today’s wobbly cast of political leaders are prepared to put to the public. So they will drape their emperor of economic governance in new clothes and give press conferences marvelling at their beauty. We the public can re-read Andersen’s tale and know better."
via The Eurozone’s new clothes, via Kevin O'Rourke on the IrishEconomy.
Ee can argue about whether this is a fair portrayal of the situation until we are blue in the face, but as we are clearly heading in an economic council direction for our government, and our new government is Europhile (as am I by the way), it is well worth discussing the problem in this light.