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BBC Newsnight came alive on Wednesday night, for the first time in a very long time. Twitter went wild.
For those of you who didn't see centre right commentator Peter Oborne's tussle with former FT Editor Sir Richard Lambert on the history and the future of the Euro, have a look here.
Although Oborne was rude, crude and bombastic towards Lambert, he asked the right question. Why was Europe's leading markets paper - the Financial Times - editorially so uncritical of the Euro project from an economic perspective? It bought the politics - but wasn't it, isn't it, supposed to be the paper of economics?
And it is the question that Oborne posed: why was the media and political class so enthused of the project for so long? A question which has some relevance for Britain watching the vote in the German Bundestag yesterday.
Now I am no Eurosceptic. I tried twice to get Ken Clarke elected Tory leader! I did believe in the project from the outset, but the facts have changed and so have I.
And so have the views of electorates across Europe. Current polling in Germany shows an increasingly Euro-sceptical stance. The people are ahead of the political class - and not for the first time.
The problem for Europe's politicians is that they have very few options left. There was talk last weekend of a deal on the table to expand the European Financial Stability Facility - leveraging it up from €440bn to over €2.5trillion. But few can explain how this will work in practice.
This week I talked to an investment banker who said the markets would now want to see an even higher number in order to provide some greater comfort. Higher than €2.5trillion. Eh????
These telephone numbers have become meaningless.
The problem for politicians like Mrs Merkel is Eurozone electorates can't see the benefits they were sold at the outset anymore.
I can't help but think right now just what would the House of Commons have done today if it had been faced with such a vote? Would a UK within the Eurozone have voted to bail it out? Probably not. Even Nick Clegg spoke in Eurosceptical terms about the proposed financial transaction tax today.
Most British voters watching the evening news last night will have breathed a sigh of relief. And their politicians will have too.
For now...
Follow Iain Anderson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/IW_Anderson
EUSSR is encroaching upon the freedoms of the people. the Unelected and Unaccountable technocrats in Brussels keep pushing their eu failed project because they are afraid they are going to lose their jobs.
Referendum now!
Iain Anderson’s excellent article asks would the UK would have voted to bail out the Euro had it been a member?
The answer is that the UK would probably have taken the short term view, looked at the extent of its banks’ exposure, and worked out whether it was cheaper to prop up the Euro or cheaper to prop up its banks.
The problem for Europe's politicians is that they have very few options left and they have few powers that they can exercise.
We should remember that the Eurozone comprises 17 members, each of which has a veto power. All of those 17 members are also accountable to their own parliaments who may, or may not, go along wit the decisions made.
Were Britain now a member of the Eurozone, Mr. Cameron would be doing exactly what President Sarkozy is now doing, - keeping his head well down in case he is asked to shoulder some of the burden.
The Eurozone leaders will probably cobble together yet another “solution” to the crisis before the forthcoming G20 Summit. However a real and workable solution is beyond grasp, simply because the common currency concept has now been shown as unworkable, - for now, at any rate.
Sincerely, Derek Lantin. http://dereklantin.booksabuzz.com
If we weren't burdened with constantly paying for nations like the Greeks we'd probably be even further ahead of Europe than we already are....and without the FOUR TRILLION's worth of debt we are currently passing on to our grandchildren.
I've really had enough of the Euro now. I want to spend some Francs in France again.
http://todayfreedom.blogspot.com/
What a world...
http://todayfreedom.blogspot.com/