Whatever happens next,the Greek crisis
has strained Europe to its limitsThe Greek cri
sis began like the proverbial cloud that was no bigger than a man’s hand and
has grown into a perfect storm which
has shaken Europe to its foundations. Regardless of the final outcome of the
negotiations, what unfortunately can be said with
certainty is that the union’s fault lines have all but burst u
nder the pressure.
Between France and Germany, or between north and so
uth and east and west in the union,and even within nations, there are now
profound differences, or only potential before,which it will pick a long time
to resolve. The past few days have seen Paris commit itself to keeping Gre
ece in the euro and the union in a wa
y which puts President François Hollande on a collision course with h
awks in the German government, headed by the finance minister, a
nd Wolfgang Schäuble. France’s mentoring of Greece as that country made its own
final proposals did not seek an easy or soft arrangement,but nor di
d it envisage Greece’s reduction to the status of a debt
colony, not too different from t
he conditions once imposed on Egypt and Ch
ina in the imperial era, and with foreigners in controlling pos
itions in its economy.Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com