David Skelton

22nd Jul 2011

“System working well.  Send more cash.”  That was the plaintive plea used in a telegram from a Monte Carlo casino. 

It seems that EU leaders have hit upon the same ruse with the second Greek bailout.

Alistair Heath of City AM has a pithy description of what the new deal amounts to.  He describes it as, “a large bailout, a move towards further fiscal unification through the back door and a partial, much-needed but small “selective default”.”

The sense of “mission accomplished” around this bailout is much the same as that which accompanied the first Greek bailout, as well as that of Ireland and Portugal.  There is little to say that it isn’t going to have the same result.

In an attempt to pull Greece back from the abyss, European policy makers have opted for more of the same.  They have failed to address the failure of a single currency to even come close to being able to meet the diverse economic needs of a continent.  They have failed to address public concerns about the Euro model and further integration or the failures of the last phase of integration.

They have responded to the failure of one ambitious project in European integration with calls for another ambitious project in European integration.

They have responded to the failure of one bailout with another bailout.

“System working well.  Send more cash.”