Merkel bans naked shorts of banks on her own. Let Zapatero impose "emergency" capital controls on his own. But perhaps he is concerned that such action would be sabotaged by elements in his government. Now is a time when governments most desperately need leaders who understand what is happening with the economy and can explain it clearly to the people. I believe I stressed the importance of discrediting the current economic paradigm so as to enable intelligent response to economic crisis back in the summer of 2008.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."