[UPDATED] Merkel and Sarkozy's disastrous new 'economic government' | 169 comments (168 topical, 1 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: So (4.00 / 3)

Hmmm. If unanimity of consent is required, I don't think there's any chance at all of that plan working.

This looks to me more like electioneering by Merkozy, and perhaps a bit of a trial balloon.

I have my doubts they really believe they can make it stick when there are so many Eurozone countries with serious anti-EU sentiment.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Wed Aug 17th, 2011 at 07:06:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: So (4.00 / 3)

I don't see why unanimity should be required. They can corrupt the EMU members one by one.

Germany already has this cyanide pill in its constitution. If Merkozy can browbeat the PS into acceding to a French version, then together they have a viable power bloc. Remember, they're going to be bullying individual member states, not impose new EU policies, so resistance by a single member will not in itself suffice to prevent this abomination from going ahead everywhere else. And given the total absence of any viable opposition anywhere...

- Jake

If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Wed Aug 17th, 2011 at 07:12:02 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: So (4.00 / 4)

And "the Markets" and the ECB can always do their tried and tested one-two routine culminating with an ECB threat to crash the national banking system of the member state in question.

Economics is politics by other means

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Aug 17th, 2011 at 07:13:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: So (4.00 / 6)

They can't corrupt the EMU members one by one because it will take too long - Sarko may not be around next year - and there are local constitutional issues which would mean that unwilling participants can always stall and say 'I'll get back to you'.

Then they can wait until Sarkozy gets his pack of directorships. And by then, Merkel may be too busy dealing with a German economic pancake landing to find the time.

It still looks more like a negotiating position to me. It's not impossible they can make it stick, but it's really not going to be easy. And neither of them seems like the kind of pol who has the relentless determination it's going to need.

Don't forget Sarko is the runty little prince of press release politics - big on the big scheme announcements, reliably useless on the practical follow-through.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Wed Aug 17th, 2011 at 08:30:25 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: So (none / 0)

But the Germans in recent past have run federal deficits. What are they actually saying in this proposal?

by asdf on Wed Aug 17th, 2011 at 03:25:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: So (none / 0)

They are saying rules used to apply to everyone except France and Germany, but no longer.

Economics is politics by other means

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Aug 17th, 2011 at 04:46:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: So (4.00 / 2)

Particularly when they are not even putting eurobonds on the table as a "carrot" - just a six-monthly council chaired by Hermann van Rompuy...

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Wed Aug 17th, 2011 at 08:08:48 AM EST
[ Parent ]

[UPDATED] Merkel and Sarkozy's disastrous new 'economic government' | 169 comments (168 topical, 1 editorial, 0 hidden)