As I am not a European citizen (and have never even been to Europe) I’m unsure as to how to interpret the recent election results in Greece.
The reports are stating that a ‘pro-bailout’ party has been elected. For those who are as yet unaware of what has been transpiring in Greece, that country is basically going through what the United States went through during the Great Depression–a milieu of despair and desperation, caused by widespread high unemployment.
Some were saying that Greece should have dropped the euro, the common European currency and (attempted to) go back to the drachma. These people thought that after a time Greece would be better off for having left the single currency–in the short run, all predictions were that things would have become even worse, which is hard to believe when one considers the dire straits the country presently finds itself.
Others, namely Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, wanted Greece to remain within the EU and continue to suffer under the austerity measures instituted within Greece which were ostensibly designed to return that nation to solvency and pay off it’s debts. But austerity has been a horse-pill for the Greece citizens who had to swallow the austerity.
But now, with this election, it looks as if the Euro has been saved.
The larger problems of the EU have not been solved–”no monetary union without fiscal union,” has anyone heard that one?–but a crisis has been averted, at least in the short term. Here’s another question: Now that it appears the Euro has been saved, was it even worth saving?
The keep or lose the Euro drama fascinates me, but it confuses me as well. Implement a single currency for all those countries was not a good idea. I mean it sounded good on paper, but all those countries were not on equal playing fields. This was bound to happen. I say that every country should go back to using their own currency. What are the ramifications for that? I don't know.
- spam
- offensive
- disagree
- off topic
Like