The mighty European Union trips over a Cypriot twig

So, the EU apparatchiks cleared the Irish hurdle, they scaled the Portuguese cliff, they ran the race with Spain, jumped over Italy, and there before them was the winning tape and just as they thought they had won - crash, bang, wallop - down they went, face first into the merde and scheisse, and all because of a  little Cypriot twiglet.  Whodathunkit?

And now the Cypriots, ungrateful, olive-eating peasants that they are, have rushed off, not to Brussels, but to Moscow where that very nice man, Mr. Putin, welcomes them with an open wallet in one hand and a cosh in the other behind his back!  Even Frau Merkel is squawking in alarm that Russia might step in with a load of dosh and buy out all the natural gas fields that lie off-shore from Cyprus.  That would allow the Cypriots to stick two fingers up to Brussels!  And how long would it be before the Russians put pressure on the Cypriots to rid themselves of British/NATO bases leaving us without a foothold in the eastern Med just as Egypt, too, hovers on the brink of bankruptcy and chaos.

The two biggest Cypriot banks are absolutely and definitely broke and it doesn't matter how long their authorities keep them closed, the minute they re-open there will be a run that will finish them off.  Spanish banks are in a similar condition and any sensible depositor in Spain will already be considering different options.  In the meantime, Italy staggers on without a government, although, on consideration, that might be an advantage given that European politicians couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery!

Could 'plucky little Cyprus' be the catalyst that brings about the downfall of das neue fränkische Reich?  A man may hope, so as we wait, why not join me in a little song:

The party's over

It's time to call it a day
They've burst your pretty balloon
And taken the moon away
It's time to wind up the masquerade
Just make your mind up the piper must be paid

The party's over
The candles flicker and dim
You danced and dreamed through the night
It seemed to be right just being with him
Now you must wake up, all dreams must end
Take off your makeup, the party's over It's all over, my friend.

 

 

Comments

[Oswald Thake]

A point which hasn't been mentioned anywhere, to my surprise, is what's likely to happen when Southern Europe's longer than usual winter ends at last. I mean, when the weather warms up and the sun comes out, the hot-blooded Latins are very likely to take to the streets in the time-honoured Continental way. After all, authoritarianism tempered by riot is an old Latin and Southern European tradition! it's not for nothing that revolts in, say, France usually happen in May, June and July.
We can look forward to interesting events in Athens and Rome, Madrid and Lisbon - not to mention Paris!

[Lawrence Duff]

This could be one of the greatest geo-political strategic cock-ups for a fair few years.

The Jerries have put Europe in the position where either Putin comes away with an aircraft carrier the size of Wales in the middle of the med and 350 billion Euros worth of energy, or they blink before a minnow whereby the PIGS will cease to be negotiable on debt reduction and bailout terms ever again and the Euro is guaranteed to collapse.

I wonder if Merkel actually wants the Euro to collapse now, being able to deflect the blame by framing a defiant club med transgressor who isn't big enough to matter in the post-Euro aftermath and recriminations. She might be more likely to win the election in the post-Euro rubble than the lingering Euro-agony; the Volks seem to rate her crisis management.

Or maybe it's just a monumental Teutonic cock-up.

SoD

[David Duff]

Oswald, I am only surprised that they haven't taken place already.

'SoD', another oddity, or perhaps 'irony' is a better word, is that every alarm in the euro zone works to Germany's benefit because depositors rush to the safety of German banks which keeps Germany's borrowing costs down to a minimum.

[Lawrence Duff]

Yes, I don't know why Club Med citizens are depositing in Germany. The target2 system puts every club med withdrawn, Fatherland deposited, Euro back in the central bank of the club medder from whence it came. So when it goes tits up, in theory the Jerries can seize the Euros deposited by club medders in the Fatherland's banks, while the PIGS can seize the target2 Euros deposited in their central banks. I'm not sure which seizure is more or less legal, on the basis that Gordie Brown used anti-terrorism laws to seize Iceland's British bank accounts, I suspect it'll be finders keepers. In which case, it's neutral from Germany's and the Club Medder's positions due to Euro flight vs. Target2 being equal. But the Club Med citizens will lose all their Euros in German banks. They'd be better off with a Euro account in a bank outside Europe.

[ortega]

May I suggest one more song?

http://youtu.be/YtZrXzoaJvc

[David Duff]

Ortega, that was simply superb! Of course, I know the song but I have never seen the dance routine before - God knows how I missed it. Everything is right - the set design, costumes, choreography, two of the best dancers of their era and a truly great song from Irving Berlin. And I laughed at the opening sequence when Astaire looked like the Cypriot Finance Minister!