Herman van Rompuy - villain in an Agatha Christie novel

Nigel Farage has had another go at Herman van Rompuy, the unelected "head of the European State", for acting in undemocratic and high-handed ways. The UKIP leader says Europe's crisis is "like an Agatha Christie novel", trying to guess who'll be bumped off next. "The difference is we know who the villains are." This video shows how even a nonchalent paper shuffling exercise seemingly outwits van Rompuy and Barosso. The others just smirk. Is this the pinnacle of European democracy? No referendums, deposed prime ministers and sloth-like actions to save a single currency singularly failing in all respects!

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Our way on a referendum or the Hellenic highway out!

"There's your answer, George!", says Evangelos

Not content with berating George Papandreou on his chancy referendum, the dynamic duo, Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy, now say he can only have one line in the proposed referendum. That is "Does Greece stay in the Eurozone or leave it?". Nothing about bailouts or bossy foreign leaders. Of course, the Greeks do have a lot to blame for this themselves. Never very good at balancing the books, they profess loyalty to the idea of being in the Eurozone but have little understanding of how to spend or save euros judiciously. And now the referendum hangs in the balance as the Greek parliament decides on whether to give Papandreou a vote of confidence. Finance minister Evangelos Venizelos has given George Papandreou's plans for a referendum on the euro a resounding "NO". Maybe he has plans?

But Greece's present difficulty isn't my beef with this horrendous mess we are in. No, I can't stand the lack of democratic process. The EU is an edifice built up on the whims and fancies of political leaders rather than the hopes and desires of the people. When the people do get a say, they are expected to say "YES" to the political masters and mistresses in everything they do.

So I have no issue with the Greek people having their say. The European Union is not a "common market" anymore. The playing field is not level. Mrs Merkel and President Sarkozy have assumed some form of leadership over us all. Who gave them such power and prestige? Probably Rumpuy Pumpuy in a rubber stamping operation! We do not have a common market as far as retailing is concerned. For example, a lot of French merchandise is far cheaper in France than in Britain. How come French mustard is three times more expensive in British supermarkets than in French ones. I hear Carrefour may be coming back via Ocado's website. Any chance we can be less cheesed off with the prices?

This is no digression on my part. It is symptomatic of the whole problem. There is political union without a proper political mandate. There is legal union, but virtually no European has properly agreed to this except the elite in Brussels. There is supposed to be economic union and free movement of labour, yet some countries are more equal than others. If anyone complains, we are told it's all an evolutionary process. Monkeys did better with that!

And on top of all this there is a single currency WITHOUT a single fiscal policy. Doomed to failure from day one. Mismanagement, poor judgement, bad leadership and a total disregard for democracy.

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Greek currency conundrum

Just a quick question? Are the Greeks bearing gifts or a pack of lies? Maybe somebody could help me. I find this roller coaster nonsense about the Greeks and the Euro hard to fathom. Are they putting their house in order or smashing as many plates as they can get their hands on?

As usual, more questions than answers!

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My Big Fat Greek Bankruptcy

Tartan clad Greek protests against cuts

Not an original slogan, I admit, but one that is truthful none the less. Bankruptcy is on the Hellenic horizon. Greece is now caught between a rock and a hard place. The rock appears to be the Greek people, fed up with conniving politicians who have been fiddling the books as much as the Eurocrats have been. After all, the European accounts have never been signed off, so they are the last people on earth to speak to others. The hard place is the Greek parliament, full of political parties that are demanding austerity that none of their voters is prepared to accept.

The end game may be on Tuesday, it may be a week on Tuesday or this time next year. But the final result will be that Greece will default on their debts and the Euro bigwigs should get that one ringing between their ears. Financial deafness is seen as a virtue in Brussels.

David Cameron says the Eurozone should not fail. It will fail, because it is running a single currency in seventeen separate states, each with its own taxing agenda. You can't have a federal currency in a mere alliance of nations. Quite a few Eurocrats see this and are maneuvering  for a more federal Europe. Without referendums, of course.

Maybe Greece will be a turning point in European politics. The hope is that they don't go down a blind alley but take to the open road for a bright new future. With drachmas and ouzo aplenty.

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Ireland to get bail-out loan

So Ireland is going to be giving shedloads more money, not as a gift but a "loan", whilst it is up to its neck in collossal debt. How are they going to pay it all back?

Maybe the European Commission and the Irish government could tell us all how much is exactly owed? The BBC is talking of a "very substantial loan" and "tens of billions" of euros. We hear of "pumping" money in. Where will it all come from?

Simple questions!

1. How much does Ireland owe?
2. How much will Ireland be given?
3. Where will the "loan" come from?

No need for committees. No need for summits. Just simple one line answers.

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LibDems no longer so passionate over Euro!

In a surprising turn of events, or turn of policy, the Lib Dems have made a significant break with their commitment to the European single currency. They no longer see it as a priority. Well, I'm blowed!

In an interview with the The Independent on Sunday, Chris Huhne said, "The truth is, within the British debate, it's completely off the radar and there is simply no point in regarding it as a runner worth investing political time in." Mr Huhne also told the IoS that Nick Clegg would not become a household name until after the next election, saying the leader needed to "go through an election to become a real figure in the front rooms of the country". But I bet he'll be talked about in the front rooms of Tory and UKIP activists!

I wonder if this is a way of getting on board soft eurosceptics? Maybe. It goes to show that the next election will be a very odd affair indeed.

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Euro to replace dollar?

Following on from the Today giggling episode, I noticed they had a piece on the Euro and the Dollar. The programme asked "Could the euro replace the dollar as the world's largest reserve currency within ten to fifteen years?"

I've long since believed that part of the Iraq War strategy was to stop Saddam Hussein buying and selling oil in euros. Seems that might be overtaken by other events. Interesting piece.

Story is here.

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