1) Country X faces spiralling borrowing costs
2) EU leaders rush to say that there's nothing to worry about, but have a pop at Anglo-Saxon ‘speculators’, while the ECB buys more junk bonds to ease market fears
3) Country X's borrowing costs continue to rise....and rise
4) Anonymous sources say Country X is under pressure/may be forced to seek an EU/IMF bail-out
5) EU leaders say there are absolutely no discussions about bail-outs. In fact, Country X isn't even on the agenda
6) Markets are unconvinced, contagion fears spread, EU leaders become more delusional (i.e. "The European project is something we all believe in because we want peace to be maintained")
7) Over a panic-stricken weekend (apparently following no prior discussion whatsoever) EU leaders decide to bail out Country X ("If the euro falls, Europe falls", "We will defend the euro at all costs" etc).
We know the script by now.
Any wild guesses as to who the next Country X is?
At a guess Portugal (as it's in the tags...but it would have been one of two choices anyway!)
ReplyDeleteWord verification: plato... interestingly Plato is thought to have said "A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers."