FROM WINTER GLOOM TO A FISCAL SPRING

Lord Tebbit, views the euro as a sacred cow.

January is here, a new year has begun and people return to their normal daily routines after the Christmas festivities as they trudge their way to work on these dark, dull winter mornings. Or those who still have jobs to go to do. Sadly, because of the economic recession many have lost their jobs, many with the high cost of fuel and travel cannot afford to drive or get to work either, gloom and doom is everywhere – especially across the nations of the Eurozone.

Now think back ten years to January 2002, there was great fanfares and smiling faces (or there was in the BBC, the EU Commission and EU fanatical organisations) as the EU’s shiny new currency was launched.

Oh what wonderful things it was going to do, it was going to do, it was going to be a currency to challenge the mighty US dollar, the foolish British were heading for major problems as the pound sterling was going to be squeezed between these two great currencies, and of course, this was going to bring great wealth, stability, jobs and prosperity for one and all across the Eurozone – whoopee!

Ten years on gloom and doom abounds, the euro, as predicted by all Euro-sceptics and anyone with two brain cells to rub together, was a disaster. There are no jobs, there is no prosperity or wealth and considering the riotous situation in Greece stability is looking a bit thin on the ground too – all because a minority of over powerful people wanted to create a nation called Europe and this currency was a rung on the ladder towards their abominable creation.

In fact on the very day of the launch of the new notes and coins (the euro itself had been a currency in existence in banking circles only for two years by 2002) problems and grumbles began. The first thing people noticed was all prices had been rounded up from their old currencies – at the stroke of midnight as the EU’s leaders were making a great display of drawing euros from cash machines all prices had gone up – the new currency set off inflation.

It didn’t take long before the shine went off the euro, everywhere you go across the eurozone there are moans about the high cost of things since the euro came in. On my last trip to Italy I heard moans that they wanted a return to the lira. However, the big problem, as we all know too well, was that you can’t have a currency without a country – especially a currency that covers so many disparate economies with one interest rate.

However, the doom and gloom of the euros winter may soon turn into a fiscal spring – this is the year many serious pundits are predicting the inevitable collapse of the euro. The pressure on Greece to withdraw grows daily, if the Greek economy is not fully bailed out soon then Greece will have little option but to pull out – from then on others will follow and as the euro collapses the whole shaky edifice that is the EU will begin to topple too – or it will with luck and good fortune.

There have been some interesting comments about the demise of the euro, Bruce Anderson writing in the Daily Telegraph has compared those ‘Eurofanatics’ who support the euro to Marxists and other tin-pot dictators, while good old Lord Tebbit has compared the EU’s euro to a sacred cow that needs putting down. Richard North, who generally has an opinion on everything, has been somewhat critical of the Bruce Anderson article, but although he has a point, I fear Richard is being a bit unfair, at least Bruce Anderson is singing from a hymn sheet we EU sceptics approve of and he is tune with our theme. Click on the links, read for yourself and decide.