E.U. Crisis: Batten Down the Hatches. Der Sturm Est Arrivée

The Irish are as mad as hell and aren’t gonna take it any more. Or so it would seem watching a transmission from Dáil Éireann (House of Representatives) in Dublin Wednesday.

Most parties lambaste the handling of the Euro crisis which is about to wreak havoc. The Tempest has arrived. France is snarling across the channel while Angela Merkel is playing Nana to clam down the house. Meltdown is here. Madame Austerity will soon be knocking her boney knuckle on everyone’s door. . Politics I know and isn't it entertaining.

A garden in Cologne Germany 2011.
 Double vision or a split view

But two articles in the press are much more sober and enlightening. One by Frank Barry, a professor of international business and development at Trinity College Dublin http://tinyurl.com/c6ulkf8 and the other by the chief of staff the British armed forces General David Richards http://tinyurl.com/c2psqlu

Frank Barry sums up the Irish dilemma facing all those rowdy voices in Dáil Éireann. What comes into the country as a source of money to produce goods does so from the USA and what goes out of the country in production is mostly destined for Great Britain. He informs us the Irish economy is an Atlantic one and as such “ A fiscal policy harmonized within the Euro area will not synchronize the Irish business cycle with that of the French-German core. “ So the Irish have it, to stay in and risk destruction or opt out and ride the storm to happier times. What's a decade to the well-being of an entire country.

It is not usual for soldiers to speak in political circles but when they do it is most often worth listening to. General Richards is quite blunt in his assessment of the situation. “I am clear that the single biggest strategic risk facing the UK today is economic rather than military,” he says “Over time, a thriving economy must be the central ingredient in any UK Grand Strategy. This is why the eurozone crisis is of such huge importance not just to the City of London but rightly to the whole country and to military planners like me.”

So Chancellor Angela Merkel is right to praise Britain as an important partner because simply it is. Not only for the Irish but for the Eurocore Federal States. The newly established Confederate States of Europe may get new members sooner rather than later. However, the goal for SuperState remains intact. To form a functioning and safer German led Eurozone weaker countries can hope to join after this crisis is over. And, a partner Confederacy should the Franco-German experiment become too difficult for some weaker nations to join. Two options but still one Europe. Batten down the hatches Der Sturm est arrivée  

Merkozy summit outcomes: Der Wochenende Kater. Pass Not Judgement on a Prodigal Son.

The Landscape changes for the Euro and
Europe project. Frankfurt 2011

Reports out of London, this hangover weekend, suggest Cameron acted to support the unchained and rampant elements in the Financial City who gave us this crisis in the first place. Be this true, then he will face much criticism and possible defeat. However, regardless of this important parliamentary matter, U.K. citizens still need to manage their redefined relationship with fellow Europeans. There will be reckless and selfish calls for Britain to leave the E.U.
To leave the EU must be an individual act of conscience. An act decided through the democratic process of one person one vote. It must apply regionally within the United Kingdom. For if it is the wish of citizens living in Scotland and Northern Ireland to remain within the European Union then their wish should be respected.   

This would effectively mean the break-up of the United Kingdom.....A nice thought for some....But, should the Merkozy Federal States falter for any reason, deliberate or not, then the British Isles, without providing an alternative route, will betray our nations to a century of European political obscurity. The Confederate Nations of Europe can be Europe's safeguard against Eurozone failure. After all who will deny the return of a prodigal son or daughter to the house of prosperity.


There may be a lot of huffing and puffing over this "Long December Night in Brussels." But reality remains the same. Europeans need solutions not divisions. Europeans need a future, not only a past. Europeans need constructive discipline and democratic reassurances. This is not mission impossible for Berlin, London and Paris.