It
is this time of the year our leaders take off for August holidays.
The citizens are left alone with recreational rioting or violence of
sorts. Lazy hazy commentators are free to help fill this void with
unlimited imaginative speculation. So here we go.
After
Mario Draghi's bravado announcement to “Save the Euro with whatever
it takes,” its now the turn of Italy's Mario Monti to pitch his 5
cents worth.
Described
by the London Daily Telegraph as the De Facto Prime Minister of the
Eurozone Latin Block, this unelected official has Rome in his pocket
and hoping to soon bag Madrid. But who are these guys who run or say
they run Europe.
 |
| The Good the Bad and the yet to arrive. Ten champions of the people or merely Capos to a corrupt institution. History will judge: 2012 |
The
story goes back to 1999. Jaques Santer, a former Luxembourg prime
minister, had 20 people in his commission. Some of his crew of
wiseguys
were into fraud and corruption. They got caught out. This famous
story was highlighted through one former prime minister of France,
Edith Cresson, who was accused of nepotism. She gave her dentist a
plum job in her department and he salted a pile of dosh.
After
the mass resignation none of the crew was found guilty of any
criminal behaviour. All got to keep their gold plated pensions with
benefits.
The
affair was investigated and a report was produced on March 15, 1999.
Presented to the Commission and Parliament, it largely cleared most
members, aside from Cresson, but concluded that there was growing
reluctance of the Commissioners to acknowledge any guilt and that "It
was becoming increasingly difficult to find anyone who had the
slightest sense of responsibility."
What
a game these technocrats were able to play with European Democracy.
So where are these wiseguys
today.
Edith
Cresson, is
off the map as are most of the (innocent) crew who included local
names such as Neil Kinnock, Padraig Flynn (later disgraced) and Leon
Brittan. Some retired, some went back to work and some have passed
away.
But
some top fatcats from this wiseguys
commission who gave the orders and ran operations are still about.
Erkki
Liianen,
then in charge of Budgets Personnel and Administration went on to
become the Governor of the Bank of Finland. He is also Member of the
Governing Council of the European
Central Bank
and Governor of the International Monetary Fund for
Finland
Jaques
Santer,
capo de capo of the commission was recently rehabilitated and
reinstated as head the Special Purpose Investment Vehicle. In effect
a fund raising body for the E.U. This action was described by a UK
politician as “Putting Dracula in charge of a blood bank. “
But
the most grandiose part of the story is the appointment of
Mario
Monti, the
man for Internal Market, Customs and Taxation who runs Italy, not
just a bank or a fund raising board but an entire country and De
Facto Prime Minister of the Eurozone Latin Block.
You
couldn't make it up....makes me want to read some real
fiction..............It was a hazy sunrise in August.......
.jpg)
