Head of European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, is expected to announce some measures to save the euro. While the markets anticipate to hear the news, normal citizens and taxpayers of the European Union and the euro zone try to figure out what’s the importance of Draghi’s intervention and how these will affect their lives. From what I understand Mario Draghi works out euro-saving plans to preserve the euro and avoid the collapse of the common currency. How will he do it? This is high-markets’ vocabulary and I will need to read at least twice to understand.
However, as I sympathize with Draghi and his Sisiphus task, I ‘d like to advice him to take a look at the different facets of the member-countries of the Euro zone. The different causes of the countries’ debts would be extraordinary lengthy to be posted here and to tell you the truth I do not plan to write my thesis on the issue.
Therefore, I copy-pasted a summarized version of the many facettees of the countries’s debts. A summary based on statements by heads of states, finance ministers, local politicians, think-tank chiefs and economy heavy-weights who certainly have thoroughly studied the separate cases of the euro crisis.
This worth-reading summary was posted by KTG-reader (KTG-ian) “Ephilant” in the comments’ section of Another Greek Debt Haircut on 27. July 2012. Ephilant’s post was modified in the layout, where I added some statements* by Greek politicians.
Greece
“Greece is not Ireland.” George Papaconstantinou, Greek finance minister, November, 2010.
“Greece is not Argentina.” (Yiannis Stournaras, Greek Minister of Competition, July 2012).
“PSI or Albania” (Evangelos Venizelos, Greek finance minister, February 2012)*.
“Greece should become Denmark of the South” (George Papandreou, Greek prime minister, October 2009?)*
“Greece won’t become India” (George Papandreou, Greek prime minister, October 2011)*
Not – Greece
“Italy is not Greece.” (Rainer Bruederle, Germany’s FDP parliamentary party leader, August 2011).
“Italy is not Greece.” (Silvio Berlusconi, Italian Prime Minister, October 2011).
“Austria is not Greece.” (Karlheinz Kopf, parliamentary faction leader of Austria’s People’s Party, November 2011).
“Portugal is not Greece, and Spain is not Greece.” (Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, May 2010).
“Hungary is quite obviously not Greece.” (Gyorgy Matolcsy, Hungarian Finance Minister, June 2010).
“Ireland is neither Spain nor Portugal.” (Angel Gurria, OECD Secretary-General, November 2010).
“Ireland is not Greece.” (Angela Merkel, German Chancellor, November 2010).
“Ireland is not in Greek territory.” (Brian Lenihan, Irish Minister of Finance, November 2010).
“Ireland is not Greece.” (Michael Noonan, Irish Minister of Finance, June 2011).
““Portugal is not Greece, and it will not turn into Greece.” (Antonio Saraiva, head of the Confederation of Portuguese Industry, February 2012).
“Portugal is not Greece.” (Pedro Passos Coelho, Portuguese Prime Minister, June 2012).
“Italy is not Spain.” (Ed Parker, senior director of Fitch Ratings Agency, June 2012).
“Germany is not Zimbabwe.” (Paul Casson, fund manager from Henderson Global Investors, June 2012).
“Spain is not Uganda.” (Mariano Rajoy, Spanish Prime Minister, June 2012).
“Uganda does not want to be Spain.” (Asuman Kiyingi, Foreign Minister of Uganda, June 2012).’
