Who do you think you’re kidding, Mr Schäuble?

There is also a little bit of truth in the standard German analysis of why the aftershock of the financial crisis has proved quite so devastating for the eurozone. This was well articulated at a CER event in London this week by Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenburg Bank.

In his account of events, the decision to restructure Greek debt, without first providing a safety net for larger deficit economies such as Italy and Spain, completely shattered financial and business confidence throughout the region. ...At the same CER event, Professor Paul De Grauwe of the London School of Economics characterised the euro as “a currency without a country”, and that essentially defines the nature of the problem.