Last month, Athens; next week, Lisbon: by dint of austerity tourism, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel is announcing her near-term plan for the euro. So long as governments in the periphery are at least attempting to abide by the centre’s conditions, the European Central Bank will prevent cliff dwellers from toppling into the abyss. There will be drama, of course; witness the brinkmanship on Greece. But neither sovereign bankruptcy nor banking bust will be allowed to trigger a crack-up.
德國總理安格拉?默克爾(Angela Merkel)上月訪問雅典,本周又訪問里斯本。通過一路游說緊縮政策,默克爾宣布了她針對歐元的短期計劃。只要歐元區外圍國家的政府仍然試圖滿足核心國家的條件,歐洲央行(ECB)就將阻止這些瀕臨懸崖的國家跌入深淵。當然,戲劇化場面不可避免——看看希臘的邊緣政策。但默克爾不會允許任何情況引發歐元區解體,無論是主權國家破產還是銀行業崩潰。