Once again the spectre of a Greek default stalks the corridors of Europe. I love the movie Groundhog Day but it does feel as if we have a summit every month and still the Eurozone leaders fail to grasp the fact that Greece is bankrupt, and that the Euro in its present form is a disaster.
The latest round of bank financing has helped but another crunch point of financing is approaching for the defunct Euro and its weakest member, Greece. Clearly the country is failing to meet its targets of cutting public spending. If it does not do so then it will receive no more bailouts.
But then we have been here before.
Greece is in a parlous state and Greeks are transferring their money out of Euros and out of Greek banks in droves: interestingly they are putting a lot of their money in pounds in British banks and buying property here.
I was on the North East Politics Show two weeks ago and our unemployment is clearly too high. But look over your shoulder. In Euroland unemployment is so much worse - the figures are simply terrible both in terms of youth unemployment and of general unemployment. Youth unemployment has gone above 50% in Spain and above 40% in Greece, and general unemployment in these countries is 3 times what it is here.
The Euro countries should ask themselves why they are so much in love with the currency scheme which has helped to bring about such a crisis.
