Tweet
Of all the European countries surveyed by Pew it was only Germany where a majority of people believe European economic integration has strengthened the economy. In most other European countries the people believe it has weakened their economy. From Pew Research: 
I think it is interesting that the polling basically matches the economic data. Germany is basically one of the only countries that has benefited from the European Central Bank’s foolish obsession with extremely low inflation. While joining the Euro helped make German exports relatively cheaper for years, it is hard to see how on net it has benefited many of the other European countries.
Despite this there still isn’t popular support for leaving the Euro in those countries most hurt by it. A majority of Greeks, Spanish and Italians say they should keep the Euro.
Wanting to keep the Euro doesn’t translate into positive views about the Euro. Indeed, many people may not like the Euro; they just don’t think leaving it would be worth it. In no Euro country surveyed did a majority say having the Euro was a good thing. In France, Spain and Italy a plurality called having the Euro a bad thing.
Unless the Europeans leaders do something to actually solve the human crisis on the continent, I can’t imagine support for the Euro remaining strong for much longer. People are suffering, and they see the current form of European interrogation as bad for their economy. If the crisis drags on much longer I suspect more people will start seeing economic disentanglement from the EU as their only hope.
8 Comments
Support this site!
Subscribe to the newsletter
Advertise on Firedoglake
Send
us your tips
Make us your homepage
About FDL Action
Greece, Italy, and Spain, if they go onto their own national currencies, will suddenly become unable to buy anything imported from most other places, is my understanding. I am no economist but it certainly seems that the flaw in the European economic integration and the Euro is that there is no requirement in times of crisis for countries weathering the crises well to help out the countries doing the worse.
Freudian slip, perhaps?
Well, this kind of sh*t isn’t improving the public’s mood across the pond:
FROM: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/director-spains-failed-bankia-leave-%E2%82%AC138-million-termination
“….Following the ever greater public bailout fund black hole that Spain’s Bankia has become (first of many zombies), we now learn that one of its financial directors, Aurelio Izquierdo, will be entitled to €14 million in pension and termination benefits…..”
I think much of the average European’s tolerance and support for European integration, financial and otherwise, arises from the desire for stability, which, within union, looks more sustainable. Used to have a lot of wars there.
It is really hard to understand Greece and Spain.
You certainly have proved that fact. Think about Iceland or Argentina, especially the latter. Argentina was in an effective ‘eurozone’ with the United States, which made about as much sense as Greece being in the same zone with Germany. Argentina dropped the dollar and went back to the peso. It suffered badly for about nine months and then things picked up. People are not going to stop going to Spain (and spend their euros and dollars there) just because Spain goes back to the peseta; same for Greece and the Drachma. Foreign goods will be a lot more expensive in those countries, but they won’t disappear. Living standards will certainly decline, but you have to weigh that against the current decline imposed by mass unemployment. Devaluation is better.
That can be said about any country, including the United States (or perhaps especially the United States).
Very true – indeed the vast majority of German exports are into the EU – with Spain and Greece not in the Euro those exports fall and are replaced by goods from other countries because Euro priced goods will be so expensive to those in Greece and Spain.
Seems the media wants to ignore that it is Germany that is the country that is really hurt by Spain and Greece leaving the Euro – just as they want to pretend that those Germans work so hard compared to other folks.
I wonder if it is because 25% (or is it 40% – memory fades as one grows older) of the US population claims some German ancestry (the same reason it was so hard to get America to join others trying to stop Hitler). Greece has a bias problem against it, but it also has a great destination vacation future – with the drachma. The beaches in the Peloponnese and on the Islands are full of “hardworking” Germans taking part of their 8 week vacation in Greece – and that will not change once the Greeks go to the Drachma.
Sadly though, it seems the fix is in, the EU media’s scare tactics have turned around the politics, and the right wing supporters of Germany in the Greek “New Democracy” party now out poll the left – so leaving the Euro is not in the cards post the June election.