Against the tide: It’s in the eurozone’s DNA

If market confidence in the eurozone is to be restored, not just Greece and Ireland but also Portugal and Spain need the attention of the EU’s Financial Stability Facility.

There is a double helix of causes of the eurozone debt crisis.

On one chain (Greece and Portugal) it is a problem of a bloated government sector, chronic fiscal profligacy and weak competitiveness. On the other chain (Ireland and Spain), it is a credit-fuelled asset bubble that burst, leaving the banking system in tatters. So the solutions are also different: cleansing the banking sector for Spain and Ireland; downsizing the state sector and increasing productivity for Greece and Portugal.

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