Greece SHOULD vote on Europe...
I've posted stuff about politics, recounting material from the Washington Post -- thinking it'd be of interest to those from other regions or countries. Sometimes I do so when the Post says something contrary to the general view.
So it is that I report an op-ed today regarding the Greek mess. It's by a terrific reporter* named David Ignatius.
He breaks with European commentators (and the editors of both the Post and the NYTimes) to welcome Sunday's Greek referendum on their debt problem. Mainly, he notes, Euro-citizens have only rarely been consulted on important elements of EU institutions -- in this instance, the Euro itself.
That currency (set up in 1992 via the Maastrict Treaty) was put to a vote in only THREE countries** -- France (a virtual tie vote), Denmark (where it was first rejected, then a year later accepted), and Ireland (where it got 69% approval, since everyone "knew it was getting a sweet deal").
He notes that "Euro-savants seem to hate the idea of a Greek vote," not trusting the public understanding of these knotty technical issues. And, truly, most Greeks only know a "yes" note will keep them in the Euro and a "no" won't -- with vague but scary notions about what Greece faces upon abandoning the common currency (and possibly the EU itself).
"What the Euro needs is the public buy-in that the elites have been reluctant to seek. Europe has had too few referendums. ...In the long run, [such a voting process] is likely to be a good thing."
_____________
* He also writes fiction, especially spy novels.
** The other 18-odd EU countries committed to it -- and to much else in the EU -- by their chief executives' actions (including some cabinets' approval).
So it is that I report an op-ed today regarding the Greek mess. It's by a terrific reporter* named David Ignatius.
He breaks with European commentators (and the editors of both the Post and the NYTimes) to welcome Sunday's Greek referendum on their debt problem. Mainly, he notes, Euro-citizens have only rarely been consulted on important elements of EU institutions -- in this instance, the Euro itself.
That currency (set up in 1992 via the Maastrict Treaty) was put to a vote in only THREE countries** -- France (a virtual tie vote), Denmark (where it was first rejected, then a year later accepted), and Ireland (where it got 69% approval, since everyone "knew it was getting a sweet deal").
He notes that "Euro-savants seem to hate the idea of a Greek vote," not trusting the public understanding of these knotty technical issues. And, truly, most Greeks only know a "yes" note will keep them in the Euro and a "no" won't -- with vague but scary notions about what Greece faces upon abandoning the common currency (and possibly the EU itself).
"What the Euro needs is the public buy-in that the elites have been reluctant to seek. Europe has had too few referendums. ...In the long run, [such a voting process] is likely to be a good thing."
_____________
* He also writes fiction, especially spy novels.
** The other 18-odd EU countries committed to it -- and to much else in the EU -- by their chief executives' actions (including some cabinets' approval).