Euro not going down the gurgler just yet

I had to think long and hard whether one should enter a debate with someone who regards UKIP’s Nigel Farage as “the only honest politician in the EU”. At least Sinn Fein follow their principles by not taking their seats in Westminster, whereas this guy happily took his seat as a MEP in Brussels only for disrupting council proceedings while cashing in his substantial salary and allowances. As The Nation surprisingly printed a letter full of personal insults – with Mr Garcia summing me up as a bigot, ignorant, uneducated old Nazi – I trust you will allow me a reply. 

None of my comments on the recent “Hard Talk” programme would lend itself to any association with being “hate-fuelled” or relying on information from FOX or the Voelkischer Beobachter. Whilst I grew up in Germany, even I am not quite old enough to be all that familiar with the old Nazi newspaper, so I had to Google it. 

The research Garcia recommends your readers to do would unearth the following results. 

Trade balances as of May: 

UK: deficit of 2.72 billion pounds (http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/balance-of-trade)                                 

Eurozone: surplus of 6.90 billion euros, about 5.40 billion pounds. (http://www.europolitics.info/external-policies/eurozone-trade-in-goods-balance-shows-6-9-bn-euro-surplus-art340217-46.html)

Whether these figures indicate the imminent disappearance of the euro or even the EU altogether is open to debate.

Those who brought the world’s severest financial crisis since the 1920s upon us may wish this to happen, but they may have to keep the champagne on ice for a bit longer.

Finally, Garcia, don’t worry about my level of education. It may still compare favourably with at least 50 per cent of your fellow countrymen who wouldn’t even know that Britain is an island.

Horst Bullinger

Bangkok