In an interview with today's FAZ, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé made the following, rather striking statement:

“The dissolution of the eurozone is not acceptable, because it would also be the dissolution of Europe. If that happens, then everything is possible. Young people seem to believe that peace is guaranteed for all time… But if we look around in Europe there is new populism and nationalism. We cannot play with that.”
This threat to peace is, of course, the justification for doing "whatever is necessary to ensure the cohesion of the eurozone."

Does Juppé really believe that people are still willing to buy into this transparent scare-tactic? He has simply turned the logic of current events on its head and confused cause with effect.

After all, the rise of populist parties, which Juppé cites as a threat to European peace no less, has been a response to the attempts to preserve the eurozone at all costs, with many of them using opposition to the bailouts to their electoral advantage.

The True Finns are perhaps the most prominent example of this strategy, which has both pushed them to the top of opinion polls and enabled them to influence the Finnish government from the outside.

The argument over Greek collateral in return for Finnish bailout loans is a case in point. The protests against EU-backed austerity measures on the streets of Athens are another manifestation - the EU flag's 12 peaceful stars distorted by Greek protesters into a golden swastika should be enough to make us think twice.

This tense situation is particularly damaging for Germany, which is now increasingly being seen as Europe's bully, reawakening some pretty unpleasant stereotypes.
Continued... Here

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