Another must read by Things that make you go hmmm

If you are going to read one summary thing this weekend, read this. By Things that make you go hmmm.

In an interview with Der Spiegel in the days before the vote, Sulik made a hell of a lot more sense than pretty much any of the other Eurocrats who had been running around shooting off their mouths in the lead-up to various ratification votes:

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Slovakia has yet to approve the expansion of the euro backstop fund, the Euro- pean Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), because your Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party is blocking the reform. If a majority of Slovak parliamentarians don’t support the EFSF expansion, it could ultimately mean the end of the common currency.

Sulik: The opposite is actually the case. The greatest threat to the euro is the bailout fund itself. SPIEGEL ONLINE: How so? Sulik: It’s an attempt to use fresh debt to solve the debt crisis. That will never work. But, for me the main issue is protecting the money of Slovak taxpayers. We’re supposed to contribute the largest share of the bailout fund measured in terms of economic strength. That’s unacceptable.

Right there, in one short sentence, Sulik hits the nail on the head for every can-kicking politician around the world who clings to the fanciful notion that increasing the debt load is somehow going to magically cure the fundamental problem facing the world which is; Too. Much. Debt.

Just to make matters worse, Sulik then goes on to make even MORE sense when asked about the fun- damental underpinnings of Europe and refuses to fan the flames of fear when asked about a possible conflagration:

SPIEGEL ONLINE: If the euro only causes problems, why doesn’t Slovakia’s government just pull the country out of the euro zone?

Sulik: I don’t see the euro as the problem. It’s a good project. Everyone involved can benefit from it — but only if they stick to the ground rules. And that’s exactly what we’re demanding.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Which ground rules should we be following?

Sulik: We have to observe three points: First, we have to strictly adhere to the existing rules, such as not being liable for others’ debts, just as it’s spelled out in Article 125 of the Lisbon Treaty. Sec- ond, we have to let Greece go bankrupt and have the banks involved in the debt-restructuring. The creditors will have to relinquish 50 to perhaps 70 percent of their claims. So far, the agreements on that have been a joke. Third, we have to be adamant about cost-cutting and manage budgets in a responsible way.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Many experts fear that a conflagration would break out across Europe should Greece go bankrupt and that the crisis will spill over into other countries, including Portugal, Spain and Italy.

Sulik: Politicians can’t allow themselves to be pressured by the financial markets. Just because eq- uity prices fall and the euro loses value against the dollar is no reason for giving in to panic.

And, for the coup de grace, Sulik

SPIEGEL ONLINE: But do you really believe that politicians can calm the financial markets by stub- bornly sticking to their principles?

Sulik: Let’s just ignore the markets. It’s ridiculous how politicians orient themselves based on whether stock prices rise or fall a few percentage points.

Full must read report Hmmm October 16 .