PIGS and the Euro

Peter Oborne has a very interesting article in the Mail today on the Euro. The economic downturn has affected many countries differently and he highlights the PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain) as countries that are suffering due to a central bank setting interest rates and the lack of flexibility that the countries have.

It is his conclusion that I find most interesting. In this he points to Gordon Brown not willing to enter the Euro Zone in 1999 and the willingness of Blair and Mandelson who wished to enter the new European monetary system, thus Brown losing control over the economy. The interesting bit is the person he has missed out – William Hague. His campaign to ‘save the pound’ created a situation where the government could not enter the euro zone. This was a campaign that was much ridiculed by many commentators but as we enter the financial mess that Gordon Brown has created it might just be to our advantage.