EUROZONE: OPINIONS: Don't Save The Euro...And Its Right-Wing Monetary Union; Italy Must Be Rescued...By EU Funds.

       GUARDIAN/ M.WEISBROT, OPINION

MW: "It is often argued that the monetary union, which now includes 17 countries, must be maintained for the sake of the European project. This includes such worthy ideals as European solidarity, building common standards for human rights and social inclusion, keeping rightwing nationalism in check and, of course, the economic and political integration that underlies such progress.

But this confuses the monetary union, or eurozone, with the European Union itself.

AND:"...the privatizations in Greece or "labor market reform" in Spain; the regressive effects of the measures taken on the distribution of income and wealth; and the shrinking and weakening of the welfare state, while banks are bailed out at taxpayer expense – all this advertises the clear right-wing agenda of the European authorities, as well as their attempt to take advantage of the crisis to institute right-wing political changes."

AND MORE GUARDIAN OPINION:  By Andrew Watt:

Italy...with its 16% of the area's GDP... is a "must save" for Eurozone leaders.  They CAN'T continue to kick an empty tomato can down the street.

AW: "A lot needs to be done, but the immediate need is to abandon the dangerous side-show of private-sector participation. No voluntary"restraint" by the financial sector, even if it could be co-ordinated, can simultaneously make a significant difference to peripheral countries' debt burden and avoid the rating agencies (technically perfectly correctly) calling a credit event. Instead, the European authorities should make an unequivocal commitment to all countries in a bailout program to guarantee all sovereign interest and principal payments, charging a rate at or only marginally above the rate at which the euro area's credit-worthy governments can borrow. (Ironically, this rate was offered to non-euro-area members such as
Latvia and Hungary.)"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jul/12/italy-europe-debt-crisis