Eurolemmings

So, the Euro saga drags on. When and how it stops, nobody seems to know at this point. It's as if Europe has gone over the cliff and is in freefall; only when one or more members have some kind of landing, hard or soft, will we be able to get a true sense of the state of Europe. Until then, all we can do is look at the size of government debt, borrowing costs, unemployment figures etc. in an effort to determine how far over the cliff each member country is.

So, we bring you the digram above; eurolemmings, which shows the relative positions of 12 EU member states with regard to the factors mentioned above. As you can see, Greece and Ireland are much closer to some kind of landing than the rest of the pack. Will some benevolent wind blow in to provide some much needed updraft in those parachutes, or will the rocks below get ever closer until someone goes splat? If so, will that be the point at which the Eurozone breaks up? Who knows, we shall wait and see. In the meantime; Merry Crisis!

Click the image for a larger version.

The near total eclipse of George Papandreou

So, The Greek PM survived the midnight confidence vote, but only just. The no votes almost eclipsed the yes votes but with a final count of 253 to 245 in favour Papandreou has managed to hang in by the slimmest of margins. In honour of the achievement, we've created this 'eclipse' graphic to illustrate how fragile his position is. The white sliver of a crescent is his 'majority'.

Say what you want about G-Pap, this week he proved that he is a master of surprise; announcing a surprise referendum on Wednesday, scrapping the idea the following day and now surviving a confidence vote he seemed certain to lose. How long he remains in power once the bailout cheque clears remains to be seen.

Update 21:10 6-11-11
Well, that's that then; G-Pap is gone as Greek PM. By my calculations he lasted 44 hours after the confidence vote. The only question that remains is how soon will Greece be leaving the Eurozone. Got any Drachmas?