Dawn

Dawn

Friday, March 02, 2012

So, is it a Fiscal Pact or Fiscal Treaty and does anyone give a toss? The question arises from a recollection - possibly wrong - that the UK's refusal to sign it meant it couldn't be a treaty and would have to be a pact, outside the EU framework. The Economist today calls it a fiscal compact. So I'll go with that. Ignoring the fact that they later refer to it as a treaty. The only important thing to know is that total ratification is not necessary - 12 of the 17 will do - meaning that the Irish insistence on a bit of democracy is irrelevant to the issue. Though possibly damaging to the perception of Ireland among those who count.

Spain's President - the Pontevedran Mariano Rajoy - has come out of the long grass with his deficit number for 2012. Defying Brussels, he's plumped for 5.8% of GDP, against the Nomenklatura's target of 4.4%. Noises are being made about fining Spain - and Holland - for this crime of demonstrating realism. Or almost, as experts don't see there being much of a chance of 5.8% being achieved. Meanwhile, Rajoy's pugnacious comments about Spanish sovereignty have been attacked by Mrs Merkel, who's said it makes no sense to be flexible on the deficit. And she stressed that Eurozone members have to comply with the Fiscal Pact/Compact/Treaty, signed today. But at least everyone agrees with the 2013 number of 3%. Which will be announced at the end of that year by flying pigs trailing an appropriate banner.

Sad to say, unemployment in Spain rose yet again in February. There are now 4.7m unemployed and there's talk of 6m by the year end. Surely not.

The piece about Mr Putin dealing with the CIA attempts to flood Russia with drugs was sent to me by two people - 'James Tyler' and someone I don't recall and can't be bothered to check. One was headed anglo pigs and the other anglo parasites of the world. Which is very insulting as anglo surely merits a capital letter.

Talking about megalomaniacs . . . Pope Boniface VIII (1235-1303) was the sworn enemy of Dante, who placed him in the Eighth Circle of Hell, with the Simonists. According to an expert I listened to today, Boniface was not only homosexual but almost certainly an atheist. Which makes him an odd choice for Pope, I feel. But more the atheism than the homosexuality. Which may be rather more tolerated amongst the Catholic clergy than among their parishioners. Perhaps it's even a prerequisite.

Being from the North, I pronounce past and glass, for example, with what I call a 'short a'. As opposed to the paast and glaas of the South. Utterly inconsistently, though, I say haalf past and caan't. In fact, I think most Brits do, unlike the Americans, who do pronounce can't with a 'short a'. This is probably of no interest to anyone but I was musing on it today, while eating my beef sandwich (short a) from Mr Sandwich (ditto).

Finally . . . I've just seen it's a Treaty for Stability, Coordination and Governance. I wonder what that is in German.


Finally, finally . . . Today being Friday, Alfie plunges into aioli.

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