Holland and Hollande; they’re the non-identical twins that are causing palpitations across Europe today. Holland, because the country’s Prime Minister yesterday resigned after failing to agree a package of cuts for his country’s budget. Hollande, because he’s the socialist candidate set to win the presidential election in France, probably eroding that country’s commitment to fiscal consolidation in the process. The markets quivered in fear at this morning’s headlines — and what they mean for the eurozone — even if they have, in some parts, slightly recovered since.
It’s all another reminder that the Eurocrisis just isn’t going away — neither for countries such as France and the Netherlands, nor for George Osborne. The Chancellor is, of course, signing over another £10 billion of British money to the IMF, which falls within the parameters already agreed by Parliament. ‘If I had felt Britain should have contributed more then I would have asked Parliament for the authority to make a larger loan,’ is how he put it yesterday.
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