EUROPE's economy is, by and large, staggering out of the longest and most severe crisis since the 1930s. And yet all's not well in paradise.
When interviewed by the Dutch Financieele Dagblad, the president of the Nederlandsche Bank (equivalent of the South African Reserve Bank), Klaas Knot, showed himself to be a moderately happy man. Asked how stable he rated the European economy, he gave Europe 7 out of 10.
He acknowledged that the stringent budgetary discipline enforced by the European Commission (EC) – “government” of the European Union – had brought about considerable suffering.