Alistair Darling on the Eurozone Crisis
Alistair Darling is the man who correctly predicted the economic meltdown and the most severe crisis since the end of the Second World War in 2008. But he is also the man who played the key role in prevention of the collapse of the banking system in the UK. His opinion on the eurozone crisis which continues after all the efforts to fix the situation should therefore be taken very seriously. He does not claim to know the solution of the problem which does not threaten only the eurozone but the entire world, however, he warns that the euro is at the risk of break up if serious measures are not taken promptly.
In an interview Darling gave for The Guardian as early as the 9th November 2011, he emphasised that the situation is a lot worse than according to his opinion many people are aware of and that the current eurozone crisis is much more serious than the financial crisis that broke out in 2008. He stated for that there is a major difference between the 2008 financial crisis and the eurozone crisis explaining that the first one was a crisis of the banking system, while the current eurozone crisis is an economical crisis. According to Darling, it will lead to another banking crisis if not resolved as quickly as possible and if this happens, it will only get worse.
While commenting the eurozone crisis for The Guardian, Darling pointed out to several ill-conceived solutions which according to his opinion do not solve anything. His answers reveal that he was highly sceptical about the proposed solution for Greece. He also said that the idea of a larger European financial stability facility is foolish explaining that there is no such thing as rescue fund and that the bank recapitalisation can turn into a disaster comparing it to a fire starting under floorboards. At the same time he added, that this is exactly what is happening in the eurozone and that he thinks that people are unaware of the seriousness of the crisis which is far worse from that of 2008.
In an interview for the Huffington Post published on 6th December 2011, Darling warned that the response to the eurozone crisis is too slow and that political stagnation is posing a serious risk for the eurozone. Like in his earlier interview for The Guardian, he once again emphasised the importance of the European leaders reaching an agreement about the solution of the crisis by Christmas. On the 8th January 2012, however, Darling said for Sky News that the EU Christmas summit was a complete disaster because the leaders come up with a plan which does not allow growth without which, according to Darling, is not possible to get out of debts. He warned that the eurozone will fall into recession if the crisis is not resolved as soon as possible and that the UK will not be unaffected by an eventual recession on the Continent.