I wish - as described in the last sentence or this interesting article - that dealing with the Greek crisis was, indeed, only a "GAME"! Unfortunately, we are dealing with real people and with real facts.

Several important points are raised by Wolfgang Münchau (WM):

1) The "lingering dispute between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union (EU) which has come out in the open". This underlines the error committed by the EU in involving the IMF in addressing the EMU sovereign debt crisis and the pointless emerging "blame game" to determine responsibility for hindering a solution (spiced and abetted by ludicrous - politically inspired - speculations on the positive/negative role that DSK has/would have played).

2) The opposition between the ECB and Eurozone members concerning the advisability of a restructuring (soft or hard) and private sector involvement.

3) The disconnect between public opinion and governments in a growing number of Eurozone Members: Germany, Finland and the Netherlands where coalitions in power are expressing doubts as to their capacity of delivering the necessary votes for additional aid to Greece.

These conflicts do not bode well for a successful outcome, and beg the more fundamental problems posed by the growing appeal of nationalist and populist parties advocating an outright return to national currencies.

The fundamental weakness of WM's "hunch" that - faced with unpalatable alternatives - the EU will continue to roll over Greek debt is that it is based on the premise that the current "political balance" in EU/Eurozone Member States will remain stable for the foreseeable future. While I agree that finding over the next few weeks a new temporary compromise, postponing once again hard decisions, is likely, I also believe that the odds favour, in a not too distant future, an electoral victory of a party ready to block the European Financial Stability Facility/Mechanism where unanimity is required, precipitating a full blown (and unnecessary) EMU crisis.

I fully share WM's conclusion that the only real solution is a form of deeper EU political Union (including fiscal transfers), and I look forward to reading his announced elaboration on this subject. Such a desirable outcome seems more and more doubtful as the "haves" attempt to build a totally illusory wall to "protect" themselves from the "have nots"!

Brussels, May 28th 2011

Paul N Goldschmidt

Director, European Commission (ret); Member of the Thomas More Institute