Western European News Digest

LaRouche on the 'Irish Crisis': Let Britain's Inter-Alpha Group Go Bankrupt

Nov. 17 (EIRNS)— Lyndon LaRouche today discussed the bankruptcy of the British imperial system, and in particular of its Inter-Alpha Group of banks, as the actual driving force behind the current "Irish crisis" that is sweeping Europe and the world financial system.

"What the British have done, is they've set up a big gamble, under which the Inter-Alpha banks are to be bailed out. The Inter-Alpha Group is now potentially bankrupt. If they don't get this 'Irish' bailout through the EU, they're in trouble. That's the reality—don't look for other interpretations. That is the reality.

"They took the big gamble; it's their responsibility. It goes down, and they can take heat—and will. So therefore, they are really desperate. That's why British PM David Cameron is on the line all the time with Ireland, trying to hound them into submission.

"The British system is obviously bankrupt: they are in desperate straits. They gambled on this bail-out operation of this hopeless system. If that doesn't go through, they are going to take a real blow—and a well-deserved blow. They brought it on themselves.

"We hope that people aren't stupid enough to bail them out. Let them go bankrupt: it will be the best thing for them and for the world."

Von Rompuy: If You Leave the Euro, We'll Kick You Out of the EU

Nov. 16 (EIRNS)—While the 16 finance ministers of the Eurozone meet tonight in Brussels, European Council president Herman van Rompuy, speaking this morning before the European Policy Center, a Brussels-based think tank, declared that the euro has entered a "survival crisis." Von Rompuy's comments were intended to blackmail countries—notably Portugal—that are considering exiting the euro single currency, but have not expressed any intention to leave the European Union as such. Van Rompuy's statement therefore sounds more like a threat: "We all have to work together in order to survive with the Eurozone, because if we don't survive with the Eurozone, we will not survive with the European Union." He then added that he is "very confident we will overcome this."

Italian Government Crisis Set for Dec. 14

Nov. 17 (EIRNS)—The heads of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies met with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano yesterday and set the date for a confidence vote in both houses for Dec. 14. The Berlusconi government is expected to win the vote in the Senate and lose in the Chamber of Deputies. That same day, the Constitutional Court will issue its decision on the immunity bill for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, probably rejecting it. This will influence the anti-government vote.

Between now and Dec. 14, games will be played for the outcome of the crisis, including bond selloffs in the markets. A massive campaign is underway in favor of London favorite, Bank of Italy head Mario Draghi, to replace Berlusconi, especially if there is a crisis over Italy's sovereign debt. Journalist Maurizio Blondet exposed this campaign as British-made, and reprinted a 2009 article from "the LaRouche group"—an article from the Italian Movisol website on Draghi and the conspiracy of international financiers against Italy, cooked up on the British Royal Yacht Britannia in 1992,

Economics Minister Giulio Tremonti has been silent for days now, an indication that he is plotting something. The Italian LaRouche movement (Movisol) has published a statement warning all political factions not to endorse a "bankers' government."

Britain Will Be 'Sucked Into' the Euro Crisis

Nov. 21 (EIRNS)—The London Daily Mail warns its readers today that Britain will be sucked into the euro crisis, because the British and Irish economies are "inextricably bound together," starting with the banking systems. Britain is not a member of the Eurozone. U.K. banks hold £143 billion (EU168.25 billion) of exposure in Ireland, more than any other country, the Mail warns. The British export £23.8 billion worth of goods and services to Ireland annually, which compares with £7 billion in exports to China. They claim that Irish banks hold at least £35 billion of loans that are worthless.

The Mail then warns that the problem doesn't stop with Ireland. "The strong connections between our banking system and those of Spain and Ireland would suck us into any euroland crisis."

This is why British Prime Minister David Cameron has been on the phone with Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen, demanding that he sign on to the EU80 billion bailout package the European Central Bank is demanding.

The Irish government did in fact swallow the British poison on Nov. 21, and approved a second round of draconian budget cuts—EU6 billion in 2011, and EU15 billion in 2015, in exchange for loans from the EU and the IMF.

The Empire Wants Merkel Out

Nov. 16 (EIRNS)—German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in her keynote to the Christian Democrat Union's (CDU) national party convention in Karslruhe yesterday, said this on the crisis in the European Union: "Everything is at stake—if the euro fails, then Europe will fail." She added that private banks will have to bleed, and not just the taxpayer: "Market excesses caused the crisis and markets have to bear the consequences of their actions. It's up to us. It's our task to create a new anchor for a culture of stability in Europe."

This stand explains why certain people want Merkel out of office, as soon as possible, and the Anglophile weekly Der Spiegel recently proclaimed the end of Merkel for the "Ides of March" 2011, namely after the Baden-Württemberg state parliament elections, which Der Spiegel mooted would end with a victory for the Greens and a disaster for the CDU, and finish Merkel off.

Rothschild Foxes Guarded Henhouse in Denmark

Nov. 15 (EIRNS)—The British Rothschild Bank was paid almost $2 million (10 million crowns) in salary and expenses for services related to the Danish bank bailout law during the Spring of 2009. The Danish daily tabloid Ekstra Bladet finally got access to the records of the Economics Ministry, after six months of ministry stalling. Most of the agreement is blacked out, so it is not possible for the Danish public to see what concrete services Rothschild Bank provided, but the one thing they couldn't black out was the huge bill, including an extra reimbursement of about $200,000 (1 million crowns) for airline tickets, hotels, taxis, etc. for which not a single receipt was handed in. The much larger bill for services provided by Rothschild was also without any specifications.

However, the biggest scandal is not the lack of receipts, but that Rothschild Bank was called in to help design the Danish bailout of the financial speculators at all!

Panic in Ireland: Youths Begin To Leave

Nov. 14 (EIRNS)—Facing a dire economic crisis, Irish youth are leaving the country. The London Guardian quoted an engineering student at the Institute of Technology in Tallaght, South Dublin, reporting that her best friends have already left: "They're doing bar work in Spain and Australia." She expects her college is in the process of jacking up tuition fees by an exorbitant amount, which will force her to leave.

Mark Ward, president of Tallaght's student union, says that 1,250 students are leaving Ireland every month. One in five graduates is seeking work outside the country. The Union of Students in Ireland believes that 150,000 students will emigrate in the next five years. Ward, a marketing graduate, said: "The government's to blame for bankrolling the banks who were lending to their property developer friends. They all thought the party would never end. Students shouldn't have to pay for the mistakes of the government and their developer pals. It's going to take years to sort this mess out and it won't be just my generation which will be blighted big time."