NYT : Poland and Hungary Use Coronavirus to Punish Opposition

[DFW]

5. No discipline at all, just gimme, gimme

Italy wants so-called "corona bonds" to bail them out of their old habits. Pre-Euro, they just devalued the lira, and presto, debts paid! Now, they can't do that any more, so they are telling the Germans, "bail us out," as if no one here in Germany had lost their job, or had to close their business. The Germans barely stood for being asked to bail out Greece, with their excessive number of useless government bureaucrats being able to retire on generous pensions at age 55. I don't think they are gong to stand for bailing out Italy, when enough of their own citizens are hurting. I think they'd rather leave the euro system first, and that means the whole EU collapses (and Putin says, "I win!" ).