...which is German for "over my dead body" or "drop dead." I'm not sure; German is a difficult language. Anyway, rhar was Angie's response to the question as to whether she would agree with Frankie at chin wag tomorrow in Paris over the question of Euro bonds/joint guarantees/burden sharing/added growth policies and whatever else on which Frankie was trying to raise the Tri-Color. Told you he was quite full of himself.
What I didn't mention because I just found out was that The Leader and the Suit were trying to muscle Angie and her northern Europe pals into Frankie's box last week in Los Cabos. Now you have to undestand the bloom is very much off the Leader's rose and The Suit carries little weight in Europe (or anywhere else for that matter) so putting in their two cents unasked is a sure fire way to insure that Angie's gang does what they damn well please and thank you very much, go away now. Then again, Paris is lovely this time of year but don't expect much if anything coming out of this meeting. Frankie should keep the golden rule in mind: he who has the gold makes the rules. Oh, one other thing. Keep an eye on French banks. I don't like what I am hearing which is absolutely nothing and unless they have suddenly gotten smart, that's a bad thing.
And now Massimo; a very dour Massimo I might add. Things according to him have not gone well. The Italians have missed in his estimation an opportunity of a lifetime simply because they are...well, Italian. Monti was sure his plan to liberalize the entire Italian state was a winner; oh sure, compromises would occur but he was sure he had it. He got very little and occording to Massimo not because of any overwhelming disagreement on the policy or the necessity but simply because the politicians were more uncomfortable with adopting the changes proposed than with the status quo despite recognizing that in the long run was not sustainable. I am reminded of a wonderful Sophia Loren movie in which for reasons I have forgotten ahe must become pregnant as quickly as possible. The parental candidate is a young man in the town who has been madly in love with her and fills his days with fantasies. She explains the situation:
"...es tu."
"Io?"
"Si."
"Ora?"
"Si."
"Qui?"
"Si, SI!"
She is forced to chase him around the room for the result pre-ordained and desired but in his mind it should not be him, not then and not there. Bienvenuto a Italia.
So, continues Massimo, what Monti is going to do is agree with Frankie which is a non-starter but also make it clear that in exchange he is prepared to allow Angie to run the show in Euroland. That he believes will be even a worse solution for the pols than his reforms and believing as he does that with his reforms Italy can become the Germany of the South he is willing to play a monumental three-way game of chiken to get them done. If Massimo is correct, the guy has stones as they say on Mulberry Street. In the meantime, Italy sold two year notes at a stinking yield of 4.7%. Italian banks are making a lot of money buying these things and even getting the cash back as Monte di Peschi di Sienna, probably the oldest bank in the world, received 2 billion Euros from the Bank of Italy today. Time is getting short throughout Euroland. Massimo is going to Brussels. He says the food is wonderful.
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