Here is europe (lower case europe) for you, served on a (fake) gold platter.This time it is about Spain, yes the Spain that just saw its people celebrate new elections (to be fair the new PM will take charge by end of year), the Spain we all hoped would represent with its energy and dynamism the young propeller of European democracy.

It is the sorry europe of accounting tricks, window dressing, bureacracy, sheer desperation, the europe that it is not up to face the challenge. Poor spain, poor europe, poor us. So what did they do this time? They simply tried to modify artificially the spread with bonos (spanish long term bonds) and bund (german bonds), as if markets would not notice that and punish spain for it.

Here’s the (spanish, european) logic: is the spread a “political” issue by which governments are judged? Yes? Well then let’s waste time and energy to window dress the spread. It happened more than once with the deficit, today let’s do it with the spread, God knows tomorrow.

Are these behavior by national bureacrats shattering europe? Not at all. The problem is elsewhere. If all what we ask our bureacrats is to reduce the spread, these law abiding workers will just do that, in the most efficient and myopic way. Translated: if our leaders were to ask those blind european burocrats of ours, intead of lowering the spreads, to rise to the occasion, be sure, they would do it! So the true problem is: why arent’ european leaders rising to the occasion, looking for Europe with a capital E?

If they were to do it, they would find it in the ideals of growth, solidarity, cultural and scientific exchange. But, as the Spanish proverb says ….

El que no oye consejo no llega a viejo: he who does not listen, does not become old.