Economic crisis blogburst 1: Government in denial of bailout

The sovereign/bank debt story has moved on over the weekend, with the Government denying it was talking about triggering a bailout, and everybody else talking about the likihood that they would. So, with little or no attempt to editorialise, here’s some of the best commentary of the day:

– Dan O’Brien suggests this is no longer a domestic only issue. The question of a bail out for Ireland may be secondary to a larger crisis in the Eurozone…

– As Johnson and Boone note, although Lenihan has done everything already asked of him by Europe’s central bankers:

The quid pro quo for this easy ECB money is that the Irish government must protect European creditors who would otherwise face large losses. The ensuing massive bank bailout, plus continued budget deficits and declining nominal GNP, means that Ireland’s debt is ballooning, while its capacity to pay has collapsed.

– At the Daily Telegraph, Peter Oborne suggests a simple route for Ireland (and Greece) to reclaim its national sovereignty…

– Meanwhile Finfacts reports a note from Donal O’Mahony (who doesn’t think much of internet bloggers), with a suggestion of how to flip the bond market with a deft use of the State pension fund (NPRF)…

-Here’s thestory.ie who were first to note a back channel route (‘Other Assets’) for funds from the central bank to certain retail banks this Autumn, which is now getting quoted approvingly by the FT’s excellent Aphaville blog (who provide both corroboration and useful context)… The inevitable outworking of that bank guarantee scheme in September 2008?

– And if you think this is all just an Irish problem (and the Coalition is working valiantly to reverse the debt problem in the UK) try Channel Four’s (informed, if highly sensationalist, polemic) Britain’s Trillion Pound Horror Story

Mick Fealty

Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty