Europe, the Euro & Which Currency to take on Holiday

A new hashtag has appeared on twitter: #Eurocrisis.  Now, of course, this is referring to the economic crisis which seems to flit from being a banking to a sovereign debt crisis.  In many ways it is both unnecessary and impossible to label the current situation. 

But 2 thoughts have occurred to me.  Firstly, the fact that a hashtag exists indicates a change in our relationship, awareness and communication of this financial crisis.  Unlike in previous economic crises there is wider political and popular debate of the issues.  In the 1930s (the most serious downturn), the media reports were far less and in the 1980s-90s the individually-driven content did not exist.  Not much of the discussion still happens amongst the political elite, despite the new ‘social media’, many of the actors are the traditional ones.  But there is a far greater awareness which drives the agenda and causes mass awareness to a crisis  All of this changes how this crisis may pan out and puts government under increased (sometimes ill-informed) opinion.  Governments need to react and tell us they have reacted in a faster way than previously and the need for quick reaction cuts time for thinking or to develop more innovative responses to the current situation. 

Secondly, my argument about the political/cultural future of Europe, as opposed to the economic is still valid.  Though founded on an economic model, the political and cultural elements are still particularly important.  As a nation on the edge of the European Union, we may not be the best to view the importance of Europe.  But when you travel across countries and see the shared values and communal beliefs, there should be no doubting the necessity of a European Alliance.  And despite the unhappiness in Germany and, to a different extent, France and other “wealthy” nations about the economic impact of the Euro, they would not want to completely dissolve the political union.  So one of the key issues is how Europe holds together despite its foundations (the economy from which it was born) is shaken to the core. 

I wrote recently on twitter wondering if I should take French Francs or US Dollars to France next week given the problems of the Euro.  In March 2008, an academic friend suggested that we could not bank on the Euro existing in 5 years’ time.  Given this was pre-crisis, she was mainly referring to a crumbling of the political union.  It is surprising that the economics might spell the end in the not too distant future and might make my joke about what currency to tale on holiday to Europe an interesting reality.