In any case, constantly having to bail out the insolvent fringe will eventually become politically unacceptable among those forced to pick up the tab. In Germany, the EU’s bail-out fund is already subject to legal challenge, while in Britain, there is understandable horror at being roped into the Irish rescue. Why should our highly taxed businesses be forced to subsidise super-low rates of corporation tax in Ireland? It’s unfair and objectionable. Small wonder that senior officials at the Bundesbank have come round to the view that strong countries would do better to concentrate on shoring up their own banks against debt defaults in weaker countries, rather than propping up the weaker economies.