MAIL COMMENT: Truth about the euro they refuse to admit

Another week, another colossal bailout for eurozone banks… another chorus of insane optimism from the eurofanatics, claiming the problem is solved, the single currency is safe and everything will be sunshine and roses.



Right from the start of the slow-motion car crash of the euro, the currency’s champions have shown an almost infinite capacity for self-delusion.



The EU-crazy BBC has appointed itself cheerleader for the latest £80billion bailout – echoing the Spanish premier who, with wilful blindness to reality, hailed it as a triumph for his country.

Leaders: German chancellor Angela Merkel, left, said today she has not pressured Spain into asking for a bailout. David Cameron has promised that UK money will not be used to prop up European banks

For a few hours, even the normally cynical markets caught the mood, before realism began to reassert itself.



In truth, the loan is merely a sticking-plaster for Madrid’s financial sector.

It does nothing to address Spain’s underlying problems of a shrinking economy, a crippling inability to compete – and youth unemployment, in this country with a history of fascism, at a socially terrifying 50 per cent.



And massive though the bailout is, it won’t prevent the contagion from spreading to the even larger economies of Italy and France. To achieve that, the euro would need a rescue fund running into trillions, not mere tens of billions.



Making matters worse, the no-strings-attached Spanish loan has prompted demands that Ireland, Portugal and Greece be allowed to renegotiate the tough terms of their own huge bailouts.



Meanwhile, elections loom in France and Greece on Sunday, with all the signs pointing towards a resounding popular rejection of German-imposed austerity.



In short, the politically-inspired project of the euro is falling apart before the world’s eyes. And it cannot be held together without trampling on democracy and subjecting millions to many years of unnecessary hardship.



Only when they face the reality of the problem can eurozone leaders start working towards a lasting solution.



How much more suffering must the continent endure before the champions of the euro summon the guts and honesty to admit they were wrong?



Taking on the trolls



The Mail applauds Ken Clarke on tackling one of the ugliest evils of our times.



For years, cowardly internet ‘trolls’ have been able to hide behind anonymity, bringing distress and often terror to their victims, with vile outpourings of bile and lies on Facebook or Twitter.



But now the Justice Secretary plans to require internet companies to hand over abusers’ identities to their victims – or else accept full legal responsibility for comments that appear on their sites.

Commendable: Mr Clarke plans to require internet companies to hand over abusers' identities to their victims

Crucially, his Defamation Bill also contains protections for free speech and genuine whistleblowers.



In their treatment of internet abuse, successive governments have long lagged behind the march of technology. These welcome proposals suggest Mr Clarke is at last trying to catch up.



Can we now hope for support to protect children from peddlers of internet porn – and our privacy from the industrial-scale snooping of Google and Apple?



Awash with failure

