"Krone" guest commentary

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Christian Baha is a stock market expert and founded Austria's first stock exchange terminal in 1993, which supplies data in real time. In 1996, he established the world's first hedge fund for private investors. Baha has always pursued the vision of making funds for wealthy individuals accessible to smaller investors.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com)

The term "bailout" means something like "bailing out". Honorable among friends, extremely dangerous for states. This is why the no-bailout clause was enshrined in 1992: no EU state is liable for the debts of another. This was intended to force the members to maintain strict budget discipline. But with the euro at the latest, it became a currency with a built-in lifeline. Or, as "Krone" reader "DonQuichote" commented last Sunday: "Why don't you just say that the euro was a crazy idea from the start? You can't merge hard currencies with soft ones and imagine that something better will come out of it."

Every country needs a currency that suits it. Highly indebted countries benefit from a weak currency with high inflation. Rich Switzerland, with a minimum national debt of 37 percent, has the hard franc. Rich euro countries such as Austria, the Netherlands and Germany are liable for highly indebted countries such as Italy (138%) and Greece (162%). The final taboo was broken on December 16, 2020, when the EU decided for the first time to issue joint debt - up to a staggering 806 billion euros. This buried the no-bailout clause.

We are in the (t)euro mess. One possible way out of the mountain of debt: a return to the schilling. An idea that was considered unthinkable just a few years ago. In fact, it takes on a new charm with a sideways glance at stable Switzerland.