Christine Lagarde: European financial crisis is too serious for eurozone countries to solve alone

Source - UK Telegraph

The European financial crisis is “escalating” and is so serious that it is unlikely to be solved by eurozone countries alone, the head of the International Monetary Fund warned last night.

British taxpayers are now likely to be involved in an internationally co-ordinated bail-out led by the International Monetary Fund [IMF] for countries in the single currency.

, the managing director of the IMF, said the escalating crisis now needed to be addressed as “collectively as possible”. Without action, the world faces the spectre of a 1930s-style depression, she said.

Mrs Lagarde spoke out after other European countries indicated that they were unlikely to back a new treaty designed to shore up the single currency.

Hungary and the Czech Republic said they would not agree to any new deal that involved European-wide taxes. David Cameron has already vetoed any British involvement. Yesterday, the head of the IMF described the prospects for the global economy as “quite gloomy”.

“There is no economy in the world, whether low-income countries, emerging markets, middle-income countries or super-advanced economies that will be immune to the crisis that we see not only unfolding but escalating,” Mrs Lagarde said.

“If the international community doesn’t work together, the risk from an economic point of view is that of retraction, rising protectionism, isolation.

“This is exactly the description of what happened in the Thirties and what followed is not something we are looking forward to.”

She added: “It is not a crisis that will be resolved by one group of countries taking action.

“It is going to be hopefully resolved by all countries, all regions, all categories of countries actually taking action.”

Mrs Lagarde said global economic leaders needed to take a holistic approach toward addressing systemic weaknesses, such as those exposed by the current euro crisis. “It is going to require efforts, it is going to require adjustment, and clearly it is going to have to start from the core of the crisis at the moment, which is obviously the European countries and in particular the countries of the euro zone,” she said.

The remarks are her most outspoken warning yet on the need for co-ordinated international action, which she likened to Alexander the Great splitting the Gordian knot. “It is really that Gordian knot that needs to be cracked, that needs to be addressed as collectively as possible, starting with those at the centre but with the support of the international community probably channelled through the IMF,” she said.

I find this article interesting with Lagarde sounding the alarm to the world community to prepare to assist the IMF with rescuing the Eurozone, clearly calling for a global response to the overwhelming problem. The IMF is typically rather reserved and not given to rhetoric with its warnings but as the author points out here, this is the most outspoken warning issued by Lagarde yet on enlisting the support of the international community. Lagarde is using dramatic language here unabated with reference to the 1930s and implications of the extreme governments that emerged during this era and WWII that ensued.

Haha they are acting like they just realised this,
Exactly what countries do they expect to help? Possibly one that isnt in debt, oh wait there are none

reply to post by surrealist


This has all been brought in by design, to squeeze things so tight that we will accept anything (NWO),

I hope the EU project fails, it only serve a 1% at the cost to 99%!

it's taken a little longer than expected but they are going in for the kill now, how long before we see the bent politician's who sold us all out for person greed in chains,

reply to post by surrealist





Hmm I wonder if Germany will have the control after everything is said and done. You would think the old timers in Europe would be saying something about this. If you cant beat them with brawn beat them with your brains. It to bad Europe has a short memory.

This is the smartest piece of logic I have seen coming from the whole EU joke since it was first ocnceived.

She is right. The strength in this instnace will lie in a collective. It is what is wrong with the EU to begin with: the only cohesion is on paper, not in fact.

Of course, it is different cultures, etc....i understand that. But if you are going to have a "union", there has to be something to that union other than simply assessing annual dues and decrees from an irrelevant governing body.

Like a lot of others, I'm always suspicious at their timing of these statements. I've seen it a few times now.

On the one hand they state that there needs to be confidence in the markets, and on all the major news networks they bring in paid-off economists to falsify the facts to the public, yet when it suits them they issue warnings that they know will affect the markets and confidence.

One step forward, two steps back, just to make sure we don't catch on that this is all orchestrated.

I don't trust a single word any of these people say. They're all self-serving, greedy, arrogant people who are so detached from the realities of everyday existence they couldn't make a decision for the benefit of their people if their lives depended on it.

Most of us knew what she is now saying three years ago. And yet she's the one being paid a sh*t load of money?
Hey, Europe, pay me just a couple of grand and I'll give you the facts and tell you what kind of future you're gonna have. We've been predicting everything that's now happening over the past three years, and so far we've all managed to be pretty on-target.

Funny how the suspicious folks here manage to see the facts through all the MSM BS, and yet so many millions of others are ignorant to it, are not prepared for it, and have no clue about the massive collapse and social turmoil around the corner.

I didn't need this technocrat to make an announcement like this to know that the moment I see the first European nation go publicly bankrupt I'll be emptying my bank account and spending all of it on tinned goods and security.

I'm just waiting for that headline and I'll be the first in the queue, while all the other sheeple out there are still sitting on their ass and listening to their government saying anything they can think of to avoid a social meltdown.

So what does Lagarde wants?

MORE TAXPAYERS FUND TO SOCIALISE BAILOUT OF BANKS ???!!!

WIth all sympathy, it will NEVER be enough, so don't try. The gravy train has to end.

Lagarde compared the issue to Alexander's Gordon knot. Frankly, it is more like a Gift Greek Horse situation.

The greek polilticians and bank/corp elites pulled a fast one over the EU with the trojan horse and now EU is racked asunder. The greeks masses, being greek, whom had not prospered by the corruption of their elites, aint gonna be fooled by their elites and had rioted daily to prevent the German Gift Horse of debt bondage back to greece.

Paying good money after bad is senseless. There are 2 ways for Quantative Easing. One is ECB to print more papers, but that will only jack up inflation. Number 2 is foreign investments into PRIVATE enterprises in failed states, NOT into gov hands.

The choice is clear. End the trojan horse game and the gordon knot will be unravelled.

reply to post by surrealist


The current situation is in no way anything like what happened in the 30's. That woman is an idiot.. trying to scare people, she should be ashamed.

Don't get me wrong. It's all going to collapse. But she should have been honest about it and not make up some BS about a past depression.. 2008 was much like the 30's .. the Euro crisis has really never happened before.

But who do they expect to help? China's broke.. The USA is broke.. Europe is broke.. all the laws of Classical Economics dictates the system HAS to collapse. There is no saving it.. and Keynesian Economics is simply a method to sidestep normal rules of Classical Economics. The result, in the end, is the same: The house of cards comes tumbling down. Let it come I say.

reply to post by Rockpuck


exactly economic failure is inevitable, throwing everything we can at the problem at best slows it down. The sooner we hit rock bottom the sooner we can begin to rebuild.