No, No, No!

Sadly I'm not referring to Thatcher's most famous Parliamentary moment but Nick Clegg's response on this morning's BBC Today programme when questioned over the Euro.

I linked to it in an earlier post, but only now have I've had a chance to listen again properly. It's in fact a wonderful example of weapons-grade weasel words. My earlier thoughts that he claimed no-one predicted the Euro crisis are slightly incorrect. That's the impression Clegg wants to give however he specifically argues that no-one predicted that the current budget rules, particularly by France, would be flouted. A different assertion altogether.

When pressed by Justin Webb that 'Tory Eurosceptics' predicted a crisis Clegg goes into a 'no no no' moment and says:

"That is complete nonsense, people criticise the Euro for wholly different reasons they didn't predict that the Stability and Growth Pact and the rules enshrined in that... would have been so summarily ignored"

By concentrating on such a narrow aspect of the Euro crisis, and ignoring wider concerns expressed at the time, Clegg is trying to maintain that he's been right all along if only everyone abided by the rules... or to put it another way it's a desperate attempt at trying to get out of a 'told you so' moment.

Meanwhile, due to the crisis, the Greeks have resorted to eating from bins*:

Today Greeks are also looking through bins. Many of them are looking for things to sell, but others are searching for food.

For 25 years, Iranian born Samat Eftehar has owned a tavern in Exarchia. "It is still a lively little neighbourhood. I have known most of the people here for years. Some of them who were already on low salaries have had their wages cut. They are decent people, and now they are forced to eat from bins," he says.

Giorgos Arabatzoglou works as a street cleaner for Penteli district in the north of Athens: "Even in this well-off suburb, people are going through the bins, especially on market days. And it’s on the increase,” he says. “We are always finding torn bin liners, so we think more people are rooting: not just in the supermarket bins, but also outside souvlaki shops. Recently, I saw the extraordinary spectacle of a well-dressed young woman, rooting through a pile of expired yogurts trying to find the one with the most recent date."

I doubt somehow that multi-millionaire Clegg gives a damn - his Euro ideology is more important.

*hattip: Muffled Vociferation