Anti-euro groups, such as Business for Sterling, have always made it clear that their opposition was not based on the euro's poor performance a wise position, because some day even bad currencies pull up a bit. Nevertheless, euro weakness in the run-up to this election is embarrassing not only to euro enthusiasts. It is embarrassing to people who argue that it is in the UK's best interest to seek to align its economy more closely with the Continent.One-third of the euro-zone economy is Germany. Of course, German industry has enormous competencies that we lack; and, of course, it is dragged back by the burden of supporting the former East Germany.
True, France is doing well at the moment, but the longer the evidence accumulates that the UK does rather better than Germany (and this is the ninth year when our growth rate will exceed Germany's), the thinner the case for joining its currency bloc.This argument will intensify after the election. If the euro continues to be weak as a result of German under-performance, then the case for early entry will look thinner still. If there is serious disruption in the introduction of euro-denominated coins and notes come next January, the case will look even worse.So what could change the picture? I can see only one candidate. There is not going to be a great resurgence of the German economy in the next few months Nor are capital flows out of Europe likely to diminish. No, the only thing that could save the euro, and hence further Mr Blair's European ambitions, would be if the people who have switched their funk money out of marks and into dollars decided that they now wanted to hold euros.Trouble is, I don't see that happening quickly. If the citizens of Western Europe (who have to use the euro) are none too keen, it is unlikely that those of Eastern Europe (who can use dollars) are going to warm to it in the next few months More from Hamish McRae.
A senior official at Conservative Central Office has a candid take on this general election "The voters," he tells me, "are not listening to us They are getting on with their own lives. We press the buttons and nothing happens." Presumably his colleagues share this gloomy analysis. As they scrutinise the stubbornly unchanging polls at the end of each long day of button pressing, they conclude that no one is listening. A senior official at Conservative Central Office has a candid take on this general election "The voters," he tells me, "are not listening to us They are getting on with their own lives. We press the buttons and nothing happens." Presumably his colleagues share this gloomy analysis. As they scrutinise the stubbornly unchanging polls at the end of each long day of button pressing, they conclude that no one is listening. To some extent the official is making what Basil Fawlty would call a "statement of the bleedin' obvious". Media organisations are spending a lot of money on the polls, yet the gap between the parties hardly changes.
