The solution to the debt crisis passes through Bratislava. The ratification of the bailout fund set up by the members of the Eurozone to guarantee stability to the financial markets will be discussed today by the Slovak parliament. The fund, which will be able to kick off only after the ratification of all 17 countries that have adopted the euro, has already been accepted by 15 of them. Despite the achievement of difficult and not without tension compromises in Germany and Holland, in the end it was a sense of responsibility that prevailed.
The European mechanism risks jamming on the extremist positions of the majority party "Freedom and Solidarity", which would not be willing to open a dialogue. The premier, Iveta Radicova, has threatened her resignation and has proposed a vote of confidence (in the event of the government's defeat, the Slovak constitution does not provide for its fall but offers a second chance). The dialogue will be close until the last moments. Even the opposition, which contests the representativeness of the government, led by a party that does not enjoy a relative majority, seems to have rejected Radicova's overtures, asking for early elections in exchange for any support. A stalemate that keeps the markets anxious and that risks sowing panic in the event of a rejection.
Without going into the merits of the Slovak political situation, the case makes us reflect on how convoluted and cumbersome European decision-making processes still are, anchored to the rules of international law and not to the political-economic importance of the decisions that are taken. These same mechanisms, which make general decisions linked to events of local political opportunism, have prevented the European Constitution from being in force today, which would undoubtedly have provided more effective tools for dealing with the current crisis.
