From the archives: The doomed euro

It was doomed from the start; that’s the prognosis of those who think that the single currency’s crisis is near terminal, such are its structural and political weaknesses. People warned that it could be thus when the Euro was first launched. Bruce Anderson was among them: 

Had Mr Blair been braver, he could have been in on this week’s euro euphoria, Bruce Anderson, The Spectator, 9 January 1999

The combined political will of 11 nations – or at least of their political elites – assured an easy birth for the euro. But the euphoria should not deceive us. Most thoughtful politicians and commentators throughout Euroland will acknowledge that the present position of the euro is inherently unstable, and that this can only be corrected by the most radical economic and political reform. On the Continent, such an agenda is rapidly evolving; there, those who are most enthusiastic about the euro will acknowledge that the New Year launch was only the beginning of a process of fundamental change.