Take ECB warnings seriously

The European Central Bank (ECB) has redoubled its warnings that restructuring Greece's debt could have grave consequences. Politicians should take heed of these gloomy predictions, writes the liberal daily Corriere del Ticino: "The fundamental difference compared with last year's crisis consists in the role that the ECB has assumed in the negotiations and regarding the public owing to the repeated statements of its leading functionaries. The bank wants to be heard. It fears that politicians haven't understood that a botch-up in the Greek crisis could provoke a financial crisis that goes far beyond the impact of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. ... But not even the institution led by Jean-Claude Trichet has a solution. Frankfurt believes that new loans and the stipulation that Greece sticks to stringent austerity measures will heal the Greek budget with time. This position however is less a prognosis than a hope."

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