Moody's like the Mafia

The downgrading of Portugal's creditworthiness by the rating agency Moody's on Wednesday prompted an indignant commentary by the business newspaper Jornal de Negocios, which compared it to Mafia methods: "Moody's has trashed us and Europe has capitulated. ... President Socrates and [then opposition leader] Passos Coelho made a colossal mistake by allowing the government to fall [in March] instead of working out an Irish-style solution beforehand. ... But then everything changed, a stable majority in parliament, a 78 billion euro loan, a programme designed by the troika, a committed government, a prime minister obsessed with compliance at all costs [Pasos Coelho]. ... But now we're junk. ... Portugal was a mad man who threw himself off a cliff and then clung to the rope thrown to him and with all his strength and tried to climb back up. ... Then along comes Moody's, spits on the ground and says it's tough climbing back up the rope, so we'll cut it instead. ... The rating agencies insist they have nothing against Portugal. Someone said: 'Don't take it personally, it's just business.' That someone must be a Mafia boss."

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