Small investors Belgium's last trump card

The interim Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme called on Belgians to purchase government bonds on Wednesday. That could give the country some time to catch its breath, writes the liberal daily De Standaard: "It looks as if in view of the rising interest rates, savers are willing to purchase. What else are they to do with their savings, now that the interest rates on their bank account books are being kept artificially low? If it works, the Belgian state will be able to breathe more easily and become somewhat less dependent on the moods of financial markets. But the plan can only work if the borrower Belgium retains the confidence of its private investors. Otherwise the strategy will quickly backfire, and the last trump card will have been played. For that reason the very first thing we need is a government that boosts confidence, a government with only one focus: guiding the country through the deepest crisis in decades."

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