Hu argument li jrid isir, jiġi ripetut u mirbuħ.

Bħala spazju mrikkeb fuq suq wieħed kontinentali, fejn tintuża l-istess munita, hu naturali li fiż-żona tal-ewro jitqanqlu ideat favur li t-tmexxija taż-żona — ekonomika, finanzjarja u amministrattiva — tissaħħaħ. Fil-prattika, dan iġib l-istess tmexxija qisha kienet ta’ stat wieħed.

Naturali wkoll li meta jitressqu dawn l-ideat u jkunu se jitwettqu, il-perspettivi tal-partijiet il-kbar taż-żona ikollhom l-akbar nifs. Forsi dan mhux biss għandu jitqies bħala minn ewl id-dinja, imma wkoll ġust. Jekk f’dawn il-partijiet taż-żona jgħixu l-aktar nies, hu ġust li l-interessi tagħhom jingħataw l-akbar piż fl-arranġamenti ġodda li jitħejjew.

Biss għal min jgħix fil-partijiet “minuri”, bħal fl-istati ż-żgħar tal-ewro, hemm biża’. Se jiddaħħlu regoli ta’ tmexxija li jidhru ġusti u naturali għal fejn jgħixu ħafna nies b’territorji u meżżi ekonomiċi kbar. Imma mhux se jgħoddu daqstant għal imkejjen oħra.

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Referendum

Ir-referendum li ħabbar il-Prim Ministru tal-Greċja Tsirpas dwar il-ftehim li kellu jintlaħaq mal-kredituri ta’ pajjiżu, issorprenda lil kulħadd. Tliet snin u nofs ilu, Prim Ministru ta’ qablu George Papandreou għamel l-istess mossa. Il-kanċellier Merkel u l-President Franċiż ta’ dak iż-żmien Sarkozy, malajr qajmu l-irwiefen kontrih. Kellu jiċħad il-proposta, irriżenja u tilef il-gvern.

Tsipras tgħallem il-lezzjoni u għadda l-proposta ta’ referendum mill-Parlament f’ġurnata.

Saru matul dil-ġimgħa sforzi biex tinstab soluzzjoni aċċettabbli għal kulħadd.

Jekk ir-referendum jinżamm xorta kif propost, probabbiltà kbira hi li jirbaħ l-iva favur il-ftehim propost mill-Ewropej — kontra l-linja tal-gvern ta’ Tsipras.

Ħabib tiegħi mill-Greċja li hu kontra Tsipras, qalli: la hemm żmien biex nagħmlu kampanja u lanqas għalfejn. Il-banek magħluqa bil-panik li dan ixerred huma l-aqwa forma ta’ kampanja favur l-iva.

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Footfall

Larry Niven u Jerry Pournelle kitbu għadd ta’ rumanzi twal tal-fantaxjenza li jirrakkontaw xi diżastru dinji. “Footfall” hu l-aħħar li qrajt minn tagħhom — forsi l-anqas wieħed tajjeb. Jirrakkonta kif aljeni li fiżikament jixbhu ljunfanti jaslu fid-dinja tagħna fuq ġifen tal-ispazju enormi u jattakkawha billi mill-għoli jitfgħu fuqha metejoriti.

Imutu miljuni, jekk mhux biljuni, ta’ umani fl-attakki tal-aljeni, sakemm fl-aħħar mid-dinja jittella’ attakk multinukleari ddisprat li jirnexxilu jrażżanhom. Ir-rumanz m’għandux it-tensjoni li ssib f'”Il-Martell ta’ Luċifru”, ukoll ta’ Niven u Pournelle, fejn asterojde enormi taħbat mad-dinja u toħloq diżastru bħal dak li wassal għall-qirda totali tad-dinosawri miljuni ta’ snin ilu.

Li taqra dwar intriċċi hekk, minkejja d-diżastri bla qies li jinkludu, jipprovdi aljenazzjoni mill-monotonija ta’ vjaġġi bl-ajru.

English Version – The smaller stated in the eurozone

The argument needs to be made, repeated and won.

As a territory having a common currency of its own, within a single continental market, it is natural that ideas will germinate within the euro zone to promote a strengthening of its economic, financial and administrative management. In practice this would assimilate such management with that of a politically unified state.

It is equally natural that when ideas are being expressed and then implemented, the perspectives which gain greatest traction will be those of the more important areas of the zone. Perhaps this should not justbe considered naturalbut also considered to be fair. After all, a majority of people live there. And it is fair that their interests get priority in any new arrangements being set up.

However those who live in other “less important” areas of the union, as in the smaller member states of the euro zone, must see that there is a problem here: new management rules could be introduced that might seem natural and fair in areas having significant endowments and where most people live. But they might be less fit for purpose elsewhere.

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Referendum

The referendum announced by Greek Prime Minister Tsipras about the agreement which had to be agreed with the country’s creditors, came as a surprise to everybody. Three and a half years ago a previous Prime Minister George Papandreou made the same move. Chancellor Merkel and then French President Sarkozy, soon raised huge trouble for him. He had to drop the proposal, resigned and lost the government.

Tsipras learnt the lesson and got the referendum proposal through Parliament in a day.

During this week, efforts were still being made to find a solution that would be acceptable to all parties.

If the referendumis still held as originally proposed, it is very probable that the yes vote in favour of the agreement being proposed by the European side would prevail, and contradict the line of the Tsipras administration.

A friend of mine from Greece, not a Tsipras supporter, told me that there is no time nor need to carry out a proper campaign. By staying closed, banks spread panic and become the best campaignersneeded to mobilise the yes vote.

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Footfall

Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle wrote a number of long sci-fi novels which chronicle some global disaster. “Footfall” is another I’ve just read; it’s possibly their least satisfactory. It describes how aliens from outer space (they have a physical resemblance to elephants) arrive on an enormous space ship and attack our world by catapulting meteors down on our world from up high.

Millions, even billions of human beings are killed in the alien attacks, till from the earth a desperate multinuclear attack is mounted which successfully contains them. The novel lacks the tension that underpins “Lucifer’s Hammer” also by Niven and Pournelle, in which a huge asteroid crashes into the world and creates a disaster similar to the one which caused the total annihilation of dinosaurs millions of years ago.

Reading such stories, even as they spin out overwhelming disasters, does provide distraction, I find, from the monotony of air travel.

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