1 Unity of European Union about to be tested (Barry Eichengreen in The Guardian) Europe’s current period of relative calm coincides with the approach of Germany's federal election in 2013, in which the incumbent chancellor, Angela Merkel, will be running as the woman who saved the euro. But the crisis will be back, if not before Germany's upcoming election, then after. Southern Europe has not done enough to enhance its competitiveness, while northern Europe has not done enough to boost demand. Debt burdens remain crushing, and Europe's economy remains unable to grow. Across the continent, political divisions are deepening. For all of these reasons, the specter of a eurozone collapse has not been dispatched.
The consequences of a collapse would not be pretty. Whichever country precipitated it – Germany by threatening to abandon the euro, or Greece or Spain by actually doing so – would trigger economic chaos and incur its neighbours' wrath. To protect themselves from the financial fallout, governments would invoke obscure clauses in EU treaties in order to slap temporary controls on capital flows and ring-fence their banking systems. They would close their borders to stem capital flight. It would be each country for itself.
Would the European Union survive? The answer depends on what one means by the EU. If one means its political organs – the European commission, the European parliament, and the European Court of Justice, then the answer is yes. These institutions are now a half-century old; they are not going away. As for the single market, the EU's landmark achievement, there is no question that a eurozone breakup would severely disrupt its operation in the short run. Trucks would be halted at national borders. Banking and financial systems would be balkanized. Workers would be prevented from moving.
One way of thinking about the EU is as the "ever closer union" echoed in the Maastricht Treaty. "Ever closer union" means an EU that moves ineluctably from economic and monetary union to banking union, then to fiscal union, and finally to political union. This is what European leaders had in mind when they created the euro. They hoped that establishing a monetary union would generate irresistible pressure for the creation of an EU that functioned in all respects as a cohesive economic and political bloc. Europe's leaders were right about the pressure. Monetary union without banking union will not work, and a workable banking union requires at least some elements of fiscal and political union. But they were wrong about the irresistible part. There is no inevitability about what comes next.
Europe can either move forward, toward deeper integration, or it can move backward, toward national sovereignty. Its leaders and, this time, its people need to decide. It is on their decision alone that the future of both the euro and the EU depends.
2 A ‘hubble’ing view (Khaleej Times) Are you a space enthusiast, who often wonders what the universe looked like millions of years ago? Have you ever wanted to know how stars and planets emerged? The Hubble telescope’s deepest-ever view of space can provide you with awe-inspiring answers to your questions on cosmic history — some of them, at least. A group of American and British scientists spearheading a study based on years of observation by the Hubble telescope have been able to see the closest-ever view of distant galaxies. By observing Hubble’s Ultra Deep Field Imagery, they have identified six new galaxies that formed a few million years after the Big Bang. The scientists have also identified a distant estimate of seventh galaxy — the oldest cosmic object ever identified. According to the findings of their research, these galaxies arranged their stars in a smooth way, not in a sudden bang as some might hypothesise.
And how has, you might wonder, the Hubble managed to capture this deep view of these wonderful faraway lands millions of light years away from us? By staring at one spot since 2003! The galaxies which the telescope has been observing are so far away from us that their light actually reaches Earth after a very long time and in very small amounts. Thus, it has taken years for the telescope to build a clear image of distant galaxies. And since it takes eons for the light that emanates from distant galaxies to reach Earth, the image we have is of how the universe looked millions of years ago!
As scientists continue to investigate galaxies and solar systems that lie at the margins of our imagination, we will continue to be humbled by the infinite vastness of space and the incredible minuteness of our own planet and our existence. Even a cursory look at the view captured by Hubble makes us realise that we are nothing but an infinitesimal speck in this grand, amazing universe.
3 Only one athlete of the year in 2012 – Messi (John Leicester, AP) This being an Olympic year, we were spoiled for choice to find the top sportsmen and women in 2012. Oscar Pistorius is a tempting candidate for most admirable sports person of the year, because of the Olympic history he made on his prosthetic legs. A fair play award should go to German footballer Miroslav Klose, for having the honesty to admit to the referee that his goal for Lazio against Napoli in September should not count because he knocked it in with his hand. Lance Armstrong would not have been stripped in 2012 of his Tour de France victories if, like Klose, he had resisted the temptation to cheat.
Sports Illustrated went for LeBron James as its Sportsman of the Year, a safe choice because it was also the obvious one. James could not have had a more successful 2012 on a basketball court, winning the NBA championship with the Miami Heat, the NBA’s most valued player awards and Olympic gold in London with the US team. The governing body of track and field gave its annual gongs to sprinters Usain Bolt and Allyson Felix.
But in any language and across all disciplines, for me the sports person of 2012 should be Lionel Messi. For pure athleticism, a muscular colossus like Bolt is always going to stand taller than “the flea” – the nickname given by some to the 5-foot-5 (169-centimeter) footballer for Barcelona. Another legend, swimmer Michael Phelps, also deserves a mention in any athlete of the year debate, because 2012 was when the American became the most decorated Olympian ever.
But if you’re a believer that professional sport is essentially a form of entertainment, then Messi was unbeatable in 2012. He is the sports equivalent of The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Steven Spielberg or George Clooney – in the sense that, like them, so much of what Messi does is a hit. Proof of his quality as an entertainer is Messi’s new world record, for goals scored in a single year. His 86 goals in 66 matches for Barcelona and Argentina works out at an average of more than a goal per game and surpassed the 40-year mark of Gerd Mueller, who got 85 goals in 60 matches for Bayern Munich and West Germany in 1972. We expect a lot from our sports icons, often too much. But perhaps most of all we want the time that we spend with them – the 90 minutes of a match, the evening in a stadium – to be diverting and to make us feel good. With Messi, in 2012, it always did.
4 How to make India politics honest (Rakesh Mani in The Wall Street Journal) When a coalition led by the Congress Party came to power in India almost nine years ago, many were encouraged by the emergence of Manmohan Singh, an esteemed economist, as prime minister. His clean reputation led many to believe that he would usher in an era of political transparency. Yet, it hasn’t been that way. As the editor M.J. Akbar noted, “It does not matter if you are personally incorruptible; you have to be institutionally corrupt to engage in Indian politics.”
The ruling government has been pilloried for a series of huge scams – from the Commonwealth Games to the 2G spectrum case – that have collectively cost the exchequer up to $60 billion, by some accounts. But, as Ashutosh Varshney of Brown University has reasoned, rapid growth in a largely poor, rural society is likely to be accompanied by rampant corruption. Drawing on precedents from 19th century America, the rise of South Korea under Park Chung-hee and modern day China, he argues that economic growth is a double-edged sword: while generating employment and expanding opportunity, it also creates ample room for graft.
When India’s freedom struggle was in dire need of funds, even Mahatma Gandhi allegedly had no qualms about soliciting contributions from nationalist business tycoons such as GD Birla. After all, running for office in modern India is a costly affair and aspiring candidates need oversized pockets. That’s where business houses and their coterie of lobbyists and fixers come in. They are happy to pony up the capital, but demand to be compensated after the elections.
In his brilliant essay “Funding Democracy,” Keerthik Sasidharan points to research from the University of Pennsylvania showing that electoral reforms typically arise following corruption scandals, mounting campaign costs and a lack of equal access to participate in the political process. “India is a case in point in all three,” he argues. Mr. Sasidharan proposes collecting 1,000 rupees from each of India’s 40 million-odd taxpayers and launching a ring-fenced electoral fund. At their discretion, citizens could allocate an additional maximum of 5,000 rupees to a favored candidate. Candidates can either opt for this public financing or forego it altogether, with their choice signaling who they may be more beholden to.
Curbing the obscene level of political corruption in India will require bold, imaginative approaches such as this to address the nuances and realities of electoral financing, and the closely related issues of “black” money and the lack of internal democracy within India’s major political outfits.
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