I sometimes have to remind myself that no member of the beleaguered eurozone has actually defaulted. Yes, Greece, Ireland and Portugal flirted with reneging on their bonds. But each was bailed out with alacrity well before that could happen.
These rescues are no one’s idea of perfection. There will have to be a do-over of the Irish bailout after the Irish complained, with reason, that the bailout’s harsh terms made it more punitive than a genuine rescue effort. And last year’s Greece bailout, also being revisited, was revealed in subsequent months to be woefully inadequate. In all likelihood each nation will be refinanced properly in the current bailout re-negotiations.
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