Courtesy of Mish.
George Orwell coined the term doublethink in his classic book 1984. Doublethink is the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.
Have you listened to the conflicted beliefs coming from Spain lately?
Conflicted Beliefs
- “I don’t know if we are on the edge of a precipice, but we are in a very, very difficult situation” said Spain’s finance minister, Luis de Guindos, at a conference on Thursday night. “Madrid needs assistance, no strings attached” says Spain’s deputy prime minister, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaria. Meanwhile, Guindos has made overtures to the ECB, EU, and now US treasury secretary Tim Geithner to help capitalize Spanish banks.
- Guindos, Santamaria, and prime minister Mariano Rajoy insist Spanish banks are sound and Spain does not need any international assistance
Geithner to the Rescue?
The Financial Times reports Spain and US hold talks on bank aid
Madrid has begun openly discussing outside assistance for its troubled banking sector, with a top Spanish official saying she had raised the issue with Tim Geithner, the US Treasury secretary, who urged the EU to “find a solution” to stabilise Spain’s banks.
Soraya Sáenz de Santamaria, Spain’s deputy prime minister, said after a meeting with Mr Geithner that the two had discussed proposals to recapitalise Spanish and other European banks “without state intervention and without conditions,” a clear reference to Madrid’s wish to get EU bailout assistance without strings attached.
“It’s something in the debate, and we’ve been discussing that possibility,” Ms Santamaria said. “Treasury secretary [Geithner] has indicated that we are working in the same direction and that we must find a solution to the banks, because the problem is not just a problem in Spain as a nation, but our financial system.”…
