Parallel Currency

A new parallel currency alongside the euro should be established for creditworthy countries like the Netherlands and Germany. The 80-year-old VVD celebrity Frits Bolkestein declared this in the TV program Pauw & Witteman on Wednesday night. “France may not participate in the parallel currency,” according to the former leader of the VVD, “because the country is virtually bankrupt and not managed well.” The plans for the currency (e.g., the mark) for the creditworthy countries will have to come from the German Bundesbank. Bolkestein thinks that his plan will not be accepted immediately, but that it is just a matter of time. “In five years, they squeak.” “Europe,” according to him, “is only at the beginning of all the problems. It is now time to create order out of chaos.” With a parallel currency, the creditworthy countries could protect their own financial position. “The deficit countries will resist the devil from holy water,” expects Bolkestein. “But eventually the new, expensive, northern currency will also be good for their competitiveness.”