My note to Willem Buiter on his praise of the Fortis "nationalisation":
Dear Professor Buiter,
I agree that Fortis shows that the worry - expressed just today by Munchau in the FT - that Eu cannot respond in a crisis is wrong. But the outcome of the capital injection seems favourable compared to what would come out of TARP, no?
51% of old shareholdings preserved --- doesn't this show that a little more transparency to voters in the Benelux might have got them a better deal?
Taxpayers are unwilling risk capitalists here, and that should make our representatives negotiate harder for our upside, not less hard.
Best wishes,
Tony
