Cyprus Says "No!"

It is sometimes difficult to understand what politicians use for brains. This week the EU literally ambused Cyprus and threatened them that of they didn't grab 10% of their citizens savings then the island would face bankruptcy. This was the best they could come up with - a strategy that threatened to undermine confidence in banks across Europe and start a run on them not seen since 1929. The Cypriot negotiators flew back to Cyprus, told their citizens what was about to happen and then stared into the headlights like so many startled rabbits. The people of Cyprus, quite understandably, told their politicians to go shove it and their government then failed to vote for their own policy. There is an alternative, but the EU isn't going to like it. Cyprus could sell off the gas that has been discovered off its shores to the Russians. This would give the Russians an even tighter grip on energy in Europe and allow them a sphere of influence in the eastern Mediterranean both of which would be far from welcome. All of this could have been predicted by almost anyone other than a European politician who seem to have their heads firmly planted up their nether regions.