There is no sign of uncertainty in the eurozone. There is only the smell of burning, and the sound of propaganda.

Everyone talks about ‘uncertainty in the eurozone’, but it’s the wrong descriptor, because the ezone’s demise has been a certainty for at least six months; it’s just that none of the players dare say that in public – although they all have contingency exit plans.

Elephant-denying continued yesterday as the Top Brass Necks met: the managing director of Radio Luxembourg J-C Juncker told reporters that the unshakeable intention is keep Greece in the euro, Greek exit simply didn’t come up as a subject. But then he said that the Ministers all felt the EU-IMF programme to be a very substantial expression of solidarity from the other 16 member states….the 17th being Greece. So they did discuss it then.

Juncker is actually getting quite good at spotlighting his contradictory hypocrisy. Here’s another belter from the same media session:

“We have to respect Greek democracy. I’m against this way of dealing with Greece consisting in provoking the Greek public opinion and giving advice and indications to the Greek sovereign…(THEN)….”But the Greek public, the Greek citizens, have to know that we agreed on a programme and this programme has to be implemented.”

So he’s against manipulation in a sort of manipulative kind of way.

But Rank Double Standard of the day went to Netherlands Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager, who loftily opined that,”Greece has no option but to reform and to repay (its debts) and if it doesn’t do that, it will be a very serious problem, not just for Greece, but for everyone.”

Especially you Jan, me old Dutch Gouda, because your finances are in an equally bad way. As it happens, I have some inside track on this one. A young Greek doctor working in the Netherlands (because the Health Budget got raped in Greece) wrote to me yesterday to note that:

‘The truth is that here in the Netherlands, the situation for us Greeks is not much better either. We do not have the same rights as the Dutch doctors. They have offered me a job for 2 days per week which would earn me barely enough to survive, provided that I will work the rest 3 days for free, plus I would have to be involved in their research programmes for free.’

You see, “our United Europe is about helping each other within the safety of an unbreakable bond of solidarity against the real enemy”. (Dr Josef Goebbels, 1943)