Chapter 814 Ireland's Choice (1)

  At this time, Zhong Shi didn't know what this promise meant, until later when he was imprisoned and precarious, this promise allowed him to survive the biggest catastrophe in his life.

  These are things for later.

  Kevin Macdonald was physically and mentally exhausted after a long flight, but he didn't care about it at all, and rushed to deliver the plan from the United States to the Prime Minister of Ireland as soon as possible.

  Brian Cowan is the current Prime Minister of the Irish government. As a powerful figure in the Republican Party, he has served as the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Transportation and Energy, the Secretary of Health, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. His rich experience is unparalleled. Since 2008, he has also served as the chairman of the Irish Republican Party. In this way, he has grasped party affairs and government affairs and has become the number one figure in Irish politics.

  The Prime Minister has a typical Celtic appearance: reddish white skin, brown curly hair mixed with a handful of blond hair, a large pointed nose and thin lips. Perhaps it was the long-term pampering that made the prime minister's body fatter obviously, with a lot of fat drooping under his chin.

"what is this?"

   Cowen, who took the file, didn't open it immediately, but tapped the folder with a thoughtful look on his face, "What do they mean?"

   Cowan had no intention of agreeing to the British invitation. During this period of time, the economic situation in Ireland made him feel overwhelmed. The differences between the ruling and opposition parties on the situation made him have to spend most of his time and energy to deal with these voices.

   “The Americans and the British want us out of the Eurozone!”

  Kevin McDonald twitched slightly, and said unnaturally, "Yes, that's what they said."

"what?"

   Cowan couldn't believe his ears, "What did you say? They asked us to exit the euro zone? God, did I hear you right?"

  His string of questions made Macdonald barely hold his head up. Sure enough, as MacDonald expected, Mr. Prime Minister couldn't believe what he heard was the truth.

   "Yes, that's exactly what they said!"

Although he knew that everything he said was true, Macdonald felt very guilty. Under Cowan's scorching eyes, he had to bite the bullet and replied, "Not only the United States, but also the United Kingdom. The President of the United States And acted as a lobbyist himself.”

   "God, what the **** are they going to do?"

  Cowen finally understood, muttered something, and cast his eyes on the documents on the desk, still not intending to open them, "Is this their purpose?"

   MacDonald nodded emphatically.

  After getting an affirmative answer, Cowen fell into deep thought. He did not open the documents provided by the United States, nor did he ask for more details, which made MacDonald confused for a while.

   "Go and call Michael Martin!"

   After a full ten minutes of silence, Cowen pressed the secretary's phone outside the office, "Also, call Eamon Gilmon and Enda Kenny over."

  Enda Kenny is currently the leader of the Irish Gaeling Party, Eamon Gilmon is the leader of the Labor Party, and Michael Martin is a rising star of the Republican Party. If there is no major change in the situation, the next head of the Irish government will be produced among these three people.

   Cowan has only the last half year left in his term. Although he still has the possibility of being re-elected so far, judging from the current situation and polls, it is just empty talk that the Republican Party wants to take power again.

   No matter who will be elected in future elections, we must face the current situation. So Cowan called them all to discuss countermeasures. In this way, it is to concentrate the wisdom of everyone, and the second is to find someone to take responsibility together so that he will not be criticized by his successors after he steps down.

   Moreover, for such a major event as leaving the euro zone, it is necessary to obtain the unanimous consent of all political parties, and even to solicit public opinion in a wide range. It is definitely not something that can be done overnight.

  Naturally, this point is specifically mentioned in the documents provided by the United States, that is, funds can be provided first, and the "suggestion" of the plan can be specifically proposed when public opinion turns.

  The secretary acted quickly, and an hour later, several people appeared in Cowan's office.

  Because the recent economic situation suddenly became tense, the leaders of the major political parties all stayed in Dublin at the same time. The current choice of the ruling party is a very good opportunity. No matter what their final choice is, it may become the main card in future elections.

  So after being invited by the Prime Minister's Office, these people quickly appeared in Cowen's office.

   After each sat down, Cowan threw the document to Macdonald, and ordered impatiently: "You tell everyone about this document first, and tell them what happened."

   "The thing is..."

   Facing the bigwigs in the Irish political arena, Macdonald was a little nervous. After taking a deep breath, he began to explain slowly.

   After half an hour, he finally explained the cause and effect of the whole incident clearly, and he even explained the details in the document one by one.

   "That's the whole thing!"

  Finally, he spread his hands and let out a long breath.

"All right!"

Cowan listened to his speech very carefully, and took notes in his notebook from time to time. After Macdonald finally finished speaking, he regained his impatient face, waved his hand towards him, and said, "You can go out, the following content is not suitable for you to listen to."

  Although he was suspected of killing a donkey, McDonald still obediently withdrew. He knows his role very well, and even if the other party refuses to let him leave, he will take the initiative to propose it.

   "Gentlemen, what do you think?"

   After MacDonald withdrew, Cowen touched his smooth chin and asked several people present, "The Americans and the British actually want us to withdraw from the eurozone."

   "$150 billion bailout, this is not a small amount!"

  Michael Martin took a breath and said in surprise, "With this capital, we can completely get out of the current predicament. The Americans and the British are so generous, it's really tempting!"

  Michael Martin is in his forties. He looks quite handsome. He wears formal clothes and appears in public all the year round. His handsome appearance is very popular among female voters. But among politicians, he has an indecent nickname for a sissy.

   However, this is just a means of attack between parties. In fact, as a doctor of political science, he has quite profound attainments in foreign affairs, internal affairs, economics, etc., otherwise he would not be selected as Cowan's successor.

   "Why, are you tempted?"

  Enda Kenny's mouth suddenly showed a sneer, "If you want, you can immediately accept the suggestions from the Americans. I think the Irish people are very happy to see such a situation."

  As the leader of the Gael Party, although Enda Kenny is not as handsome as Michael Martin, his tough image established for a long time has also made him popular with many voters. As the largest opposition party at present, he not only has considerable influence within the party, but also among the people.

  Among the three major political parties in Ireland, the Gael Party and the Republican Party are strong supporters of European integration, and Michael Martin, a member of the Republican Party, is no exception. Rather than saying that Michael Martin's words are inclined to leave the euro zone, it is better to say that he is tempted by the conditions offered by the United States.

"you…"

   Enraged by Enda Kenny's words, Michael Martin immediately frowned, and was about to get angry at the other party, but when he saw the other party's eager expression, he immediately realized something, immediately put on a sneer, and said nothing more.

   Seeing Michael Martin's performance, Cowen couldn't help nodding his head, thinking that the other party's energy-raising skills are getting better and better, which is completely the performance of a mature politician.

   "Amon, what do you think?"

   Intentionally interrupting the rivalry between the two, Cowen took the initiative to ask Eamonn Gilmon, who had been silent all this time, "What do you think of the plan offered by the Americans and the British?"

   "It is definitely impossible to leave Europe in the short term!"

Eamonn Gilmon, with a full beard, said in a low voice, "After all, I have been in the EU for so long, and the subconscious impression is enough to make the people agree. It is definitely impossible for any political party to realize this in the short term. Neither can."

"However, before making a formal statement, I would like to ask two questions: First, is our country's economic situation urgent enough to require rescue? The other question is, if we apply for rescue, what conditions will the EU offer? "

  Among the three, he is the calmest one. With polls and popularity trailing the other two, his Labor Party is targeting the House of Commons seat.

   "So we can at least reach a consensus that it is impossible to leave the euro zone in the short term?"

  Although he had already made plans in his heart, Cowen still had a lot of leeway to ask, "Gentlemen, we have reached an agreement on this point, haven't we?"

   Didn't answer Eamon Gilmon's question immediately, Cowan first asked a strategic question. This consensus is very important. At least from his point of view, his successor in the future will not use this issue to liquidate him.

   It has to be said that despite the seriousness of the situation, the Irish elite has never thought of leaving the euro zone because of this, especially after the establishment of the European rescue mechanism. The biggest headache for them now is whether they need to be rescued, rather than choosing the party that contributes more for the rescue.

   All of them nodded in unison.

   "Maybe we'll think about it if the British aren't involved!"

  Michael Martin still didn’t forget to make a joke, “Damn the British guy, he still got involved. Even if we leave the euro zone, it’s impossible to use their currency.”

  Because of the entanglement of history, Ireland and England have a constant and unclear relationship. After independence, Ireland has always wanted to get rid of the shadow of England's rule, so this is one of the reasons why they joined the European Union without hesitation.

   Of course, these are just jokes. If that day does come, it is unlikely that the Irish elite will reject the pound.

   "OK, now I have a plan!"

Nodding in satisfaction, Cowen continued, "Gentlemen, maybe you know that the European Commissioner in charge of economic and monetary affairs Ollie Wren is visiting Dublin, and his purpose is to persuade the top Irish officials, including me, to accept the aid. . But so far, we haven’t reached an agreement ourselves, so I don’t think we need to take a position on this document for the time being.”

"Eamon's question just now is very good. I can confidently tell you that according to our current financial situation, we can fully support it until May 2011, which is the time when I leave office. But unfortunately, at that time we will Completely drained of cash, the next thing Ireland faces is a real debt crisis, not the version that is now flowing out of the market."

   "So, accepting aid is inevitable. But when to accept aid, on what terms to accept aid, and other issues have a lot of room for negotiation!"

   Cowan held up the document and said proudly, "Especially when we have such a thing!"

   Thanks to book friends Queyue Wutongyu, I am a little dust, angw12, and Daga for voting monthly tickets! There are a lot of things going on recently, so it’s a bit late every day. I hope you don’t mind. The author will do his best to update. At the same time, I hope everyone can continue to support and vote actively. I hope to get the support of more book friends. Thank you very much~

  

  

  (end of this chapter)