With the only effective solutions – full-blown eurozone political union, or abandoning the euro – ruled out, muddling through is all that is left. Another name for this approach is “transfer union,” which implies relentless economic austerity and declining living standards, because strong countries – first and foremost, Germany – are determined to limit their liability for bailing out deficit countries by making all transfers conditional on tough budget retrenchment.
唯一有效的解决之道——建立完整的欧元区政治联盟，或抛弃欧元——根本无法成为现实，于是和稀泥就成了唯一的办法。和稀泥的一个别名是“转移联盟”，这意味着无情的经济紧缩和生活质量的下降，因为强健国家——以德国为首——已决定限制自己援助赤字国的义务，任何转移都必须以严厉的预算整顿为条件。