I don't believe this journalist is correct, but his supposition is certainly a possibility. When Spain leaves the Euro, the EU is stick-a-fork-in-it DONE. For that reason alone, the EU will fight tooth and nail to keep Spain *in*.
May 30, 2012, 12:01 a.m. EDT
6 reasons Spain will leave the euro first
Commentary: Spain is too big to rescue, and doesn’t want it anyway
By Matthew Lynn
LONDON (MarketWatch) — The euro debt crisis, like any really spectacular geoeconomic event, is spawning its own special vocabulary.
We’ve already had Merkozy, now relegated to the footnotes, and are slowly getting used to the clunkier Merlande or Merkellande, as the oddly matched pairing of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the French President Francois Hollande has been dubbed. The Grexit, short for Greece finally giving up on the single currency, has been trending for the last few weeks. And coming up next: the Spexit.
What’s that? It’s shorthand for Spain quitting the euro — and we’re going to hear a lot of it over what promises to be a turbulent summer.
The Spanish are a lot more likely to pull out of the euro than the Greeks, or indeed any of the peripheral countries. They are too big to rescue, they have no political hang-ups about rupturing their relations with the European Union, they are already fed up with austerity, and there is a bigger Spanish-speaking world for them to grow into. There are few good reasons for the country to stay in the euro — and little sign it has the will to endure the sacrifices the currency will demand of them.
Read the article for the explanations. Here are the author's six reasons.
One: Spain is too big too rescue.
Two: Spain has tired of austerity already.
Three: Spain has a real economy.
Four: Spain is politically secure.
Five: Spain has bigger horizons.
Six: The debate has already started.
More: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/6-reasons-spain-will-leave-the-euro-first-2012-05-30?dist=beforebell