Will the euro survive?

One news item that escaped notice amid our crisis was the Portuguese Finance Minister's statement that if the current recession continued, his country could be forced to withdraw from the eurozone. With Greece still under the IMF regime and worries that Spain could be next in line for talks, will German taxpayers lose patience? You would expect the euro to survive the current crisis, but could there be a scenario where the single currency is restricted to the Benelux, France, Germany, Austria, Finland and Italy, with the weaker nations forced out. Ultimately, the central European nations could move towards political and fiscal confederation, while the Atlantic, Scandinavian and Eastern states would be left in an EFTA-style rump organisation.

The Euro will survive if the French, Germans, Italians and Spanish still want it. If one or more of them get cold feet, it's done.

Depends on what the Germans want.