British Euro-skeptics and many Conservatives were triumphant that Prime Minister David Cameron cast his veto in defense of the City of London at the European summit recently; to British liberals, it was a night of shame that the United Kingdom was so easily isolated; to Europe generally it was a chance to move on.
It is said that Germany rules, France reigns and Britain is lost in a fog in La Manche (the English Channel). In the U.S. and other markets, there is skepticism mixed with cynicism whether the European fiscal pact can work, with some economists claiming that the deal amounts to an economic suicide pact.
We in Asia should be worried that nothing discussed in Brussels, even with the prodding and advice and help of visiting fireman Timothy Geithner, the U.S. Treasury secretary, does much to recharge global growth or even offers a vision beyond Europe. Asia will be badly affected and needs to develop its own pan-Asian leadership and economic vision since it seems that the West is ready to surrender to economic Alzheimer's disease.