Bailout advice

It has come down to counting votes in Europe, as five parliaments are expected to pass judgment on a rescue package for struggling eurozone members.

By now, it sounds like a package for Greece alone, given Greece's debt problems have made headlines for almost two years. The votes this week, however, concern changes to the original $600 billion European Financial Stability Facility, including allowing the fund to buy government bonds, which will give the fund greater flexibility.

The EUobserver reported this week that the changes, which have already passed in the capitals of eight of the 17 eurozone members, is expected to win approval in all five votes, despite opposition building in Germany and Finland.

The votes demonstrate how inefficient the system in Europe is for getting anything done, let alone doing so quickly in the midst of a crisis.

It has taken so long to get each parliament to vote on the enhanced rescue package that Greece, in the meantime, has recalculated its needs. The economy there is growing slower than was forecast. The size of the rescue package, consequently, is expected to increase, requiring another round of votes. Some members of parliament -- pick a country, any country -- are balking at agreeing to this week's package because another set of changes is expected soon.

In other words, by the time Europe decides to cross the street, the light has changed. In the confusion it is hard to tell what to do.

In a separate vote this week, the Greek Parliament approved a property tax bill that gives a graphic illustration on why investors are as wary as they are over the possibility that Greece is going to end up in default.

Not to put too fine a point on it, austerity budgets and multi-billion bailout plans are just not in any politician's playbook for how to get re-elected. In Greece, Spain and Portugal, ruling party majorities are paper thin. In Germany, every vote that goes Greece's way erodes Chancellor Angela Merkel's popularity. In Finland, the idea of bailing out a country known for its generous pension plans and its low tax collection rate does not win many friends.

Tensions are high enough that criticism from President Barack Obama was met with strong rebuke in Germany Wednesday.

In a town-hall style meeting in Mountain View, Calif., Obama said the ongoing crisis in Europe was "scaring the world." Europe, he said, needed to take action, "but those actions haven't been quite as quick as they need to be."

In Germany, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble retorted that, "It's always easier to give advice to others than to decide for yourself," The Daily Telegraph reported.

In international markets Wednesday, the Nikkei 225 index in Japan was flat, rising 0.07 percent, while the Shanghai composite index in China lost 0.95 percent. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong shed 0.66 percent, while the Sensex in India dropped 0.47 percent.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.87 percent.

In midday trading in Europe, the FTSE 100 index in Britain fell 0.49 percent, while the DAX 30 in Germany fell 0.18 percent. The CAC 40 in France shed 0.52 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 600 gave up 0.61 percent.