Euro – the Mary Poppins skip-along won’t last

All is well in Euro-land as highly respected Mario Draghi exits the Presidency of the European Central Bank, with internal appreciation of the single currency at a high. But behind the rosy facade is the reality that none of the underlying problems have been fixed since the 2008 crash. The divergences between efficient, high-earning, high-saving countries such like Germany and inefficient nations with low GDP-per-capita such as Italy and Greece have widened not narrowed. Christine Lagarde, Draghi’s replacement on November 1, will soon either have to cut back the recent quantitative easing programme which will shock the already fragile economies of the poorer nations. Or persuade the Germans they need to pay out more towards the Mediterranean economies, which is hardly likely to go down well with the country in technical recession. If there is another global downturn which seems likely the euro is not well placed to withstand the crisis.

There are tremors of early quakes running at the moment, through 2020 but it’s really 2021 to 2023 that the real pain bites. The Euro 1 January 1999 chart is muddled at present; has a catastrophic tr Pluto square Mars/Saturn from late March 2020 till late 2021; is under assault from Solar Arc Mars square Uranus in early 2021; with a financial bubble-bursting, false-confidence-denting tr Neptune conjunct Jupiter square Mercury from 2021 into 2022 by which time the deprived, grinding-struggle tr Pluto square Saturn picks up for two years.

Christine Lagarde’s Term, 1 November 2019, has a relatively similar timeline – with jolts and jangles from tr Uranus opposition the Sun from mid 2020; a frustratingly blocked tr Pluto opposition Mars/MC in 2020/21. But the real agony comes by 2022 with a totally trapped Solar Arc Mars square Pluto; a disappointing tr Neptune square Jupiter; and a cornered and scary tr Pluto square Sun/Mars midpoint in 2022/23.

The EU chart itself, labouring at present under the financially devastating Solar Arc Pluto conjunct the 2^nd house Neptune; and a blocked Solar Arc Midheaven conjunct Pluto; moves into an uncertain and panicky 2020/21 with tr Neptune square the EU Saturn. Where the real financial hitches and glitches will come is from July 2020 into 2021 as tr Uranus is conjunct the 8^th house Moon and square the Uranus suggesting major jolts and forced changes of direction. By 2021 the recession-attracting tr Saturn in Aquarius square tr Uranus will also be affecting those two planets; and in 2022/23 tr Uranus will square the EU’s 5^th house (of speculation) Venus.

So it looks like a rough ride with economic and financial jeopardy. Christine Lagarde is exceptionally tough, 1 January 1956, a Capricorn with a Saturn Mars in Scorpio square Pluto Moon Jupiter. But she’s not reckoned as smart an operator as Virgo Draghi.