Spanish intelligence services: financial crisis is a conspiracy

Usually, it’s the job of tin-pot dictators like Chavez and Ahmedinejad to trot out their intelligence services and declare that the world is out to get them.

But when the Spanish intelligence service says the country is under attack from speculators in a clear conspiracy, it’s a sign of something deeply interesting. First, it’s a telltale sign that people high in the Spanish government are concerned that greater instability is on the way from the sovereign debt crisis, and they are attempting to control the narrative.

For those of us practicing future intelligence, this is a call for us to examine the broader political trends at play. Most views of the future take the Euroland to be a stable economic entity for all scenarios. Generally, a meltdown of the single currency and a brushfire war between Belgium and Portugal are considered far out.  At the very least, most people consider the continued operation of the EU to be a given – after all, it has resulted in one of the most successful, peaceful, prosperous times in the history of the continent, especially after the tumult of the early 20th century.

Still, it may be that the success of Euroland has required all countries to play a part for which they are ill-suited. Spain still has 20% unemployment. Greece’s debt is out of control. In the days before the single currency, each country would have been free to fail, unsupported by the largesse of France and Germany. Today, they have been supported through their use of a stable, global reserve currency. Like so much, this may be borrowed equity, and borrowed time.

Imagine a future for your business, and indeed your nation, in a world where Europe re-fragments. It may be less far-out than previously thought.