Voters in Greece, Spain, and Portugal may hold the fate of the EU in their hands. Patience with the largest budget cuts in memory in those three countries is wearing thin and there are indications that, given the opportunity, the electorates might force politicians to break their bail out agreements with the EU. Reuters: An unexpectedly broad general strike in Spain on Thursday and mounting opposition to Prime Minister Mario Monti in Italy are among indicators that resistance is growing in a region at the center of concerns about a resurgence of the euro zone debt crisis. Portugal remains very subdued for the moment and even Greece, scene of repeated violent street protests, has quietened recently. But there are signals that political leaders will soon be directly in the firing line across Europe, especially if more cuts are required to reduce sovereign debt. The atmosphere seems a combination of two opposite tendencies - acceptance of the message that deep cuts are the only...(Read Full Post)