Willem “Gold-Is-A-6000-Year-Bubble” Buiter Says A New Greek Currency “Would Be Rubbish”

Having shown his true colors in recent months by embarking not just on an anti-gold crusade, but more recently on an anti-cash mission, Citi’s Willem Buiter has once again exposed his newly minted CFR status-quo-embracing status this morning. During an appearance on CNBC, Buiter notes that there would be “havoc” if Greece left the euro zone and adopted an alternative currency; but then he went on the pre-prescription blasting that any kind of alternative currency tied to the euro “would be rubbish.” These comments come just hours after German FinMin Schaeuble raised the possibility that Greece may need a parallel currency alongside the euro if the country’s talks with creditors fail.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble raised the possibility that Greece may need a parallel currency alongside the euro if the country’s talks with creditors fail, people familiar with his views told Bloomberg…

Schaeuble mentioned the idea of parallel currencies at a recent meeting without endorsing it, according to two people who attended and asked not to be identified because the gathering was private. He also cited the example of Montenegro, which uses the euro but isn’t a member of the currency union, one person said.

The comments suggest that some in Germany are preparing for the worst amid a standoff with Greece that has dragged on since February.

While Chancellor Angela Merkel and her finance minister say the goal is to keep Greece in the euro, Schaeuble has also said he wouldn’t rule out a Greek exit from the 19-nation currency.

Germany is “ready to take this brinkmanship very far,” with Schaeuble in the role of “attack dog,” Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, said by phone.

But Citi’s Willem Buiter is less than exuberant about the success of that plan…

There would be “havoc” if Greece left the euro zone and adopted an alternative currency, Willem Buiter, global chief economist at Citi, told CNBC.

“I really think the notion that Greece exits with or without a shadow currency or a proper currency (is ridiculous). Greece has not, historically, been good at managing an independent currency. This time, if they were to move towards that from a situation of extreme weakness it would be havoc for Greece so I wouldn’t recommend that.”

Asked whether Greece could exit the 19-country single currency group with some kind of alternative currency tied to the euro, Buiter rebuffed the notion, saying “that would be rubbish.”

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Once again we leave it to Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington to conclude…

“We’re in this game of chicken… the problem is that Alexis Tsipras is riding a scooter and Wolfgang Schaeuble is driving an armored BMW.”