A chance to tell the euro story in full

Maybe the dial in his mind was still switched to the rigors of the Dutch elections, or possibly his focus was on former colleagues who might now want to challenge him for his post as Eurogroup president. Whatever the case, Jeroen Dijsselbloem exposed one of the ugliest and most damaging sides of the discussion about the eurozone since the crisis broke out.

"The north of the eurozone showed solidarity," he said in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. "Solidarity is very important but those demanding it have duties too. I can't spend my money on alcohol and women then ask for help."

His comments were labeled as divisive, racist and sexist. Southern European countries felt that what Dijsselbloem said was an unfair, insulting caricature. Calls for Dijsselbloem's resignation came from Portugal and Italy, while the Greek government condemned his remarks as being ...