Since the introduction of the euro, this column has not mentioned the single currency since I believed that the facts (and the politicians) should speak for themselves first and our newsletter has reported both on a daily basis. The press conference by President Prodi and Pedro Solbes last week (see bulletin of 10 January, pp 6/7) brought this first phase to a close and confirmed the operation's success. There is currently a tendency to play down problems and risks and Mr Prodi rightfully...