Europe to determine US 2012 elections?

The article is old, but the basic theory is still cycling through the media—like Ezra Klein, Charles Krauthammer now believes the Eurozone crisis will determine our 2012 elections.

The future looks bleak for the region. France’s AAA credit rating is under pressure, the German economy is showing signs of fatigue, and Greece’s condition may have spread to Portugal, Spain, and Italy. To make matters worse, OECD predicts a double-dip recession for the UK economy and negative economic growth for the Eurozone, shrinking the economy by 3.7% in 2013.

While some experts maintain that a sudden crisis is not likely, others believe this past week has taken the Eurozone towards a new phase of the crisis—total collapse. What experts do agree on is this: if the Eurozone crisis goes unresolved, it will stall U.S. economic growth and keep unemployment rates high. As Geithner puts it, Europe’s financial crisis could pose a “central challenge to global growth.”

Assuming the economy is a major factor in the 2012 elections, it may well be that the Eurozone economy, something President Obama can’t hope to change, will determine the results come November.