WHAT A SURPRISE – AT 10:41 A.M. ET:  Greece, following in the grand European tradition, is now looking for a scapegoat for the economic collapse that led to the country being bailed out by the EU.  It has found the scapegoat.  Guess who?  Well, they've got a 50-star flag, with 13 stripes...

Greece is considering taking legal action against U.S. investment banks that might have contributed to the country’s debt crisis, Prime Minister George Papandreou said.

“I wouldn’t rule out that this may be a recourse,” Papandreou said, in response to questions about the role of U.S. banks in the crisis, in an interview on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS.” The program, scheduled for broadcast today, was taped on May 13. Neither Papandreou nor Zakaria mentioned any banks by name.

U.S. stocks fell and the euro slumped on concern that Europe wouldn’t be able to contain the debt crisis stemming from Greece. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declined 1.9 percent May 14, while the euro fell below $1.24 for the first time since November 2008.

Papandreou said the decision on whether to go after U.S. banks will be made after a Greek parliamentary investigation into the cause of the crisis.

“Greece will look into the past and see how things went,” Papandreou said. “There are similar investigations going on in other countries and in the United States. This is where I think, yes, the financial sector, I hear the words fraud and lack of transparency. So yes, yes, there is great responsibility here.”

COMMENT:  I'm no great defender of Wall Street banks, but gimme a break.  Greece has perhaps the worst economic management of any EU country.  The self-indulgence is breathtaking.  There may have been some culpability by Wall Street Banks, but other EU countries deal with the same banks, and they didn't have a blowout. 

Blaming the banks is a twofer for a Greek government:  1) blame the U.S., and 2) those people in New York with the funny names.  It's an old European tradition, and it didn't die with World War II.

May 16, 2010