There are two classes of compromise in political life. In the first, your ultimate aim is sweeping change, such as switching the side of the road on which your country drives; but, in the name of expediency, you sacrifice important principles and gradually try to phase in the new rules. This is deadly.
The other involves settling for as much as you can get even when it is less than you want. This is not great either. But often it is good enough to leave everyone a little better off.
The art of the second kind of compromise has been the essence of political life in the EU. The proposed legislation on banking union, however, is not of that kind. I have been hesitating to make this call but I now believe that it would be best for the EU and the eurozone if this legislation were ditched altogether.
