22/01/2013 00:00
TW
0
By Humphrey Carter THEY will smile for the press photographers through gritted teeth tomorrow (Monday) when Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who took power only last month, hosts President Nicolas Sarkozy in Madrid with the two men smarting over Friday night's Standard & Poor's credit downgrade for both countries. Spain's new leader will fight for a key role for his battered economy in shaping the future of Europe in summits with France and Germany - Rajoy meets Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on January 26.

But, January is historically a tough financial month for most families as they recover from the festive expenditure but European leaders now face a much harder task after Friday's swathe of downgrades.

All eyes will now be on Germany more than ever to hold up the Euro and protect the European Financial Stability Facility from a downgrade itself for it would certainly plunge the Eurozone into a crisis beyond belief and one which could lead to the Eurozone's breakdown.