Friday,
January 04, 2008
Prodi Denies
The
ANNOTICO Report
There
are Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics.
EU's statistical office, Eurostat,
suggested
Guardian Unlimited - UK
John Hooper in Rome
Thursday January 3, 2008
One
paper has called it the "Mediterranean derby". But no one can agree
on the scoreline. And both sides claim the other is
cheating.
It began last
month when the EU's statistical office, Eurostat, spread mingled delight and dismay through
southern
Spaniards hailed Eurostat's figures as marking a fundamental shift in the
balance of power and influence in Mediterranean Europe. Italians, who have
traditionally viewed their Latin cousins as poor relations, were stunned by the
news.
But after two
weeks of anguished editorialising and increasingly
pointed questioning of the record of
Mr Prodi
said "everyone knew" calculations that allowed for so-called
purchasing power parity were "entirely fickle", because there was no
agreed method for measuring it.
Mr Prodi
nevertheless chose to rely on figures from the International Monetary Fund.
These also allow for price differences, but conclude that
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