LONDON - The European economy is in a downward spiral that shows no sign of ending, Gordon Brown warned on Saturday night.
The former Prime Minister, who played a key role in co-ordinating global action in response to the Credit Crunch, accused European leaders of failing to rise to the challenge of the crisis and warned that Europe could be facing a lost decade.
In a hard-hitting article for the Reuters news agency, Mr Brown said France and Italy might need massive bailouts, as the euro approaches its day of reckoning.
His comments came as David Cameron held crisis talks with eurozone leaders amid mounting speculation that the worlds central banks are poised to launch a massive financial intervention after yesterdays Greek elections.
The Prime Minister used a video conference call with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the EU to draw up a co-ordinated response to the potentially disastrous fallout from the poll.
Gordon Brown warned that Greece was likely to suffer a chaotic exit from the euro regardless of the result of yesterdays elections, with a string of other countries likely to suffer serious financial contagion as a result.