Well, a change of government will fix that, eh? So Greece and Italy return to the days of being ruled by the non-elected and the Spanish will almost certainly change their government at an election on Sunday. And what has been the result on the financial markets that prompted the changes? Ten year bond rates:

The slow motion walk to the edge of the precipice continues.

A real political fight. Perhaps Tony should return to the ring to try and get his Liberal Party message across. Mexico’s Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) did it on Saturday when challenger Juan Manuel Marquez wore shorts bearing the party’s logo for his world title fight against Manny Pacquiao.

Marquez may have lost in his battle with the Filipino congressman but the PRI was successful in Sunday’s ballot for the governorship of Michoacan state. But now, as the BBC reports, the defeated Democratic Revolution Party has filed a complaint with the electoral authorities, arguing that the logo violated a ban on campaigning in the run-up to an election and on campaigning abroad.

Get out your needles. Perhaps it’s what happens when you allow marijuana cafes — the Dutch have taken to knitting. And not just any old two pearls and one plain but wildbreien — a word the Dutch Institute of Lexicology has just chosen as the most beautiful word of 2011.

It translates as “wild knitting” and refers to the craze of citizens gathering in dark alleys to knit jumpers for statues, scarves for trees and cardigans for lampposts.

Some wildbreien examples:

There’s a full list of finalists in the Institute of Lexicology’s contest on Crikey‘s The Stump and there is an Australian connection!

Following John Quiggin the political punter. It’s always good to see an economist putting his own money where his opinion is and occasional Crikey contributor John Quiggin has done just that and given some interesting views on that Intrade site I regularly refer to as used to help compile some of my Election Indicators. And the man has being doing well with his first foray into this political betting business.

He backed Newt Gingrich back in the beginning of the month to become the Republican presidential candidate when he was rated as a 4% or so chance. This morning he’s a 13.3% chance.

A warning to Crikey‘s naked hikers. From the BBC:

“Switzerland’s highest court has ruled that local authorities can impose fines on people hiking nude in the Alps.

The federal court threw out an appeal by a man who was fined after hiking past a family picnic area with no clothes on.

Judges said the eastern canton (region) of Appenzell had been entitled to uphold a law on public decency.

They said the ban on naked hiking was only a marginal infringement on personal freedom.”