Within countries, local nationalisms are taking hold, with richer regions demanding to pay less to their poorer neighbours

On the surface, the eurozone crisis appears to be all about the fallout between national governments. It is creditor v debtor, north v south. At the last EU summit, the standoff between Germany and Spain seemed to epitomise that divide.

But there is another, under-reported story here. It's less about nation states than about regions within European countries being pulled apart through internal north-south conflicts. In Italy, prime minister Mario Monti has talked up his "grave concerns" about the default of Sicily, which the Fitch ratings agency believes is not "imminent". Monti's statement is part of an internal political attack on regional spending and the size of the government payroll in the mezzogiorno, the Italian south.

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