I dont think the US$ has been the 'international currency' for several years now.
Everyone east of the Atlantic (except the UK ) wants euros now.

The $ has fallen 11% against the euro so far this year. (currently $1.47 = 1 euro)
Analysts forecast it will likely rise to $1.80 before stabilising.

If your bonds are downgraded from AAA, make that $2.25

Not much of a different picture where I am either. No-one wants euros or dollars here, which means I have to hold accounts and cash in all 3 currencies so I dont get screwed on the 10-15% cost of exchange.

No clue what would have happened had we joined the EMS and adopted the euro (of course we did not meet the criteria anyway). We are currently about 25% worse off than when the euro came into being.

IMO it does not matter which parties are in power in economic times like this. No-one can stop the domino effect because banks and private investors can virtually bankrupt governments as and when they feel like it.
The previous two recessions took about 20 years to recover from, an entire generation.