Today I'll be looking at the current wave of electoral results sweeping Europe.
So, in a quick summary, the Greek public chose to vote for anti-bailout parties, expressing their disapproval at austerity measures they see as mainly-German interference.
In Italy, the flamboyant playboy and multi-billionaire, Silvio Berlusconi, resigned and technocrat Mario Monti (full points for having a name that drives the Nintendo world insane) was appointed in his place. Mr. Berlusconi is quite detested by the majority of the Italian public, though whether it is because of his alleged sexual romps with underage women, or his lack of qualms in displaying his wealth, it is hard to tell.
In France, Socialist Francois Hollande won the French Presidency, a role normally considered as one of the most powerful political positions in Europe. And in Spain, Conservatives defeated the ruling Socialists to take charge of a stagnated economy.
Let's talk about the current state of the European Union, before we look at what the changes mean.
In two words, Europe is angry, and its economy? Woeful. In the last quarter of 2011, the Eurozone shrank by 0.3%, and recorded zero growth for the first three months of the year. In this quarter, only the Germans managed to record growth, with all other European economies shrinking, the Greeks by almost 7%! Economists blame this on low consumption and low investment, a result of the deficit reduction policies favoured by the partnership of Chancellor Merkel and former French President Sarkozy (affectionately dubbed 'Merkozy' by Time Magazine).With the election of Mr. Hollande, growth measures look to be the new mode of combating the crisis.
Can Mr. Hollande reverse the slump that France, and Europe, finds itself in? His policies may not prove to be enough, particularly with his proposed 75% tax on millionaire earners; what incentive is there to earn? He has vowed to create jobs, but at what cost? Chancellor Merkel's Germany is fairing far better than the rest of the Eurozone, on the backs of a industrial revival, but can she help the rest of Europe do the same?
In another interesting development, Mr. Hollande arrived in Germany today, and whilst the liberal German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung acknowledged Mr. Hollande’s promise to challenge Ms. Merkel’s austerity course, to renegotiate the fiscal pact and his plan to show Europe a new way as a “disguised declaration of war” to the German Chancellor — but predicted that Paris will eventually give in to reality. On the other hand, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, warned that Germany and France will have to find a compromise “because they know a tug of war between Berlin and Paris would bring the euro zone to the brink.”
In Greece, there's talk of splitting from the European Union, and the euro itself. Now, when the EU was formed, this was mooted (by critics) as the way in which the EU would crumble; an international financial crisis would have different effects on different countries, and so the less-effected countries would bail out the more-affected countries, creating anger on both sides, leading to a collapse, a scenario that is eerily similar to the one the EU faces today. The Greek public have voted to reject austerity measures that would come with any EU bailout, and indeed, particularly the British and German public have expressed discontent at having to clean up a mess that they see as somebody else's.
The European Union is at heart, very different from other groups of states. Take the United States, for example. They have a (relatively more) common history, and a degree of unity forged against the British. The EU, on the other hand, has a history of erupting into war, and mutual antipathy.
Does this herald the beginning of the end for the EU? Let's wait and watch.
In my next post, I'll be looking at Al-Qaeda's involvement in the current Syrian crisis.
So, in a quick summary, the Greek public chose to vote for anti-bailout parties, expressing their disapproval at austerity measures they see as mainly-German interference.
In Italy, the flamboyant playboy and multi-billionaire, Silvio Berlusconi, resigned and technocrat Mario Monti (full points for having a name that drives the Nintendo world insane) was appointed in his place. Mr. Berlusconi is quite detested by the majority of the Italian public, though whether it is because of his alleged sexual romps with underage women, or his lack of qualms in displaying his wealth, it is hard to tell.
In France, Socialist Francois Hollande won the French Presidency, a role normally considered as one of the most powerful political positions in Europe. And in Spain, Conservatives defeated the ruling Socialists to take charge of a stagnated economy.
Let's talk about the current state of the European Union, before we look at what the changes mean.
In two words, Europe is angry, and its economy? Woeful. In the last quarter of 2011, the Eurozone shrank by 0.3%, and recorded zero growth for the first three months of the year. In this quarter, only the Germans managed to record growth, with all other European economies shrinking, the Greeks by almost 7%! Economists blame this on low consumption and low investment, a result of the deficit reduction policies favoured by the partnership of Chancellor Merkel and former French President Sarkozy (affectionately dubbed 'Merkozy' by Time Magazine).With the election of Mr. Hollande, growth measures look to be the new mode of combating the crisis.
Can Mr. Hollande reverse the slump that France, and Europe, finds itself in? His policies may not prove to be enough, particularly with his proposed 75% tax on millionaire earners; what incentive is there to earn? He has vowed to create jobs, but at what cost? Chancellor Merkel's Germany is fairing far better than the rest of the Eurozone, on the backs of a industrial revival, but can she help the rest of Europe do the same?
In another interesting development, Mr. Hollande arrived in Germany today, and whilst the liberal German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung acknowledged Mr. Hollande’s promise to challenge Ms. Merkel’s austerity course, to renegotiate the fiscal pact and his plan to show Europe a new way as a “disguised declaration of war” to the German Chancellor — but predicted that Paris will eventually give in to reality. On the other hand, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, warned that Germany and France will have to find a compromise “because they know a tug of war between Berlin and Paris would bring the euro zone to the brink.”
In Greece, there's talk of splitting from the European Union, and the euro itself. Now, when the EU was formed, this was mooted (by critics) as the way in which the EU would crumble; an international financial crisis would have different effects on different countries, and so the less-effected countries would bail out the more-affected countries, creating anger on both sides, leading to a collapse, a scenario that is eerily similar to the one the EU faces today. The Greek public have voted to reject austerity measures that would come with any EU bailout, and indeed, particularly the British and German public have expressed discontent at having to clean up a mess that they see as somebody else's.
The European Union is at heart, very different from other groups of states. Take the United States, for example. They have a (relatively more) common history, and a degree of unity forged against the British. The EU, on the other hand, has a history of erupting into war, and mutual antipathy.
Does this herald the beginning of the end for the EU? Let's wait and watch.
In my next post, I'll be looking at Al-Qaeda's involvement in the current Syrian crisis.
"France will soon realize that the European fiscal pact isn’t a demonic instrument of torture but a affirmation of the original stability pact."
-Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper
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