Revolting Europe
sovereign debt
Why President Hollande will need to embrace Melenchon’s spirit of rebellion
The Socialists are set to wrest back the Elysée Palace from the Right after a gap of 17 years in Sunday’s Presidential poll. Francois Hollande has maintained a consistent and comfortable lead over Nicolas Sarkozy in opinion polls and the incumbent’s increasingly desperate swing to the far right appears to have failed to shore up … Continue reading
The Great Bank Robbery
The bankers have taken the money and run. The new Greek debt restructuring deal is the biggest bank robbery ever – a huge theft of ordinary citizens’ money and a giant mortgage on our future. And yet Greece still burns. Here are the top lines of a really simple Bloomberg analysis of it: ‘When all IMF … Continue reading
While nation states and workers burn, the banks get a trillion euros
Belgian unions have criticised a fresh round of austerity measures announced over the weekend by the federal government as a missed opportunity for ‘tax justice’. The government already plans as part of a €11.3 billion cuts package agreed when the current administration took office at the end of 2011 to increase the retirement age from … Continue reading
EU wants to ‘impose more unemployment and deeper recession’ on Spain say unions
Crisis leads to poverty: EU-imposed austerity policies have sent Spain and the whole region into recession, say unions The EU is ‘stubbornly’ continuing ‘evidently failed policies’ that are ‘causing devastating effects on employment and on the level of poverty and social cohesion in Spain as well as many other countries in the EU.’ This was … Continue reading
‘Rebel’ against Madrid, Spain’s regions are urged
Spain’s regional governments should ‘rebel’ against demands by Madrid for further cuts to schools and hospitals, says the Communist-led United Left. The 17 ‘autonomous’ regions of Spain, who spend 37% of the total outlay by the public purse and are responsible for budgets on education, health and social services, are facing an unprecedented financial squeeze … Continue reading
Unemployment is deadly
750 more people have committed suicides in France since the onset of the economic crisis in 2008, according to Michael Debout, a psychiatrist who is France’s leading expert on the matter. Unemployment grew 648,000 over the same period of 2008-2011. The recession also prompted 10,000 to try and take their lives – suicide attempts increased by 10,780. … Continue reading
Spanish elections – not just a two horse race
It’s been widely seen as a two-horse race between the incumbent Socialists and main opposition Popular Party, but Spain’s parliamentary election on Sunday will likely see a strong showing for the communist-led United Left. Despite promising the same failed austerity medicine pursued by the Social government over the past 18 months, the right wing Popular … Continue reading
Italy’s post-Berlusconi hangover
Ordinary Italians may well have woken today with a bit of a headache after last night’s celebrations over the departure of prime minister Berlusconi. The unwelcome after-effects of that prosecco won’t have been attenuated by the news in this morning’s papers of the austerity measures that the Italian parliament passed hours before he threw in … Continue reading
Ask the people or go Greek? This is the Italian question
He’s been written off dozens of times but the chances of Berlusconi surviving beyond a parliamentary vote this afternoon (Tuesday) look pretty slim. Italian businesses, who had hoped the billionaire media magnate would unleash market forces, have disserted him because he has presided over a stagnant economy and has focused soley on serving his own … Continue reading
French left say China, German rentiers winners in Eurozone deal
Reactions to the deal reached last night by Eurozone leaders to rescue the single currency and European banks : The Socialist candidate for next year’s Presidential elections, François Hollande said the deal «avoided the worst » but found the participation in the beefed up bail-out fund of non-european countries, notably China, « profundly troubling » and said he feared this … Continue reading
Berlusconi promises ‘hire and fire’ reforms
By Tom Gill After stormy discussions with coalition partners, the Italian premier SIlvio Berlusconi has made a number of promises to Eurozone country leaders that are designed to cut the Italian debt, partly through spending cuts and partly through measures that will supposedly boost growth. These include new attacks on working people: • New legislation … Continue reading
Spanish occupy movement faces electoral test
by Tom Gill Spain gave the world the ‘indignados’, the movement of ‘indignant ones’ that become a global phenomena October 15 when millions from dozens of countries took to the streets. Yet less than a month from general elections in the home of this momentous street rebellion, it is as if nothing ever happened. On … Continue reading
Is it arrivederci for Silvio?
By Tom Gill Is the game really up for Silvio Berlusconi? Italian MPs will decide tomorrow. A confidence vote is due in the Italian parliament, following a humiliating and wholly unexpected defeat on Tuesday on an essentially technical vote. Significantly Guilio Tremonti, Berlusconi’s Finance minister, and Umberto Bossi, the leader of junior coalition partner, the … Continue reading
“Third man” gives left a lift in Socialist primaries race
By Tom Gill First the expected news: on Sunday the two main contenders for the French Socialist party’s primary elections for their Presidential candidate – Francois Hollande and Martine Aubry – have sailed through. With almost all votes counted mid-afternoon Monday former Socialist leader Hollande had 39.2% of the vote, against 30.7% for Aubry, a … Continue reading
Berlusconi and Italy’s ‘financial coup’
By Tom Gill Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi sees conspiracies everywhere. The ‘Communists’ – not the real ones as these are thin on the ground these days – can be found in parliament, in the international press, and above all in the judiciary. The ‘Red Magistrates’ are hounding him in court cases over corruption, tax fraud, abuse of … Continue reading
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