Hoping for the continuation of the grand coalition was the best the SPD could hope for before yesterday’s Bundestagswahl. In the end the result was even worse than that: 23.1% and a historic low vote for the social democrats. Guido Westerwelle’s beaming grim was everywhere, the FDP the big winners on the night. Looking behind [...]
SPD defeated in Germany – What’s next?
27/09/2009 By
The SPD has just been dealt a hard blow: the worst election result since the foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany with just over 23 per cent (down from 34.2). Yet again, a European social democratic party has suffered a severe electoral defeat. What’s your opinion? What are the reasons? And what can be [...]
Taking Democracy in Europe seriously
24/09/2009 By
Emanuel Barroso has been re-elected President of the European Commission. How strange! Why has the politician, who bears the largest individual responsibility for the steady decline in the efficiency and popular approval of European policies, been endorsed by all EU governments and obtained 382 votes of the 718 MEPs who participated in the election? This [...]
Six Things that didn’t cause the Crisis – But really ought to have
24/09/2009 By
Experts, soothsayers and pundits have been falling over themselves to list the factors that combined to produce the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. (My ha’penny’s worth is here). A partial consensus has emerged on some issues (excessive deregulation of the financial sector, current account imbalances) while debate continues to rage on others (such [...]
Will there be an ‘unconstitutional’ Election Victory in Germany?
22/09/2009 By
Germany will vote for a new federal government on Sunday and the polls predict a tight race between the red-red-green and conservative-liberal camps. Given the party’s announcements about potential coalitions, however, there are only two possible governments: a conservative-liberal (preferred by Angela Merkel) or another grand coalition. Yet one of the important questions is how [...]
A strong Outcome in Copenhagen is our only Chance
21/09/2009 By
The year 2009 will be crucial for the future of our climate and our environment. In 1992, the Earth Summit and in 1997, the adoption of the Kyoto protocol already laid the basis for this next milestone year. For the Copenhagen Summit from 7th to 18th December 2009, the world’s countries have dedicated themselves to [...]
A Shift in Spending to Save Jobs
21/09/2009 By
UK unemployment figures released yesterday show the highest rate of unemployment since the mid-1990s. This is a worrying situation but the UK is not the worst affected country in Europe. In Spain, for instance, unemployment is approaching 20%. These figures point to a crucial question for public policy in the UK and other European countries: [...]
German Social Democrats call for Tobin Tax
11/09/2009 By
The German social democrats announced yesterday that they are backing a global Tobin tax: “According to a report in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, the SPD is proposing a modest tax rate of 0.05 percent on financial transactions based on the principle that the parties responsible for the global economic quagmire are also liable for the [...]
The Rollercoaster of EU Politics
09/09/2009 By
It’s time to take our seats on the thrilling rollercoaster ride that is European Union politics. The next three months will be one long white knuckle ride with political careers being made, broken and in some cases smashed to smithereens. By Christmas the EU could be forging ahead with new dynamism and confidence or it [...]
Power Games on the German Left – Lafontaine, the radical Riddle
09/09/2009 By
On the evening of the 30th August the ghost of Weimar walked abroad in the Saarland. The social democrats of Heiko Maas were only just over three percentage points ahead of their left-wing rivals. This was uncannily reminiscent of the last Reichstag elections to be held in the Weimar Republic in November 1932. Then the [...]
On the G20 Finance Ministers Meeting in London
04/09/2009 By
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