Today tens of thousands of trade unionists marched in Brussels and other European capitals to say ‘No’ to austerity and to call for policies for growth and jobs. On the very same day the European Commission has presented new proposals that are supposed to strengthen economic governance, but whose main thrust is to constrain member [...]
Who are the most influential Left-of-Centre European Thinkers?
29/09/2010 by
It is a popular event in national politics to have readers of a blog or newspaper vote on the most influential political thinkers. We thought it is about time that we replicated this on the European level. So here it is! We will run a vote on the most influential left-of-centre European thinkers. But please [...]
For Our Leaders to Deliver Change, We Should Change the Way We (S)elect Our Leaders
28/09/2010 by
One of the most interesting aspects of Tony Blair’s memoirs is not his surprise about the fact that the party he used to head is still the Labour Party. It’s not even his admission that he thought Gordon Brown’s policies would be bad for the UK, and that the Tories have a better approach towards [...]
Stop the Civil War between the Left and the Progressives
28/09/2010 by
European social-democracy can only win elections and the preceding batlle of ideas against the Right, if it overcomes the civil war within its own ranks. It was the Battle of the Miliband Brothers in the UK which again revealed the pressures and fault lines within social-democratic parties and constituencies clearer than ever before. The symbolic irony was that the [...]
Solidarity in a Pluralist Age
28/09/2010 by
Solidarity is essential to democratic societies; otherwise, they fall apart. They cannot function beyond a certain level of mutual distrust or a sense on the part of some members that other members have abandoned them. Many view the development of an individualistic outlook as the greatest threat to solidarity nowadays. But this is closely linked [...]
The Renewal of Social Democracy – Finally, a new Generation takes Centre Stage
27/09/2010 by
This has been a decisive week for the future of social democracy, not to say, even, the future of politics. Monday was a very sad day to wake up to. Monday morning, there were at least three things to get depressed by, to do with the election results in Sweden. The Sweden democrats, that we [...]
German Government falls into UK Pension Trap
27/09/2010 by
The German conservative-liberal government is running into more trouble. Apart form the controversial decision to prolong the lifecycle of the country’s nuclear power plants, the constitutional court has ruled that the level of basic benefits (Hartz IV) is unconstitutional as it does not guarantee a “dignified human existence”. The court ruled that by 2011 there [...]
Ed Balls for Shadow Chancellor
26/09/2010 by
One of the first important decisions for the new Labour leader Ed Miliband will be the setting up of the Shadow Cabinet once the PLP has voted next week. One contender who has made a very strong pitch for the job as Shadow Chancellor is Ed’s former leadership rival Ed Balls. The new leader announced [...]
Where now with Ed Miliband as new Labour Leader?
25/09/2010 by
So there we have it! The candidate I supported has won the Labour leadership by the smallest of margins. But a victory it is and there is no shame in having solid support from working people organised in trade unions! I find it frankly incredible how this is already floated as a potential line of [...]
Aftershock – The Next Economy and America’s Future
24/09/2010 by
I have always been a fan of Robert Reich’s books and his latest work promises to be an interesting read too!
The wrong sort of inflation?
23/09/2010 by
Some years ago a British Rail official responded to complaints that a smattering of snow had brought parts of the UK rail network to a grinding halt by insisting that what had fallen had been the ‘wrong sort of snow’. The ridicule this caused is not hard to imagine. Yet I was reminded of this [...]
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