debating progressive politics in Europe and beyond
With less than six million inhabitants, the U.S. state of Wisconsin is not precisely what one would call a political powerhouse, however, after the newly elected Republican governor, Scott Walker, unleashed a full scale attack on union rights, the state seems to be competing with Mummar al Gaddafi’s Libya for nationwide attention. For days now, [...]
Julia Gillard is wrestling with a problem that would be the envy of her prime ministerial and presidential peers: how to manage the proceeds of the boom. Like its seasons, Australia’s economy and politics are at opposite points in the cycle relative to our northern hemisphere peers. The country is currently in the depths of [...]
“Chaos is God’s neighbor” is a famous line by Swedish 19th century poet Erik Johan Stagnelius. Whether it’s true or not remains to be seen. In Sweden the social democrats are probably in their deepest crisis ever. Two election defeats in a row, the lowest support among voters since 1914 and no leader. The last [...]
E Pluribus Unum or E Pluribus Plures? To develop as a political force, the Partito Democratico has to aim at enlarging the left vote in order to tackle the centre from a position of strength. The foundation of the Partito Democratico (PD) in 2007 seemed to mark a major shift in Italian centre-left politics. The [...]
A few weeks ago, and after twelve months of being trapped under the global negative spotlight, Greece managed to produce some impressive news on the economy front. I am not referring to the fiscal adjustment program, which has so far been ambitious and front loaded, cutting the deficit by 6% consequently proving our critics wrong. [...]
Could this be the time of the “Peste blonde” (blond pest), as she was referred to in this month’s issue of Causeur magazine? While many commentators are quick to point out that Marine Le Pen is only her father’s daughter, and that nothing fundamental will change within the Front national (FN), her election as party [...]
Public ignorance of the reality of how the economy actually works is a lamentably common fault these days (I count myself among the guilty), and frequently results in crude, polarising debates that are easily dismissed by decision-makers for their inaccurate insignificance and predilection for ideological posturing. While I do not like it, in fact it [...]
During the last year, opinion makers, academics and policymakers in Spain have discussed the necessity of reviewing the social democratic project. The consensus is that the left ought to re-examine the political offers it makes to voters. The problem is that in Spain this necessity has got lost in debates about the economic crisis and, [...]
A little more than three years ago, just as the financial crisis was getting into full swing, I published a guide to the international system of financial regulation, Global Financial Regulation: The Essential Guide. It described an elaborate spider’s web of committees, councils, and agencies with overlapping responsibilities, unrepresentative memberships, and inadequate enforcement powers – a [...]
Neoliberal restructuring and the economic crisis have led to increasing inequality, social polarisation and societal disintegration. That austerity politics fosters these developments is widely acknowledged. Its gender effects, however, are mostly neglected, though, in contrast to the public rhetoric of equal opportunities and gender mainstreaming, gender inequality is rising. This contribution, therefore, focuses on the impact of [...]
However circumspect Mervyn King may have been about raising interest rates in the Bank of England’s (BoE) quarterly inflation report issued in February, it is clear that the City wants him to do so. Indeed, judging from the fact that 12-month interest rate futures are now 1.4%, it is generally thought that there will be [...]
SocialEurope Journal: SEJ Article: Kenya, Oil and Populism: Learning from Germany http://t.co/7lQ1UfWb SocialEurope Journal: SEJ Article: European Monetary Union: Doomed to fail or just another Stepping Stone? http://t.co/pMuqDvkA SocialEurope Journal: SEJ Article: German State Elections send Merkel an Economic Message http://t.co/yVG4Xr5n SocialEurope Journal: SEJ Article: Public Finances in France: There are Alternatives (TAA not TINA) http://t.co/B0QL31d1 SocialEurope Journal: New column: "Finding a Way out of the Crisis – Growth and Employment in Europe" by Sigmar… http://t.co/OOskY0EH SocialEurope Journal: SEJ Article: Creating Jobs in recession-hit Communities in Europe: Why Microcredit will not help http://t.co/zJb4XxJl SocialEurope Journal: New column: "European Monetary Union: Doomed to fail or just another Stepping Stone?" by Tom… http://t.co/MeegaiJR 
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