debating progressive politics in Europe and beyond
The government under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is seeking to frame the debate between itself and Hungary’s international partners, the EU and the IMF as the struggle between a valiant and democratically legitimated David (i.e. Viktor Orbán himself) and a multitude of sinister, illegitimately meddling Goliaths. Hungary won’t be told what to do by outsiders, [...]
Republicans are worried sick about Newt Gingrich’s ascendance, while Democrats are tickled pink. Yet no responsible Democrat should be pleased at the prospect that Gingrich could get the GOP nomination. The future of America is too important to accept even a small risk of a Gingrich presidency. The Republican worry is understandable. “The possibility of [...]
Yesterday, the Swedish Social Democrats’ party secretary, Carin Jämtin held a brief press conference where she announced that the party’s executive committee would submit a proposal on an acting party leader to the party board meeting on Friday. The former party leader, Håkan Juholt resigned on Saturday. According to Västerbottens Folkblad sources, the president of the trade [...]
The Euro crisis may soon be over. This is what German Finance Minister Schäuble thinks and his view is finding an echo among a growing community in the financial markets. But is it true? For Chancellor Merkel and her followers, we are experiencing a debt crisis caused by irresponsible fiscal policies. Their remedy is therefore [...]
The measures introduced by the European Central Bank last December, especially the Long Term Refinancing Operation (LTRO), have relieved the liquidity problems of European banks, but have not cured the financing disadvantage of the highly indebted member states. Since high-risk premiums on government bonds endanger the capital adequacy of banks, half a solution is not [...]
Yet again historians, sociologists, cultural studies academics, and political scientists betray their academic duty. Previously they’ve shied away, in numbers far too big for comfort, from the problems of immigration, integration and Islam. They became traitors to their own expert knowledge on human society by failing to, in a timely and loud fashion, single out [...]
Against the backdrop of the open letter in The Guardian last year and the dismal UK growth figures for Q4 2011 published today, London’s Evening Standard asked me to write a letter for today’s paper. This is what I had to say: When last summer 51 other academics and I called on ministers to adopt [...]
There we have it: The latest adjustment in global growth forecasts, this time by the IMF. These adjustments all have one thing in common: forecasts are always revised downwards and never upwards. The IMF announced: With intensifying strains in the euro area weighing on the global outlook, the International Monetary Fund has sharply cut its forecast for [...]
Angela Merkel has just given an interview on her European policies to a series of European newspapers including The Guardian and Sueddeutsche Zeitung. What kind of headlines can be produced out of the same interview is very interesting. The Guardian title reads: “Angela Merkel casts doubt on saving Greece from financial meltdown” whereas the Sueddeutsche Zeitung [...]
2011 was supposed to be the make-or-break year for the euro. First it was weeks, then just a matter of days to save the euro. Yet, 2012 has begun and we are still paying our taxes and bills are writing our contracts in euros. Not only here in Brussels, but also in Bologna, Barcelona, Braga [...]
The euro crisis has made Germany so important that anyone interested in the future of Europe – or even in economies outside the eurozone like the UK – now has to spend a lot of time trying to understand German thinking. As discussions continue about the details of the “fiscal compact” that will be agreed at the European [...]
Alexey Navalny may well be the first Russian internet politician. The charismatic 35 year old emerged not just as an online activist, but leading agitator of the nascent protest movement. His slogan – “Down with the Party of Crooks and Thieves” – has become the chant of the movement and his idea to “vote for anyone else [...]
All Content