Waiting for Merkel
MADRID | By JP Marín Arrese | Those longing for a growth strategy to invigorate their ailing economies delude themselves in thinking that Ms Merkel might prove to be more tractable once she is re-elected.
austerity
Austerity for all isn’t working
By Alex Biddle | Generalised austerity doesn’t work. Austerity politics is being driven by the fear of inflation, which is not the underlying problem to the current economy.
The Baltic Boom: there is life after austerity
MADRID | By Antonio Sánchez-Gijón at CapitalMadrid | On May 9 the European Union will deliver Charlemagne Prize to Lithuania’s President Dalia Grybauskaite. The idea is not to reward her as a former EC Commissioner, but as the person who embodies the success of three small countries of Northern Europe out of their deep economic crisis in two years. While the populations of the Mediterranean Europe and France are raised in arms against austerity policies imposed from Brussels and Frankfurt to exit the stagnation and save the euro, two European Baltic nations are looking forward to joining the common currency.
“Merkel will probably stick to austerity again after the elections”
MADRID | Germany wouldn’t be the first country to admit that too much austerity is killing growth. President Hollande did it in France, and Enrico Letta just did in Italy, following concerns voiced by leading members of the IMF and the EU Commission. Ana Rafels, independent financial advisor, doubts Chancellor Merkel will U-turn, though.
“The eurozone must find economic growth without State aid”
MADRID | By Tania Suárez | Director of financial analysis at Profim EAFI, Jose Maria Luna Morales, argues that austerity measures in the euro zone were “necessary” but adds that “some privileges of many public institutions can still be reduced”. He also notes that although “Europe still may suffer months of stagnation”, that does not imply “a long period of stagnation'” for the EZ as a whole.
Careful what you cut for: Spain’s public administrations and austerity
MADRID | Reigning in the public sector under austerity plans isn’t always good for the private sector, at least not today and not when a country has lost his monetary policy sovereignty.
Let’s fight austerity, not Germany
MADRID | If Spain’s democracy owes something to someone it would be Germany. During Spain’s democratic transition, Christian democracy and Social Democracy German foundations sustained and alerted incipient political parties when they need it.
Austerity falls into disgrace
MADRID | The prospect France, not to mention Italy or Spain, will flatly fail to meet their targets stands as a more plausible explanation of the realisation that austerity alone will not work.
Reinhart-Rogoff forgot economics is a case-by-case science
MADRID | Economic growth is compatible with high debt, particularly when your central bank can make fears of default vanish and interest rates can be contained.
Is austerity to blame?
MADRID | Cuts and tax rises cannot be considered by all means as negligible. Bur their real impact on disposable incomes does amount to a rather modest share, on average.