-
Nobody Won in the Non-Final
By Ferdi De Ville The Dutch were most clamorous, even a little arrogant, but eventually played no role and had to slink off. The English played defensive, achieved a minor success but were other than that largely ignored. Super Mario defeated Germany. Spain was the winner in the end. For a euro-outsider, it must have…
-
Two parallel realities
By Nikos Chrysoloras* There is no better proof that my country is drifting away from the eurozone than the sharp difference between the prevalent mood in Brussels and Athens, in the aftermath of May 6th’s elections. While Europe was desperately trying to figure out how to react to the inconclusive result and the huge blow…
-
The Choice between a Hard Landing and a Crash
by Nikos Chrysoloras* Many would argue that the phrase “they all got what they deserved” could serve as a stand-alone snap analysis, on the inconclusive result of May 6th’s elections in Greece. The centre-right Nea Democratia (ND) and the centre-left PASOK – the two parties which have dominated Greece’s political landscape since the restoration of…
-
Japanese Views on the Euro – or Whether the Plane will Eventually Fly
by Daniela Schwarzer During a recent symposium on global governance held in Tokyo, a Japanese moderator said: “Flights and reforms have something in common, both in Japan and in Europe. First, a delay is announced, because no one dares to say the truth. Later, it turns out that the flight has been cancelled.” I found…
-
Greece: the Euro’s Democracy-Compatibility Test
by Ferdi De Ville The election of Francois Hollande as the new French president did not come as a surprise to anyone. It had – as I argued in a previous blog – been anticipated in advance in EU circles. This led to a reorientation of the crisis discourse in the EU towards growth and…
-
Has an EU-turn set in?
by Ferdi De Ville One of the surprising aspects of the financial crisis that started in 2008 is “the strange non-death of neoliberalism”, as Warwick professor Colin Crouch put it aptly. Indeed, especially after the Greek tragedy changed the beliefs about the origin of the crisis from ‘caused by untamed capitalism’ towards ‘provoked by profligate…
-
The First Round of the French Presidential Elections and Political Turmoil in the Netherlands Could Mark the Beginning of new Controversies on the Eurozone’s Crisis Management
By Carsten Brzeski François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy are the two finalists of the French Presidential elections with 28.5% and 27.1%. Negotiations between the losing candidates and the finalists are likely to be tense. Both Hollande and Sarkozy will now try to get as much support as possible from the losing candidates to win the…
-
Presidential Campaigns in France – Missing the Point?
By Daniela Schwarzer In April and May 2012, all eyes in the EU are on France. The presidential elections come at a key moment. The crisis in the euro area is re-gaining pace, with bond market pressure once again increasing on Spain – and serious questions asked about investors’ confidence in France. The campaigns…