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Q & A on Austerity in Europe
Francois Hollande has made it clear he wishes to renegotiate the last European treaty (which the UK was demonised for not joining or agreeing) and he will not sign it until it includes measures for economic growth.
In the Netherlands, austerity packages have been agreed by the 5 party caretaker govt - however opposition to the austerity packages seemed to have brought down Mark Rutte's minority government at the start of the week.
I'm not arguing that budget deficits should not be controlled - the important thing is that the battle to win over the public and to explain why some of the harsh measures and results have to be carried through; the important thing is also for those in power to also be seen to be actively exploring avenues for economic growth.
This last has been a constant thorn in the UK Govt side - particularly George Osborne's failure to show that he is committed to exploring growth and supporting business. There have been pointers to the fact that new and small businesses have to be fostered and supported (I'm not calling for financial packages) in the UK but it is hard to see real signs. Business Link and some of the other regional bodies have been scaled back or had their role severly cut back in the time I have been starting up my business and the complex tax system is certainly not helping.
Back on the subject of austerity though - one last note from the BBC article "the growing popularity of eurosceptic, anti-immigration populist parties makes it harder for mainstream parties to stick to pan-European agreements about austerity and budget discipline."
We certainly have to learn from the past, the last time such widespread crisis threatened the world it was WW2 that ended the great depression in many parts of the world.
Francois Hollande has made it clear he wishes to renegotiate the last European treaty (which the UK was demonised for not joining or agreeing) and he will not sign it until it includes measures for economic growth.
In the Netherlands, austerity packages have been agreed by the 5 party caretaker govt - however opposition to the austerity packages seemed to have brought down Mark Rutte's minority government at the start of the week.
I'm not arguing that budget deficits should not be controlled - the important thing is that the battle to win over the public and to explain why some of the harsh measures and results have to be carried through; the important thing is also for those in power to also be seen to be actively exploring avenues for economic growth.
This last has been a constant thorn in the UK Govt side - particularly George Osborne's failure to show that he is committed to exploring growth and supporting business. There have been pointers to the fact that new and small businesses have to be fostered and supported (I'm not calling for financial packages) in the UK but it is hard to see real signs. Business Link and some of the other regional bodies have been scaled back or had their role severly cut back in the time I have been starting up my business and the complex tax system is certainly not helping.
Back on the subject of austerity though - one last note from the BBC article "the growing popularity of eurosceptic, anti-immigration populist parties makes it harder for mainstream parties to stick to pan-European agreements about austerity and budget discipline."
We certainly have to learn from the past, the last time such widespread crisis threatened the world it was WW2 that ended the great depression in many parts of the world.