European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread - Page 1103

On May 29 2018 20:37 Gorsameth wrote:
Was it the left that caused Italy to suffer so hard in the last economic crisis? Or where they the ones left to pick up the pieces afterwards?
Is the left being to slow on recovering or are they doing the best they can do with what they have and the right gets popular by selling fairy tales and impossibilities?

I don't know the specific situation in Italy but populist parties promising to fix everything are rarely to answer.

On May 29 2018 22:22 TheDwf wrote:
Under Renzi (2014-2016), the PD kept applying the neoliberal agenda of reforms asked by the EU, with the results that we know at the last election.

On May 29 2018 21:20 Broetchenholer wrote:
Sorry, but that sounds like a unreasonably sarcastic post compared to the situation. There are lots ot things you can do without copying Germanies policies and completely bloat your national debt and break all fiscal rules of the EU. The plans of this attempted government seemed to me illogical and immature, throw money you don't have at the wall and see what happens because it sounds great to the voters.

On May 29 2018 22:10 Silvanel wrote:
Lol. The name of the new law is pure gold. Short story --> Hungary is going to criminalize helping illegal immigrants and the new law is called "Stop Soros Act". Life is stranger than fiction.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44288242

On May 29 2018 23:03 warding wrote:

The results were that they climbed out of recession into ~1.5% yearly growth and decreased 10year borrowing rates to under 1.5%, a factor that is quite important when your debt is at 131% of GDP.

On May 29 2018 23:38 TheDwf wrote:

Oh, so Orban the "illiberal populist" is doing the same thing as Macron the "liberal democrat," with an extra touch of antisemitic conspirationism to appeal to local racists.

Fun fact, in France two days ago an undocumented Malian saved a child in a spectacular way. This was filmed, so the guy was received by Macron, who will grant him papers and the French nationality (details here). Meanwhile people who help migrants near the French-Italian border are persecuted by justice.

Morality; to pass xenophobic laws, better be portrayed as a """liberal centrist""" rather than being the average conservative crook?

On May 30 2018 00:13 Silvanel wrote:


Is Orban really "liberal populist"? What does it even mean?

On May 29 2018 23:38 TheDwf wrote:

Oh, so Orban the "illiberal populist" is doing the same thing as Macron the "liberal democrat," with an extra touch of antisemitic conspirationism to appeal to local racists.

Fun fact, in France two days ago an undocumented Malian saved a child in a spectacular way. This was filmed, so the guy was received by Macron, who will grant him papers and the French nationality (details here). Meanwhile people who help migrants near the French-Italian border are persecuted by justice.

Morality; to pass xenophobic laws, better be portrayed as a """liberal centrist""" rather than being the average conservative crook?

Tusk, Juncker slap down Oettinger after Italy remarks spark storm

Budget commissioner said economic effects of political instability would give Italians signal not to vote for populists.

A suggestion by European Budget Commissioner Günther Oettinger that financial markets would show Italians how to vote sparked outrage in Rome on Tuesday and frantic backtracking in Brussels.

Oettinger told broadcaster Deutsche Welle in an interview conducted in German that the reaction of financial markets would give Italian voters a signal not to vote for populists.

“My concern and expectation is that the coming weeks will show that the development of the markets, government bonds and the economy of Italy will be so far-reaching that this will be a possible signal to voters not to vote for populists on the right or left,” Oettinger said.

“Already the developments of the government bonds, the market value of banks, the general course of the Italian economy is clearly overcast, is negative. This has to do with the possible government formation.”

Oettinger’s remarks prompted an immediate backlash from Italy’s populist 5Star Movement and League, as well as from other EU leaders including European Council President Donald Tusk, who tweeted an “appeal” to EU institutions, saying “please respect the voters. We are there to serve them, not to lecture them.”

The Commission issued a statement on behalf of President Jean-Claude Juncker, saying that “Italy’s fate does not lie in the hands of the financial markets.”

“Regardless of which political party may be in power, Italy is a founding member of the European Union that has contributed immensely to European integration. President Juncker is convinced that Italy will continue on its European path. The Commission is ready to work with Italy with responsibility and mutual respect. Italy deserves respect,” Juncker said.

Much of the criticism appears to have been sparked by a tweet in English from the journalist who conducted the interview. He quoted Oettinger using a more blunt formulation: “The markets will teach the Italians to vote for the right thing.” The reporter later deleted and apologized for the tweet, admitting he had misquoted Oettinger.

(...)

Source

On May 30 2018 03:26 TheDwf wrote:
Oettinger told broadcaster Deutsche Welle in an interview conducted in German that the reaction of financial markets would give Italian voters a signal not to vote for populists.

“My concern and expectation is that the coming weeks will show that the development of the markets, government bonds and the economy of Italy will be so far-reaching that this will be a possible signal to voters not to vote for populists on the right or left,” Oettinger said.

“Already the developments of the government bonds, the market value of banks, the general course of the Italian economy is clearly overcast, is negative. This has to do with the possible government formation.”

Italy's fresh election risks being referendum on euro

ROME (Reuters) - The euro looked to have dodged a bullet when Italy’s would-be eurosceptic coalition government collapsed at the weekend, but it may turn out to have been the opening salvo in a war over Europe’s single currency.

But now the two parties, who were rivals in the March vote, are weighing whether to join forces ahead of a fresh election seen in the autumn or early next year.

“The upcoming elections will not be political, but instead a real and true referendum ... between who wants Italy to be a free country and who wants it to be servile and enslaved,” League leader Matteo Salvini said on Monday.

“Today Italy is not free; it is occupied financially by Germans, French and eurocrats.”

The euro, bonds and stocks initially rallied on Monday after President Sergio Mattarella vetoed Savona’s nomination, but relief turned to fear over snap elections. The gap between Italian and German 10-year bond yields, a measure of Italian risk, widened to its highest in over four years.

“The election is going to resemble a referendum, de facto, on the European Union and the euro,” said Francesco Galietti, head of political risk consultancy Policy Sonar in Rome. “It’s an existential threat for the entire euro zone.”

If Italians were to cast a protest vote against the EU and euro at fresh elections, it would deliver the bloc’s biggest challenge since Britain voted to quit the union two years ago and raise questions about the future of the single currency.

As the euro zone’s third-largest economy, heavily indebted Italy also represents a far bigger potential threat to the single currency than the Greek economic crisis.

Polls show the League has gained support since winning 17 percent of the vote in inconclusive March 4 elections, climbing as high as 24 percent. The 5-Star has been drawing about the same 32 percent it got two months ago.

Former prime minister Massimo D’Alema, caught speaking on an open microphone on Saturday, summed up the fears of traditional parties: “If we go back to elections because of a veto on Savona, they (anti-establishment parties) are going to win 80 percent.”

On the street, some voters believe Salvini is right to challenge the president’s veto and go back to the polls.

“I’m really ticked off. The president sold out the country,” said Giancarlo Sacco, 54, owner of a cafe in central Rome. Sacco said he wanted Italy to remain in the euro but that its concerns needed to be taken seriously by EU partners.

“It just has to make itself respected again.”

The president’s veto of Savona as economy minister has put the currency, which was little discussed in the last election campaign, at the center of the debate.

“Membership of the euro is a fundamental choice,” Mattarella said in a televised speech, explaining his veto. “If we want to discuss it, then we should do so in a serious fashion.”

In February, Salvini railed against the euro, saying it was a “mistake for our economy”.

“We don’t have a euro in our pockets. We have a German mark which they called the euro,” he said.

The 5-Star dropped its previous calls for a non-binding referendum over Italy’s euro membership, though its founder, comic Beppe Grillo, recently revived the idea.

Political tensions are running high, with the League threatening street protests against Mattarella.

On social media, League and 5-Star sympathizers made death threats against the president, while supporters crowding around Salvini and Di Maio during live TV interviews late on Sunday shouted insults at him.

On the other side are Italians who, like many Britons devastated by the Brexit vote, see the country’s relationship with Europe as fundamental.

“I am absolutely pro-European and I believe that Italy is connected, must have a connection with Europe for our future,” said Irene Teramo, a shopper at a street market in Rome, who supported the president’s decision.

Italians will also be weighing concern about their savings as financial markets put the country’s stock market and bonds under pressure and borrowing costs increase.

“In his heart, the average voter will probably be cheering for the anti-establishment forces, but his wallet will be saying the opposite,” said political risk expert Galietti.

“It will be a heart versus wallet election.”

Source

Merkel tells Italy: euro zone rules must frame economic discussions

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday she would work with any coalition government formed in Italy, but she also warned that any discussions on economic policy would have to be within the rules governing the euro zone.

(...)

Source

On May 30 2018 03:36 a_flayer wrote:

The explanation does nothing to soothe my rage.

"Vote for the neoliberals that rule you, or we neoliberals will ruin you."

"Have a government that is pro-US, or you will be sanctioned."

Or like when Soros says this, and I'm just thinking... is that a threat, buddy?

And I'm pro-EU, conceptually, at least...

On May 30 2018 03:53 Big J wrote:
How is that Soros interview a threat?

B) “Already the developments of the government bonds, the market value of banks, the general course of the Italian economy is clearly overcast, is negative. A) This has to do with the possible government formation.”

On May 30 2018 03:51 Gorsameth wrote:
There are 101 treaties and regulations a government has to follow that they themselves did not make. Why is this any different?