By all accounts, these European elections have shaken political landscapes in many countries. Over the coming years, we will find out what these developments will mean in practice. However, the fragile consensus that hitherto governed Europe — closer integration and bailouts against austerity promises — will be hard to maintain. […]
Published in The National Business Review (Auckland), 23 May 2014 (PDF) Budget day last week was dominated by the usual focus on the return to surplus, some new spending pledges and discussions of potential future tax cuts. Soon afterward, however, commentators and politicians discovered the Treasury papers contained some political dynamite outside the core of fiscal […]
Bill English’s achievements of the past six years of adversity are remarkable. He now has to defend them in the coming years of plenty. […]
Effective political decision-making has never really been the EU’s strength in the euro crisis. A closer look at the mode of the forthcoming European elections does not indicate that this is likely to change anytime soon. And the grand “European elections” are really quite a farcical exercise in the way they are conducted. […]
Those who believe they can neatly choose between higher unemployment and higher inflation, typically end up with both. Labour does not seem to be aware that policies which will drive down the exchange rate and boost employment can even have a price level effect. […]
Europe’s policy paralysis has been of a similar nature in the euro crisis. The basic problem is the same as in relation to Ukraine: The interests of European nations are too different to be held together by multilateral treaties and international organisations. When push comes to shove, such institutions are unable to reconcile any conflicts. They only work in a conflict-free environment. […]
Copyright © 2024 | MH Magazine WordPress Theme by MH Themes