Definition of an American neo-conservative: A liberal mugged by reality. The new poster child for the budding European neo-conservative: Oskar Lafontaine? Lafontaine, German history majors will recall, is the Social Democrat and former German finance minister who helped launch the European Monetary Union (EMU). He is also the latest European-style …
As opposition to the euro continues to build within the eurozone, Germany, the motor of the eurozone—frankly, the only thing holding it all together—is not immune. Recently, a new political organization has formed in Germany called Alternative for Germany. So far the group is only a collection of like-minded euro-skeptic …
The parliament of Cyprus today emphatically rejected a European Union (EU) bailout plan that would have taxed private bank deposits. The plan did not garner a single vote in support, while 36 members voted against the plan; 19 parliamentarians abstained and one was absent for the vote. The deeply unpopular …
Twenty-five years ago, in her groundbreaking 1988 Bruges speech, Margaret Thatcher spoke against the rise of a supranational federal Europe, warning that to try to suppress nationhood and concentrate power at the center of a European conglomerate would be highly damaging and would jeopardize the objectives we seek to achieve.… …
Over the past few days, new strikes and riots have convulsed Greece and Spain. Conventional wisdom (including from economist Paul Krugman) suggests that cuts in government spending—often described as “austerity”—are a primary cause of the economic downturn in these nations and across much of Europe. This “demand deficiency” hypothesis leads …
In a new Backgrounder, “How Contagious Is Europe’s Economic Crisis?”, we discuss several channels through which a European crisis could be transmitted to the U.S. economy and note the key policy responses needed in the U.S. and in Europe. Current effects. The U.S. is already affected by lower demand for …
The President and his team have been blaming “European headwinds” for some of the U.S. economy’s woes. But the truth is that the policies pursued by Washington and Athens are frighteningly similar—and the outcomes are not good for either country. Both countries are in need of comprehensive fiscal reforms, yet …
Numerous governments across Europe have embarked on strict austerity programs. Europe is also sliding into a deep recession, with some countries already essentially in deep depression. Are the two phenomena related? Is the austerity exacerbating the economic downturn? Yes and no, and the yes should be no surprise. For context, …
