One of the great weaknesses of Spain’s indignados movement, which this week celebrated its second birthday, has been its failure to pursue a strategy that turns power in the streets into the real power needed to change the world. In the November 2011 general elections, six months after Spaniards occupied town squares across the country, [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Austerity’
The recession is a really good time to increase profits?
May 16th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.Lord Young, one of Thatcher’s Business ministers, got himself sacked 10 years ago when he made a deeply callous and insensitive remark. He has obviously not lost the knack because he’s just been reported making comments again of similar ilk. Reminiscent of Jo Moore sending round an email on the day of 9/11 which said [...]
On “tough decisions” (aka “austerity”)
May 13th, 2013 by Bryan Gould.Last week’s YouGov poll, commissioned and published by Progress, showed that, while Labour was accepted as the “nice” party, the Tories were seen as more ready to take the “tough” decisions. The result was interpreted as an endorsement of the need for such “tough” decisions and therefore as bad news for Ed Miliband and an [...]
Why French radicals are marching – Interview with Mélenchon
May 8th, 2013 by Tom Gill.As French radicals march in Paris Sunday against the austerity policies of Socialist President Hollande, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, co-leader of the Left Party and last year’s Presidential election candidate for the radical Left Front, argues for a broad popular front of resistance. Interview by French Communist daily Humanite: Francois Hollande’s poll rating is very low. How do [...]
Italy’s centre-left is dead, long live the Italian Left!
Apr 29th, 2013 by Tom Gill.The ‘grand coalition’ between the Democratic Party and Berlusconi’s right-wing People of Liberty party means it’s time to say goodbye to the ‘centre-left’ and hello to a new Italian Left, says Marco Sferini. For the first time after the death of the Christian Democrats and the Italian Communist Party , the bourgeois forces find themselves [...]
The theory on which austerity is built is now shown to be false
Apr 24th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.Two years ago the Harvard economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff published their best-selling book This Time is Different which purported to show that one natioanl debt exceeds 90% of GDP, economic debt declines rapidly. It was seized on by Right-wing governments, media and academic pundits generally to justify a policy of extreme cutbacks in [...]
European Socialist leader sees danger in austerity
Apr 22nd, 2013 by Ben Folley.Europe’s social democrats need to recognise the consequences of imposing austerity on their own voters. Support is declining, or at best stagnating, as parties fail to offer an inspiring alternative to spending cuts. But there is evidence in Brussels that some are taking this seriously. In some measured comments, Hannes Swoboda MEP, the leader of [...]
Italian centre-left pays price of facing right not left on austerity
Apr 19th, 2013 by Tom Gill.Things are not going at all well for Italy’s centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani. Once clear favourite to replace Mario Monti as prime minister, he’s now fighting for his political survival. Parliamentary elections in February denied his alliance enough votes to govern alone and the upstart Five Star Movement led by comedian-blogger Beppe Grillo rejected offers [...]
Only a proper alternative will defeat the “nice guys”
Apr 2nd, 2013 by Megan Davies.Last Thursday I attended a charity gig run by students from my school. It was a great event: young bands from the local area showcased their talent and the audience was largely made up of fellow pupils – many of whom had recently reached, or were close to reaching voting age. It came as no [...]
Osborne’s deficit reduction is just a pretext
Mar 27th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.To fill a Budget with populist gimmicks while wholly ignoring the economic fundamentals that are remorselessly driving this country into a semi-permanent stagnation is to degrade the high office of Chancellor. The home loans scheme has more than a whiff of sub-prime about it, luring those without the means to buy a house they cannot afford [...]
