From financial crisis to stagnation

 

Thomas Palley provides a short introduction to his new book, which critically examines orthodox and heterodox perspectives of and solutions to the current financial crisis. 

Worth reading.

Adieu, αντίο

The French and the Greeks went to the polls yesterday, making clear that the current economic policy dictated from Brussels, and ultimately from Berlin, is far from being consensual and hardly democratic. In France, François Hollande beat Nicolas Sarkozy in a tight runoff and gave the Socialists a victory that remained elusive since 1995. Let us see if Hollande in the Élysée Palace is able to weather the upcoming storm, and help reverse the austerity that pervades Europe.

In Greece, the aftermath of the elections is more complex and difficult to resolve. The people are disillusioned with the central parties PASOK and New Democracy, and therefore voted massively for fringe parties. As a result, none of the parties obtained even 20% of the votes and the future government should be born out of a coalition. New Democracy gathered most votes, and will have the first chance to form a coalition government with other pro-austerity parties. However, this coalition will probably be insufficiently representative and too weak to last, which could open a road for change. In an eerie side note, the neo-nazi Golden Dawn managed to put 21 deputies in the parliament. Is this partying like it’s 1930?

Far-right gains traction in Europe

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Le Monde diplomatique collected the official results of parliamentary elections across Europe during the last five years, and reports the share of the votes of far-right parties. The far-right movement seems to be particularly popular in Northern and Eastern Europe, and will probably continue to thrive with the status quo of self-defeating austerity...