Dialogue - Page 28 of 40

Change of Paradigm? or what is at stake in Spain´s local elections

This Sunday Spain goes to the polls. Municipal councils and the governments of most of Spain´s autonomous regions (not Catalonia and the Basque Country, though, which hold their regional elections on different dates) are up for grabs. Beyond the local impact, what everybody is watching for in these elections is the likely redistribution of Spain´s nationwide political preferences, in anticipation of the general election due before the end of 2015. A political earthquake may be in the making with long-lasting consequences for Spain, and for Spain´s input into the European integration process.

When Pop Meets Opera- Building Bridges in the 60th Eurovision Song Contest

Vienna, the grand city of music, is playing host to the 60^th edition of Europe’s premier pop singing event; albeit, Vienna is famous for opera, symphonies and classical music. #12Points is how the city has been rebranding itself for the duration of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC). The face of the ESC 2015 is Thomas Neuwirth, more commonly known by his Drag Queen persona ‘Conchita Wurst.’ From advertising for bank loans to having a sausage named after her, no one in the past few years has achieved as much popularity after winning the ESC as Conchita. The city entered into a week of celebrations on the Sunday leading up to the finals. The State Opera House (Wiener Staatsoper) organised a special matinee programme, with the overarching theme of ‘Building Bridges’…

Eurovision and Human Rights

Forty countries are competing for the Eurovision Song Trophy in Vienna this year, with the Grand Final due to take place on 23 May. Although the contest has strict rules, according to which participants promoting political messages are banned from the competition, it also has a history of songs just on that thin line between activism and pure cheesiness. Most recently, social issues have been a potent underlying message, including respect for equality and human rights, culminating with the victory of the woman with facial hair in 2014, the Austrian Conchita Wurst. This year’s edition combines political and social activism with reference to the UK’s exit from the EU, the Armenian genocide and LGBT rights to equal citizenship in modern European countries.

If only the EU could learn from its mistakes like the IMF…

Dialogue , Op-ed
21 May, 2015

By Clément Fontan

One month ago, the Bruegel institute, a respected and influential EU think-thank, published an opinion piece by former IMF staff member Ashoka Mody. In his excellent analysis, Mody relies on leaked insider information and IMF self-criticism to condemn the Fund’s role in the Greek bailout process from 2010 to the present. In short, he reminds us that the lack of debt restructuring during the 2010 bailout was primarily aimed at protecting the holders of Greek bonds, e.g. the major French and German banks, despite its unsustainability. Then, he underlines that the structural reforms and the budget cuts worsened the economic and social conditions in Greece to such an extent that a second bailout was needed in 2012.

The Role of the European Parliament in Managing Europe’s Economic Crisis

Dialogue , Op-ed
19 May, 2015

By Panagiota Manoli and Georgios Maris

Until recently, especially in financial governance issues, studies had paid little attention to the role of the European Parliament (EP), rather focusing on other institutions such as the European Council, the Commission and the European Central Bank. In a chapter that we contributed to a recently published book,* we discuss the role of the EP in the management of the global financial crisis that erupted in 2008 and soon spread into the Eurozone economies.

The European Union’s dilemma in the complexity of global politics

It´s Our Voice , e(u)-Generation , EU
18 May, 2015

By Frank Aragbonfoh Abumere

In global politics, complexity is the norm rather than the exception. One characteristic of the complexity of global politics is the dilemma between order and justice. On the one hand, the existence and sustenance of order, i.e. maintenance of peace and security, is seen by some politicians, diplomats and scholars as the overriding value in global politics. But on the other hand, the promotion of justice, i.e. respecting human rights, giving consideration to morality, etc, is seen by other politicians, diplomats and scholars as the overriding value in global politics. The European Union (EU) as a regional or supranational organisation cannot be said to either totally subscribe to the ‘overriding value’ of order or the ‘overriding value’ of justice…

Dodging Politics, Ditching Democracy

The Brits and the Poles have voted last week in parliamentary and presidential elections, respectively. But if anything unites these two European elections, it is the way they illustrate the hollowing of the democratic process. While conservatives tout more of the same, the Left… Well, what Left?

Three-Speed Europe

Spain is accelerating, Germany is slowing down, and Greece is in reverse. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the entire euro area grew by 0.4% in the first quarter, one tenth more than in the last quarter of 2014, according to Eurostat’s first estimate. However, this figure from the EU’s statistics office conceals a disparity in the performance of the different economies in the region. Low oil prices, the depreciation of the euro against the dollar, and the debt purchase programme, coupled with the low interest rates spurred by the European Central Bank’s (ECB) monetary policy have been the main factor which has benefitted the Eurozone’s economy. But the ECB has warned that the recovery will not be sustainable unless governments work harder with reforms.

A less united and less European UK: ¿Brexit and break it?

By Andrés Ortega

Despite the official congratulations, Europe’s conservative-dominated collective leadership would have rather seen Labour’s Ed Miliband entering 10 Downing Street. This might seem a paradox, but it is not. There is little confidence in David Cameron. First he got Scotland into an independence referendum that made much of Europe very jittery. Europe’s leaders will again feel a shudder down their spines once the British referendum (Brexit) on leaving the EU comes up. Although Scottish nationalists only just lost their referendum, thanks to devolution promises Cameron now has to honour, the effect has been a totally SNP-dominated political landscape in Scotland. In last Thursday’s general election the party swept the board, taking 56 of a total of 59 seats, compared with only six in 2010.

POLAND: Duda wins the first round, but Komorowski is aiming for re-election

Pending , Dialogue , Op-ed
12 May, 2015

Analysing what happened last Sunday in the Polish presidential elections and trying to anticipate what might happen in two weeks’ time, there are clearly two different interpretations. On the one hand, the partial victory of Andrzej Duda reveals significant wear and tear in the Civic Platform (PO) currently in power – and of Komorowski as President. Furthermore, the rise of Pawel Kukiz, a musician and non-party independent, as the third most voted option (20%) appear to place Poland fairly and squarely in the European mainstream of new politicians, new discourse, and the desire for change – which is what’s happening in Greece and Spain.