Sir, – Fintan O’Toole (Opinion, March 6th) describes the EU stability treaty as “right-wing opinion given the force of law”. I do not believe he has given much attention to those social democratic governments across Europe which have supported debt brakes in recent years.
Last year, the outgoing Socialist administration in Spain supported only the second change to the Spanish constitution since Francoist times to implement a “Golden Rule”. The German Social Democrats did likewise in 2009 as part of their Grand Coalition with Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats.
These changes do not outlaw necessary stimulus which may be needed at times of economic slowdown but they do require prudent economic management by governments.
I firmly believe social democratic values and fiscal discipline need to be reconciled. We all want a functional state that is not on the brink of insolvency, that is capable of protecting our elderly and weak through a proper welfare state and that is independent of the vagaries of the financial markets. How else can these fundamentally social democratic goals be achieved if not through prudent economic management? If the current crisis has taught us anything, we cannot rely on unrealistic high-speed growth or cheap credit to fund a sustainable society and economy.
O’Toole regularly criticises years of profligate spending funded through debt and borrowing and failed economic policies which cost Ireland’s economy our competitiveness and reputation. The solutions to our economic crisis will only be achieved through necessary but difficult changes and a firm commitment to our European partners to put our affairs back in order. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – I have never voted against any European treaty and have always regarded myself as a euro federalist. However, a federal Europe under the current or proposed arrangement would be an absolute disaster for Europe’s citizens.
The low regard which Europe’s leaders hold for the Irish and Greek taxpayer is contemptuous. At this stage I would rather take my chances with the IMF than with the bullying tactics of EFSF. The French administration has proven itself to be nothing more than a duplicitous rabble, while Germany powers ahead as a result of the instability that it has, in no small way, sewn into the periphery. The workers of Europe and their grandchildren will continue to cough up their taxes in order to stuff a trillion euros into the corpse of Europe’s banks at a derisory rate of 1 per cent interest, while the EFSF attempts to stop Europe’s governments from borrowing money to keep people alive in hospitals, comfortable in old age, and educated in universities as of right by dogmatically abolishing deficits.
As a European, a worker and a believer in the Keynesian model which this treaty seeks to abolish, I will certainly vote No to this treaty.– Yours, etc,