The point has again been made by the President of the eurogroup – the committee of eurozone finance ministers which sets policies for the zone. A greater degree of unity between European capital markets – where the shares and bonds of private corporations and governments are issued and traded – is necessary if investment in Europe, which has a huge need for more investment, can increase.
The point has been made for too long. Given the size of their capital markets, the US have always enjoyed an advantage over all their competitors by way of mobilising funds for investment. In Europe, which as a whole has a greater economic profile than America, investments that are generated via capital merkets have remained at too low volumes. These markets are sectioned into “small” national entities, distinct from each other. Though they declare otherwise, the governments of euro member states always take care to undermine all efforts that seek to merge their different national capital markets into one continental entity.
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INCIDENTS
Sometimes events happen consisting of ugly incidents that blight the lives of the families involved while generating a sentiment of mourning in the rest of the nation. There is nothing premeditated or desired in how they develop – to the contrary. But they are felt as a contradiction to any consensus there might be in the country regarding the major aims of society.
At present, two such aims among us are the need to promote active lifestyles among the elderly and to encourage families to have more children so that the population does not shrink. Two tragedies have been recorded of elderly people who died in car crashes abroad, and two other tragedies of babies who died in terrible accidents.
One suspects that a consequence of these events could be to encourage dissent against any consensus in favour of the indicated aims. Not necessarily as a conscious decision, as much as instinctively, by prompting questions like: See what happens when you become “too” active at an advanced age?… if you assume “too” many family and other responsibilities in life?
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COALITION
In a not so distant past, we would frequently be reminded of the benefits that coalition governments bring to parliamentary democracies. These ground their policies in compromises between parties and make for moderate and effective options, instead of having everything powered by the aims of just a single party, with all the risks of creeping authoritarianism that this brings in its wake. Moreover, coalition government policies stand a better chance of succeeding and being more effective because they can rely on a wider political spectrum for approval, not the backing of only one party.
Closer to our time, this analysis has been badly shaken. Not least in Germany. The government which preceded the one now led by chancellor Merz was a coalition of three parties. It became known for the disagreements that arose inside it, slowing down greatly important decisions that needed to be taken. But now that it’s only a two-party coalition under Merz, matters have hardly improved. Meanwhile in France where parties and political groupings have multiplied, parliamentary governance has practically collapsed.