06-02-2018, 10:44 PM
*** 3-Jun-18 World View -- Europe faces challenges with new governments in Italy, Spain and Catalonia
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Spain's new government faces an immediate Catalonia problem
****
![[Image: g180602b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g180602b.jpg)
Catalonia's new government after swearing-in ceremony in Barcelona. (AP)
There were actually two new Spanish governments sworn in this weekend.
One was Spain's national government in Madrid, where the new Socialist
prime minister Pedro Sánchez was sworn in, after a vote of confidence
defeated the conservative government led by Mariano Rajoy.
The other was the Catalonia government in Barcelona. Madrid imposed
direct rule on Catalonia after declaring illegal a referendum on
Catalan independence on October 1. Direct rule ended and Catalonia's
new government was also sworn in on Saturday.
Catalonia's new president Quim Torra called for talks with Sánchez, to
resolve the question of independence for Catalonia. Just minutes
after Sánchez was sworn in, Torra said:
<QUOTE>"Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, let's talk, let's
address this issue, let's take risks, you and us.
"We need to sit down at the same table and negotiate, government
to government. This situation we're going through cannot go on
for even one more day."<END QUOTE>
I'm pretty sure this "government to government" stuff will not go over
well in Madrid. If such a meeting occurs then it may not go well,
since Torra wants Catalonia to be independent, while Sánchez opposes
Catalan independence.
Rajoy lost the no-confidence vote that cost him his job because of
recent court judgments that revealed a vast kickback scheme with
Rajoy's Popular Party. Rajoy tried to skate by and insist that he
wasn't involved, but the level of corruption was so great that former
Rajoy supporters in the parliament switched sides and supported the
no-confidence vote. AP and BBC and AFP and Bloomberg
Related Articles
****
**** Italy's markets stabilize as new 'populist' government takes office
****
Spain's government crisis is largely internal, and is unlikely to
become a crisis in Brussels. That's not true of Italy's governmental
crisis, which promises to spread, and cause wider crises.
Italy's plummeting financial markets have mostly recovered and appear
to be stabilized as the "populist" government that had appeared to collapse
early in the week
came to power, though with a different cabinet of ministers.
The "populist" coalition is between the left-wing Five Star Movement
(M5S), led by Luigi Di Maio, and the right-wing La Lega (The
(Northern) League), led by Matteo Salvini. Although the two parties
differ on many issues, and distrust each other greatly, they decided
to form a coalition based on their shared anti-euro, anti-EU and
anti-immigrant policies, and particularly on the fact that they have
no fiscal discipline whatsoever.
Di Maio and Salvini had chosen as finance minister Paolo Savona, who
in the past had raised objections to Italy being in the eurozone and
euro currency. Fearing a financial disaster, Italy's president,
Sergio Mattarella, vetoed the selection of Savona, and the proposed
government collapsed. Di Maio and Salvini, claimed that Mattarella
was catering to the demands of Brussels and Berlin, rather than to the
will of the people of Italy.
For a couple of days, Italy's government was in total chaos, and it
looked like Mattarella had made a major political blunder. Despite
the vitriolic political atmosphere in Rome, the chaos caused heads to
cool, and Di Maio, Salvini and Mattarella reached a compromise, where
Savona would be given a different job.
So now the European Union and the European Central Bank have to face
the reality of dealing with Italy's new government. On the immigrant
issue, Salvini wants to deport half a million illegal immigrants
living in Italy, and he's being criticized as xenophobic, as are
far-right parties in other countries, such as Germany's AfD and the
National Front in France.
Economically, Italy is already a disaster, with public debt standing
at €2.17 trillion, or 133% of gross domestic product (GDP). This
also could cause a major eurozone financial crisis, significantly
worse than the one caused by Greece's public debt.
But instead of looking for ways to reduce that debt, Di Maio and
Salvini want to increase it by another €125 billion. Right-wing
Salvini wants to cut taxes. Left-wing Di Maio wants to substantially
increase public spending, including providing a guaranteed minimum
income of €780 per month to each person.
So Italy's government has stabilized for now, but few people expect
that stability to last long. Bloomberg and Euro News and CNBC and CNN
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Spain, Madrid, Catalonia,
Pedro Sánchez, Quim Torra, Mariano Rajoy,
Italy, Five-Star Movement, M5S, Luigi Di Maio,
La Lega, The (Northern) League, Matteo Salvini.
Giuseppe Conte, Paolo Savona, Sergio Mattarella
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Spain's new government faces an immediate Catalonia problem
- Italy's markets stabilize as new 'populist' government takes office
****
**** Spain's new government faces an immediate Catalonia problem
****
Catalonia's new government after swearing-in ceremony in Barcelona. (AP)
There were actually two new Spanish governments sworn in this weekend.
One was Spain's national government in Madrid, where the new Socialist
prime minister Pedro Sánchez was sworn in, after a vote of confidence
defeated the conservative government led by Mariano Rajoy.
The other was the Catalonia government in Barcelona. Madrid imposed
direct rule on Catalonia after declaring illegal a referendum on
Catalan independence on October 1. Direct rule ended and Catalonia's
new government was also sworn in on Saturday.
Catalonia's new president Quim Torra called for talks with Sánchez, to
resolve the question of independence for Catalonia. Just minutes
after Sánchez was sworn in, Torra said:
<QUOTE>"Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, let's talk, let's
address this issue, let's take risks, you and us.
"We need to sit down at the same table and negotiate, government
to government. This situation we're going through cannot go on
for even one more day."<END QUOTE>
I'm pretty sure this "government to government" stuff will not go over
well in Madrid. If such a meeting occurs then it may not go well,
since Torra wants Catalonia to be independent, while Sánchez opposes
Catalan independence.
Rajoy lost the no-confidence vote that cost him his job because of
recent court judgments that revealed a vast kickback scheme with
Rajoy's Popular Party. Rajoy tried to skate by and insist that he
wasn't involved, but the level of corruption was so great that former
Rajoy supporters in the parliament switched sides and supported the
no-confidence vote. AP and BBC and AFP and Bloomberg
Related Articles
- Spain's arrests of Catalonia secessionist leaders revive memories of Franco's brutal atrocities (26-Mar-2018)
- Catalonia's leader says the region has 'won the right to statehood' from Spain (02-Oct-2017)
- The 1930s Spanish Civil War fault lines explode again over Catalonia independence referendum (23-Sep-2017)
- Catalonia referendum poised to go ahead despite Spain's harsh repressive measures (01-Oct-2017)
- Scotland's independence referendum is encouraging Catalonia's separatists (11-Sep-2014)
****
**** Italy's markets stabilize as new 'populist' government takes office
****
Spain's government crisis is largely internal, and is unlikely to
become a crisis in Brussels. That's not true of Italy's governmental
crisis, which promises to spread, and cause wider crises.
Italy's plummeting financial markets have mostly recovered and appear
to be stabilized as the "populist" government that had appeared to collapse
early in the week
came to power, though with a different cabinet of ministers.
The "populist" coalition is between the left-wing Five Star Movement
(M5S), led by Luigi Di Maio, and the right-wing La Lega (The
(Northern) League), led by Matteo Salvini. Although the two parties
differ on many issues, and distrust each other greatly, they decided
to form a coalition based on their shared anti-euro, anti-EU and
anti-immigrant policies, and particularly on the fact that they have
no fiscal discipline whatsoever.
Di Maio and Salvini had chosen as finance minister Paolo Savona, who
in the past had raised objections to Italy being in the eurozone and
euro currency. Fearing a financial disaster, Italy's president,
Sergio Mattarella, vetoed the selection of Savona, and the proposed
government collapsed. Di Maio and Salvini, claimed that Mattarella
was catering to the demands of Brussels and Berlin, rather than to the
will of the people of Italy.
For a couple of days, Italy's government was in total chaos, and it
looked like Mattarella had made a major political blunder. Despite
the vitriolic political atmosphere in Rome, the chaos caused heads to
cool, and Di Maio, Salvini and Mattarella reached a compromise, where
Savona would be given a different job.
So now the European Union and the European Central Bank have to face
the reality of dealing with Italy's new government. On the immigrant
issue, Salvini wants to deport half a million illegal immigrants
living in Italy, and he's being criticized as xenophobic, as are
far-right parties in other countries, such as Germany's AfD and the
National Front in France.
Economically, Italy is already a disaster, with public debt standing
at €2.17 trillion, or 133% of gross domestic product (GDP). This
also could cause a major eurozone financial crisis, significantly
worse than the one caused by Greece's public debt.
But instead of looking for ways to reduce that debt, Di Maio and
Salvini want to increase it by another €125 billion. Right-wing
Salvini wants to cut taxes. Left-wing Di Maio wants to substantially
increase public spending, including providing a guaranteed minimum
income of €780 per month to each person.
So Italy's government has stabilized for now, but few people expect
that stability to last long. Bloomberg and Euro News and CNBC and CNN
Related Articles
- Italy's 'populist' government collapses, threatening eurozone exit (29-May-2018)
- European markets in turmoil over Italy's unbridled spending proposals (23-May-2018)
- Bank run worsens Italy's banking crisis (28-Dec-2016)
- German official says that 'two clowns have won' in Italy (01-Mar-2013)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Spain, Madrid, Catalonia,
Pedro Sánchez, Quim Torra, Mariano Rajoy,
Italy, Five-Star Movement, M5S, Luigi Di Maio,
La Lega, The (Northern) League, Matteo Salvini.
Giuseppe Conte, Paolo Savona, Sergio Mattarella
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
