Election

One of the difficulties we have created by insisting that a debate between the 3 main leaders of the parties takes place on television is that floating voters will now decide who to vote for not based on policies but on image and how an individual performs on telly. This isn't good for democracy. The fact remains that Labour took decisive action to halt the nightmare (Greek style) that the British economy could face following the collapse of major banks. The road to recovery is a difficult one and it will not be safe to allow free market forces, as the Tories want us to do, to correct the problem, if that was to happen then Britain will be thrown into a major recession and will be following Greece down the path to ruin. There is now only one choice and the economy will be safer with Labour. Its not about how good Nick Clegg looks its about who can manage the crisis better!

Greece and the Euro

Is Federal Europe going to work?

It was in 1981 that the French President Ciscard insisted that Greece should join the EEC and he was right. France has been a loyal and traditional ally to Greece so Hellas became the 10th member of the EEC and was doing well until the decision to join the Euro in 2003 which was, in my opinion, the wrong time. Given that the country is now trapped within the Euro zone mechanism it means that the country cannot devalue its currency to see the storm so what the left was saying (and for once they were right) back in 2002 was right, the Greek economy was not ready for the Euro. But we are there and we are facing a major crisis. There are many who will say that the crisis proves that all the Euro philes were wrong but I take an entirely different view. European Federalism will only work if the USA model is followed and all member states in Europe agree that foreign policy and finances should be handled centrally. I know this is controversial but right now we are in the middle of a major mess which promises to bring down Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy and that is just the start! Either we get a real Federal system or we abandon the whole project.

World Workers Day

A triumph for internationalist every where in the world. This is one day celebrated all over the globe remembering the sacrifices and the constant struggles faced by workers wherever they are. One day that unites us all.

Recordar...

Remember...

Não se esqueça

PASOK calls IMF and EU in...

PM George Papandreou announcing the bad news on one of Greece's 1,200 islands...

PASOK (Socialist party) PM Papandreou describing the Greek economy as a sinking ship, formally requested an international bailout on Friday, an unprecedented step that will test the bonds of the European Union. In a nationally televised address, PM George Papandreou said two waves of austerity measures introduced by the government over the past few months had failed to convince the markets that Greece would be able to manage its debt crisis. In the meantime public sector unions have called for more general strikes. Public sector employees have already been hit with two pay cuts. Public sector pensions are the next target. Is this a waring for the rest of Europe? Is the Greek economy the first within the Eurozone to be hit and would Portugal, Spain and Ireland be following soon? The talk within the 300,000 strong Greek community in London is that Papandreou has inherited a major problem mismanaged by the previous Conservative (ND) government and much more needs to be done to deal with the historical issue of uncollected taxes. Greece has not got a PAYE system and the state instead relies on individuals submitting tax returns at the end of each year. It is estimated that more than 30% of all revenue is lost because of that.