It's becoming clear how hard is going to be for Frau Merkel to form a new government. The SPD wants the Finance Ministry and will ballot its members on any deal. In the end, though, they're likely to reach an agreement, say media commentators.
The election may have been held eight days ago, but Germany is no closer to forming a government. It could take until December or January, the general secretary of the opposition Social Democrats (SPD), Andrea Nahles, warned on Monday. The SPD, in a canny move to drive up its price for joining a coalition and to secure grass-roots support for a deal, decided at a party conference on Friday that it will ballot its 470,000 members on any agreement. That means they can say in talks, "we can't give in on that point because our members won't back it. That's bad news for Chancellor Angela Merkel, because it will make the talks to form a so-called grand coalition of the two main parties all the more difficult. As if that weren't enough, Bavarian governor Horst Seehofer, an important conservative ally of hers, on Sunday narrowed her negotiating position with some undiplomatic rhetoric before preliminary talks had even begun.
5 comments:
No, it's not thanks to Berlusconi U-turn that the coalition stays afloat. The day showed that the coalition doesn't need Berlusconi to stay afloat. After his original plan backfired, this last minute change of heart is the last desperate attempt to remain relevant, which is the only way he can hope to stay out of jail.
Earlier on Wednesday, Letta urged senators to search their consciences and support his government in a make-or-break confidence vote. In a speech, he said it was up to MPs from all sides of the spectrum to save the country from government collapse.
"Italy is running a risk that is potentially fatal, without remedy," he said. "Thwarting this risk, to seize or not seize the moment, depends on the choices we will make in this chamber. It depends on a yes or a no."
In the most important speech of his career, Letta urged senators to accept that Italy's government could not be held hostage by Berlusconi's increasingly pressing legal woes. Because of his conviction, the billionaire media magnate faces imminent expulsion from the Senate.
In a direct rebuke to Berlusconi, Letta said the interests of one person and those of an entire nation "neither could nor can overlap". In a democratic state, he added, "sentences are respected and enforced".
The indexing system for Spain's pensions has just been revised, the key factors being that:
- Pensions will not necessarily match inflation but be pegged to the money flowing into the pot from currently active workers. In other words pensioners during a future recession would under this system get no more than a 0.25% increase per annum.
- Every 5 years they will reduce the rate based on life expectancy, so you effectively get a fixed pot spread over your remaining actuarial lifespan.
In theory, these 'sustainability factors' will balance the books in the long run - as you'd expect since they will be cutting the absolute and relative value of pensions year on year.
However, one consequence of all the fiddling and broken promises (¡vaya sorpresa!) is that no one would trust the State system to give them back a pension consistent with what they put in.
If you are self-employed in Spain you choose the amount of national insurance you pay, between a min. and max. level. You could opt to pay more in Social Security to increase your entitlement, but I for one am assuming that by the time I retire the State pension will be means-tested and they will give me nothing because I already have a private provision. And I doubt I am the only one effectively holding money back from my State pension contributions because I don't believe it will be honestly administered.
Yes, I had read that they were implementing something in Spain to cause the amount paid out to pensions to whither over time.
Will there be enough time though to get the thing under control?
As for trusting the state, or any other system, not only are there crooks that will take your money, even if you find someone honest, bad luck and honest mistakes can still relieve you of your money.
Eurozone recovery gathers pace as Italy shows signs of revival
What kind of nonsense is this? what recovery?
Crisis? What crisis? Italian PMI services jumped to 52.7 in September, from 48.8.
wow really? ok then lets ask the Italian people just how great the recovery!
Credit Agricole's Frederik Ducrozet is encouraged
Of course he is his an banker.
Very strong Eurozone retail sales (+0.7% MoM in Aug, after +0.5% in July) - Germany +0.5%; Spain +3.8%; France +0.2%; Portugal +4.8%
Very Strong Recovery Propaganda
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