Britannia Radio

05 August 2011 2:42 PM

José Manuel Barroso: man at work, eurocrat style

Well, that's good to know: in the midst of global market turmoil and eurozone meltdown, José Manuel Barroso may be poolside in Portugal, but he is staying in touch and working hard.

Or at least that is as much as the Brussels press corps managed to winkle out of Barroso's spokesman at the daily press conference today. Where he is in Portugal, and when he might be coming back to work in Brussels, the spokesman wouldn't say.

Asked if the president of the commission was going to be off the sun lounger and plugged into the emergency teleconferences between Sarkozy, Merkel and Zapatero today, the spokesman also didn't know, or wouldn't say. But, we were all assured, 'he is in regular contact with various leaders.' Who, exactly? Can't answer that either.

Actually, it might be more soothing for the markets if Barroso weren't in contact with anybody at all. Yesterday, in almost the only sign of life we have had from the commission president since this latest bout of market turmoil started, he released a letter calling on the leaders of eurozone member states. He told them they must assess 'how to further improve the effectiveness of both the EFSF and the ESM' -- those are the present and future bailout funds -- 'in order to address the current contagion.'

He blamed 'undisciplined communication' from these same leaders for making the crisis worse. Then he spectacularly insulted the intelligence and professional skills of mega-investors by saying 'developments in the sovereign bond markets of Italy, Spain and other euro area member states.. are clearly unwarranted on the basis of economic and budgetary fundamentals and the recent efforts of the member states.' Some say you can time the big tanking of the market yesterday with the release of that letter.

Markets to Barroso: drop dead.

Barroso to eurozone: you're blocking my sun.k

04 August 2011 8:03 AM

Capital punishment: Cameron's Lisbon Treaty forbids it, so Commons is powerless

Uh-huh. Another MP who has not read the Cameron-embraced Lisbon Treaty.

Writing in today's Daily Mail, Sir George Young, the leader of the Commons, says Westminster cannot ignore the popular groundswell to bring back capital punishment.

Sir George is in charge of running the new e-petitions scheme, which looks likely to result in 100,000 signatures being collected in a call for the Commons to have its first vote on capital punishment since 1998.

'What else is Parliament for?' he asks. 'People have strong opinions and it does not serve democracy well if we ignore them or pretend they do not exist.'

Oh, dear. That's Sir George talking as though the old Constitution were still the law of the United Kingdom. It's not. It surprises me to find the leader of the Commons is yet another MP who has not read the new Constitution, aka the Lisbon Treaty.

The treaty's Charter of Fundamental Rights, Title 1, Article 2, section 2: 'No one shall be condemned to the death penalty, or executed.' That over-rides anything Parliament may decide on hanging.

The treaty is in force, of course, because after Prime Minister Gordon Brown signed it, David Cameron and William Hague reneged on promises to give the British people a referendum on whether to withdraw from the treaty or not. Rather than fight against this new Constitution, Cameron capitulated to it.

So when Sir George asks, 'What else is Parliament for?' the answer is, 'Thanks to Cameron, the only thing it is for is to serve the European Constitution.'

Now, what this e-petition thing could do is try to force a Commons vote on withdrawing from the treaty....but the Government's 'moderators' on the e-petitions will make sure that never happens. The Tories know it's so much safer to debate ropes that will never swing.

26 July 2011 5:47 PM

Analysts: 'Eurozone crisis deepens as slowdown spreads to the core'

This note has just dropped into my email, from Capital Economics, the London macroeconomic consultants who provide serious analysis to institutional and corporate clients around the world. The managing director is the famous Roger Bootle.

So here their take on the eurozone after the latest so-called 'bailout', and I'd say it is spot-on:

"The latest rescue package for Greece has reduced the threat of a near-term catastrophe in the eurozone. But it does not address the fundamental problems facing Greece itself and is unlikely to bring an end to the recent signs of contagion to bigger economies like Italy and Spain."

"Meanwhile, the economic data has brought growing evidence that the weakness of activity in the peripheral economies is starting to spread to the core, with even Germany – the powerhouse of the recovery – losing steam."

"With growth likely to slow further over the coming quarters and the fiscal crisis set to continue, doubts over the future of the currency union are likely to grow."

Though I'd say "doubts" is an understatement.