Francois Hollande’s election victory is a symbol of the EU’s decline

Francois Hollande’s election victory is a symbol of the EU’s decline

Nile Gardiner
Telegraph.co.uk
May 7th, 2012

Nicolas Sarkozy’s defeat at the hands of French Socialist leader Francois Hollande has sent shock waves throughout Europe, and will significantly challenge the fragile austerity consensus across the EU. Jean-Marc Ayrault, the likely next prime minister of France, puts it in uncompromising terms:

We must get out of this austerity in Europe and tonight all our partners in governments around Europe have understood that was the choice of François Hollande to re-orient Europe.

Hollande’s victory spells trouble ahead for both Angela Merkel and David Cameron, who face general elections in 2013 and 2015 respectively. Both Merkel and Cameron have championed the need for budget cuts in the face of Europe’s massive debt crisis, and face growing domestic opposition to their support for austerity measures. If Merkel falls in the Autumn of next year, the balance of power within the EU will shift dramatically to the Left, with Britain and Spain as the two leading conservative-led governments in Western Europe confronting a re-engineered Franco-German axis that would back greater stimulus measures as a solution to Europe’s problems.

But regardless of the electoral landscape in Berlin and London over the next three years, the inescapable fact remains that the European Union, and the Eurozone in particular, is in a state of decline. As my Telegraph colleague Daniel Hannan noted in his excellent Encounter Broadside pamphlet ‘Why America Must Not Follow Europe’, Western Europe's share of world GDP fell from 36 percent in 1974 to just 26 percent in 2011, with a projected fall to 15 percent by 2020. In contrast, the US share has remained steady at about 26 percent of world GDP.

As economic freedom declines, EU member states are becoming less and less competitive on the world stage, while emerging economies from Asia to South America are gaining ground. Decades of big government policies have now brought several European economies to their knees. Soaring taxes, spiraling unemployment, mountains of red tape, stifling labour regulations, and ruinous levels of public spending needed to fund vast and unsustainable welfare states and entitlement programmes have created a perfect storm of economic malaise. And France is a potent symbol of that decline, with huge levels of public debt, now standing at more than 80 percent of GDP, government spending at 55 percent of GDP, and a tax burden equivalent to 42 percent of total domestic income.

In addition, Western Europe’s problems have been exacerbated by the relentless centralisation of political and economic power in Brussels, which has added layers of suffocating regulations for businesses operating within the EU, as well as onerous regulations on financial institutions, while the single currency has made it increasingly difficult for national leaders to address their own countries’ economic woes.

The European Project has become a yoke around Europe’s neck, a symbol of rampant supranationalism and big government intervention, and a warning to the United States if it chooses to go down the same path as the European social model. The much touted EU Fiscal Compact, heralded as a saviour for the Eurozone’s economic woes, is merely an extension of the European Project and will not solve the long-term economic problems the EU faces. In addition it will only exacerbate the democrat deficit that currently exists, leading to mounting tensions between the EU’s Executive and many of its member states. The Compact represents an unacceptable transfer of power from national capitals to Brussels, another major step towards a federal Europe, and will likely collapse as it proves to be unworkable.

Francois Hollande has pledged to re-negotiate the details of the Fiscal Compact for different reasons, which he views as too austere. But he remains a staunch Eurofederalist, and a firm believer in the ideal of ‘ever-closer union’, with his victory warmly lauded by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. Above all Hollande is a supporter of the kind of deeply entrenched socialist policies that continue to wreck Europe’s economies. His election will advance not only France’s decline but the EU’s as well. Hollande has declared “the world of finance” to be his "real enemy", and will implement a top rate tax of 75 percent, increase public spending by €20 billion and significantly expand the size of the public sector. For a country which hasn’t balanced its budget since 1974, that is a recipe for economic disaster.

Francois Hollande offers France a big government nightmare, and the French people are embracing it. His government promises to be a symbol of everything that is wrong with Europe today and a standard bearer for the EU’s decline, delivering policies that are the antithesis of economic freedom. As Margaret Thatcher famously declared back in 1976:

Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They always run out of other people's money.

Quite honestly, I do not see this current infatuation for socialist government, both in Europe but also here, ending well.

Our only hope for us in the US, it seems to me, is the continued success of the Tea Party in getting RINO's ousted and true "conservatives" (read that classical liberals) elected in their place.

America is on the brink of becoming Europe, let's hope that we can yet turn this around.

dblboggie wrote:
Our only hope for us in the US, it seems to me, is the continued success of the Tea Party in getting RINO's ousted and true "conservatives" (read that classical liberals) elected in their place.

That is one horrific, scary, dreadful, frightening, horrid concept.
No really, in all seriousness it is.
IF that happens, this country will go in the crapper...big time.
Dick Lugar got kicked out because he was trying to work with and compromise with the Democrats.
Did ya get that? A radical section of his own party kicked him out because he was compromising.

TexasBlue wrote:the inescapable fact remains that the European Union, and the Eurozone in particular, is in a state of decline.

says you, Nile Gardiner.

TheNextPrez2012 wrote:

dblboggie wrote:
Our only hope for us in the US, it seems to me, is the continued success of the Tea Party in getting RINO's ousted and true "conservatives" (read that classical liberals) elected in their place.

That is one horrific, scary, dreadful, frightening, horrid concept.
No really, in all seriousness it is.
IF that happens, this country will go in the crapper...big time.
Dick Lugar got kicked out because he was trying to work with and compromise with the Democrats.
Did ya get that? A radical section of his own party kicked him out because he was compromising.

You can't accept the fact that the voters wanted a more conservative senator? If you were really "libertarian" you wouldn't be calling tea party candidates radical for wanting limited govt.

Mark85la wrote:

You can't accept the fact that the voters wanted a more conservative senator?

I don't want a more conservative senator. I don't want a more liberal senator.
I want somebody that is not dividing the country by claiming it's the other guy's fault (Obama "It's Bush's mess") or being immovable regarding decisions of compromise (tea party)
Who cares who is at fault. Let's just get together and get the country back to the way it should be. And THAT does not involve taking sides.

The tea party just wants to be fiscally responsible and get our economy back on track by stopping the out of control spending and adding debt. The dems want to keep spending and growing govt. And when they stand on principle and do what the voters elected them to do, they get demonized.

Prez, you have to take stock in the fact that many Democrats lost their congressional jobs because of the out of control spending and their blind loyalty to Obama's big gov't ways. They didn't do their job... which is voting to their constituents wishes. When you ignore your voters, they kick you out. That's a left/right thing, too. If a very liberal politician represents a very liberal area and he votes with the conservatives more times than not on conservative issues, the left will kick him out.

If Obama would be more conservative on many issues, he'd get a lot more support. The longer he's in office, the more left wing he gets. That's what the problem is. This is what scared me about Santorum... he was too right wing on social issues... which is none of the govt's business.

About this wealth or "fair share" issue:

I would like to find some stats regarding the identities of those that are in favor of this and those that are against it but only identities of those that are truly WEALTHY from earning it as opposed to being some entertainer.(So Bill Gates and not the Kardashians...)

If a person started out poor and built his way up to extreme wealth is that person more likely to be in favor of "giving back through higher taxes" because he started from there also?
If Warren Buffet came from a successful family setting and he is willing to give back, then Mitt's unwillingness is even more evil and despicable.

TheNextPrez2012 wrote:About this wealth or "fair share" issue:

I would like to find some stats regarding the identities of those that are in favor of this and those that are against it but only identities of those that are truly WEALTHY from earning it as opposed to being some entertainer.(So Bill Gates and not the Kardashians...)

If a person started out poor and built his way up to extreme wealth is that person more likely to be in favor of "giving back through higher taxes" because he started from there also
If Warren Buffet came from a successful family setting and he is willing to give back, then Mitt's unwillingness is even more evil and despicable.

There is a lot here that is very, very wrong and it certainly speaks to a mindset that is decidedly NOT Libertarian in nature.

Let's take it from the top.

First of all, this whole "rich" need to pay their "fair share" thing is pure bullshit. The "rich" pay the VAST MAJORITY of the taxes in this country, much, MUCH more than their "fair share." and more to the point, who the hell is the arbiter of what is "fair?"

I would direct you to look up the word "fair" and tell me what's "fair" about the fact that nearly half of all taxpayers have a ZERO income tax burden?

Secondly, entertainers DO earn their money. It's called the free market, and entertainers and the entertainment market are a part of that. If there is a demand for what they offer, and there are willing buyers, then whatever they make is earned. You might not approve of it, but you don't have to buy what they're selling. As a note, I think the Kardashians are a waste of air, but hey, a LOT of people clearly don't.

Thirdly, this whole "give back" thing is a purely leftist invention. Someone who has risen from nothing and has worked hard enough to build a personal fortune EARNED that fortune by the sweat of their brow. It was NOT "given" to them, they EARNED it by their hard work and their persistence. If they decide that they would like to "give" some of those earnings to a charity of their choosing they are not "giving back" as those charities had nothing whatsoever to do with what they EARNED through their own hard work, these individuals are DONATING a portion of their earnings out of the goodness of their heart. They are NOT "giving back" they are simply GIVING.

And finally, Warren Buffet and his whole "my secretary pays less than me in taxes" is a naked lie that I have exposed here numerous times. If you believe that lie, you are more gullible than I thought.

And I would challenge you to cite just what percentage of Romney's earnings he has devoted to charity as opposed to Buffet (who is much, MUCH richer than Romney).

Your whole post reeks of leftist sentiment and is as far from a libertarian sentiment as one can get.

What's up with that?

Of all the things you guys have said to me on this site, there is one thing I agree with
This country IS being duped by its leaders into believing a certain thing.

The shocking thing is that it is the right wing that has duped us...
These right wing people have convinced everybody in almost 30 of 41 years that selfish greed is the best way to run the country and handle issues. Thankfully there are people like me that realize this is NOT the way to go and we need to start doing what is CORRECT to recover.

So yeah we have been duped by the government.
But it's not by the side you think it to be...

Almost 30 of 41 years with one party in charge have gotten us to this point and the ones responsible are not willing to change it.

You still haven't addressed what Dbl threw at you.... and I agree 100% with what he said. The reason is that it's indisputable.

TheNextPrez2012 wrote:Of all the things you guys have said to me on this site, there is one thing I agree with
This country IS being duped by its leaders into believing a certain thing.

Yes, they are being duped into believing that big government is good, that government is the source of all that is good and right in our society and that government alone can solve the many problems manifest in our country today.

AND THAT IS A BLATANT LIE!!!

TheNextPrez2012 wrote:The shocking thing is that it is the right wing that has duped us...
These right wing people have convinced everybody in almost 30 of 41 years that selfish greed is the best way to run the country and handle issues.

This such an outrageously silly claim that I have to wonder after your sanity kiddo.

The ENTIRETY of the MSM and the ENTIRETY of our entertainment industry have been STEADFASTLY DEVOTED to forwarding leftist messages, the leftist agenda and supporting and shielding leftist causes since the 1960's!!!

It has only been since the rise of talk radio, cable TV news and the internet that voices on the right got a chance to be heard by a wide audience of Americans.

And guess what? The MSM and the entertainment industry have been in an ALL OUT WAR to SILENCE those voices on the right and to shutter their outlets through things like ressurecting the "Fairness Doctrine" and other censorship efforts.

These voices on the "right" have been relentlessly attacked by leftists from day one!

What planet are you living on???

Nearly HALF of American taxpayers pay ZERO in income taxes and ALL OF THEM even get money back from the government. The number of Americans on food stamps has MORE THAN DOUBLED on Obama's watch AND THAT IS ON PURPOSE! BY LEFTIST GOVERNMENT DESIGN!!!

This PRECISELY what leftists want! They WANT the people to be dependent on government for the wherewithal to survive!

And they are making it ever more difficult for individuals to succeed without help or assistence from the government!

Our country's politics, especially the House of Representatives, has been UTTERLY DOMINATED by the left since the 30's and FDR, who took this country even further left than Wilson, who gave us the Marxist progressive income tax; a tax that was, by the way, unconstitutional and which required a constitutional amendment to be enacted!

Sure, the Republicans won a brief small majority in 1995 and held that till 2006, but it was never enough to get much done.

Honestly, I don't know where you are getting your information, but I can certainly tell you that it is ENTIRELY FALSE and is the EXACT OPPOSITE of the truth!

TheNextPrez2012 wrote:Thankfully there are people like me that realize this is NOT the way to go and we need to start doing what is CORRECT to recover.

Let me guess, rather than self interest, free markets and capitalism (which you CLEARLY associate with "selfish greed" - a far left term in and of itself) you'd supplant it with what exactly?

Please, enlighten me. Tell what economic system has lifted more people, more quickly and thoroughly out of poverty that free market capitalism?

I'm dying to hear your answer!

TheNextPrez2012 wrote:So yeah we have been duped by the government.
But it's not by the side you think it to be...

Almost 30 of 41 years with one party in charge have gotten us to this point and the ones responsible are not willing to change it.

I honestly don't know what to say here. You are so wrong, so utterly and hopelessly mislead, that it takes one's breath away.

Not only have leftist politicians ruled both Houses of Congress almost entirely from the 30's on, but our federal bureaucracies are OVERWHELMINGLY DOMINATED by leftists.

I'm sorry kiddo, I don't know what planet you're living on, but it sure as hell ain't the one the rest of America is living on. Not by a LONG shot.

Just to add something (and I love to do this), it's the control of congress.

From 1955 to 1981, Democrats held the House. 26 yrs.
From 1987 to 1995, Democrats held the House. 8 yrs.
So, for 32 out of 40 yrs, Democrats held the House of Representatives.

From 1955 to 1995, Democrats held the Senate.
40 fucking years, the Dems held the Senate.

Point being is this: All legislation originates in Congress, not the White House. Congress passes all legislation. The White House signs it into law or vetoes it.

Another thing: all spending originates in the House. They control the purse strings, not the president. Again, he signs that spending into law or vetoes it.

TexasBlue wrote:Just to add something (and I love to do this), it's the control of congress.

From 1955 to 1981, Democrats held the House. 26 yrs.
From 1987 to 1995, Democrats held the House. 8 yrs.
So, for 32 out of 40 yrs, Democrats held the House of Representatives.

From 1955 to 1995, Democrats held the Senate.
40 fucking years, the Dems held the Senate.

Point being is this: All legislation originates in Congress, not the White House. Congress passes all legislation. The White House signs it into law or vetoes it.

Another thing: all spending originates in the House. They control the purse strings, not the president. Again, he signs that spending into law or vetoes it.

And the Democrats held a majority in both Houses (very often a massive majority) from 1933 to 1947, along with the Presidency I might add! And most of that under FDR, the most far left, anti-private sector President in our history until Obama came along!

Any way you cut this, it is the Democrats who carry the lion's share of the responsibility for the sorry state of our nation and our economy today.