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19 August 2012

WSJ: Dutch far-left leader warns on cuts


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The current front-runner in next month's Dutch general elections warned on Sunday that a single-minded focus on austerity is crippling the country's economy and could unravel the eurozone.


Mr Roemer's far-left party has benefited from growing voter resentment towards the German-led austerity drive and eurozone bailouts. Some polls give it a clear lead over the Liberal Party of Prime Minister Mark Rutte. "I can't say if we will be able to maintain the euro. The European economy is hurting too much from austerity", Emile Roemer said.

Mr Roemer blamed the current problems partly on flaws in the eurozone's design and said "technocrats" have gained power at the expense of voters. He said struggling countries in Southern Europe should be allowed more leeway.  "Europe should be about people, not about multinationals and the financial sector", he said.

Mr Rutte's minority government collapsed in April after talks on new austerity measures fell apart. An interim coalition government agreed on a package to reduce the budget deficit to below a European Union-prescribed limit of 3 per cent of gross domestic product in 2013.

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© Wall Street Journal


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