EUROPEAN CHATARSIS
by Stefan Collignon
The moment of truth has come. The Euro crisis has shown the limits of austerity, nation states, and the dictates of undemocratic institutions. Georgios Papandreou, Prime Minister of the country that has invented democracy, had the laudable reflex to put the issue back to the people: “The will of the people is binding”, he declared. How else could he justify the seemingly endless orgy of austerity, which has killed economic growth, jacked up unemployment, cut salaries and taken away the savings of private investors by a “voluntary” haircut. Going back to the source of democratic legitimacy and letting the people speak for themselves seems the right thing to do.