France and Greece elections - Austerity fails?

[kandrathe]

''my'' domino theory??

I might share it with others... I haven't done enough investigations on who might also believe as I do.

It is looking a bit bleak at the moment. The Greeks will have elections again it seems because they don't manage to form a coalition.

I haven't been to Europe for some years, but from my discussions with them I can't imagine that Greeks (or Netherlanders for that matter) view themselves more as Europeans than as Greeks first. I've always been somewhat dubious of how successful a European Union can be, when the individual states have such unique identities and a high level of nationalism. I could imagine that a large population of Greece would nostalgically welcome back the Drachma, and doubly so if they can shed the perceived shackles of fiscal (accountability) austerity recently imposed upon them. I say perceived, because financially they have hit the limit of what lenders are willing to do for them. The government is broke, and without external inflows of cash they cannot pay their own government workers salaries, benefits or meet the needs of pensions.

In contrast, here in the US in successive waves of emigration, states are more heterogeneous culturally (with some exceptions e.g. Alaska, Hawaii). Around here (other than some mild ribbing), their is little difference between a Minnesotan, or an Iowan, or a Wisconsinite. There is more of a difference between rural southern Minnesota (prairie folks), and northern Minnesota (forest & mining folks), than there is across our borders. States really serve as smaller administrative districts within a national context, just as counties generally serve as the next level below states administratively.

About the other countries.....the big difference is still that they have pretty stable governments at the moment. And that helps.

Helps, yes. However, once the government stops honoring its commitments to the people, the loyalty quickly wanes. In the case of the EU imposed austerity measures, the growing movement we are seeing in France, in the Netherlands, in Greece, in Spain, and in Portugal reveals a growing sense of the national governments violation of the peoples expectations and trust. And, when it happens with those smaller nations like Greece, Spain, Ireland, Portugal, and etc. Then, the people of the larger France and Italy will say "Me too!"

For France, and François Hollande, I don't believe it is possible for him to deliver on his promises to expand unproductive social spending, and also prevent a fiscal crisis. We face the same dilemma in the US. We have our government running obscene deficits, printing billions of new dollars and virtually hurling that money from helicopters heedless of the longer term consequences (inevitable devaluation, and eventual inflation). What we don't ask ourselves, or have the stomach to face would be what if this doesn't help? What if we are just digging an even bigger hole? But, I guess if you are on a trajectory to auger in, you might as well double down and hit the after burners.