Yeah! Although politically I am far to the left of the PP, it seems like when it comes to any serious negotiation, the right wingers do much better than the left. Just seeing how badly Obama has come off time and time again, thinking that by doing what his opponents want he can get them on their side (only to have them move the goal posts even further right).
I think it comes from the fact that people in the right wing know that a large part of the population will never agree to their policies, and the only way they can win is to shove their policies down their throat by any means necessary. So they spend their energy on getting the laws changed in their favor, rather than wasting time trying to convince their opponents that they are right.
In this particular case, it is obvious that Rajoy would have been committing political and economic suicide trying to reach the previously agreed on deficit target (which even the Germans broken when it was expedient for them). Instead, basically told the EU to go to the hell, after which the EU pretended that they agreed all along, in order to look like they still had any power.
“He seems to have forgotten there are some strict rules,” an EU official pouted. Or else? At the end of the day, you have sovereign countries that are only answerable to their own electorate.
Maybe next time the Germans should make sure Rajoy pinky-promises not to break the rules.
3 comments:
I find it all a bit unlikely. If Rajoy really has defied the EU then they have to do something in response. I have a suspicion that this may be the pacted way for Rajoy to get round the deficit targets without the EU officially having to admit they have relaxed their rules. We'll say how this plays out.
ooer, that should be we'll see how this plays out
I think Rajoy just called their bluff. Punishing Spain would only deepen the crisis and cause even more losses to everyone else.
There is no way the austerians have the supermajority to push through sanctions, and in any case, with the next economic downturn on the horizon, who really wants to sanctimonious about deficits now.
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