Europe needs leadership

Many European countries are in a deep economic mess and lumbered with an increasingly fragile political leadership that may not be able to enforce the difficult financial and social policies necessary for them to find their way out of the present crisis.

In Italy, Silvio Berlusconi has narrowly won a vote of confidence by 314 to 311, prompting street protests. Berlusconi has been deeply mired in scandal and corruption allegations while in office. While the vote will cement his reputation as a great survivor, it does not provide Italy with the political and social stability it needs to tackle its public debt burden which — while seemingly manageable — is one of the highest in the world. In the meantime, in Greece, workers have staged a general strike in protest at government spending cuts to reduce its budget deficit and national debt. In the United Kingdom the coalition government is under severe pressure because of plans to hike university fees. The strike in Greece is part of a reported European day of action against economic reforms, which will include workers from Spain and Belgium, ahead of a summit of European leaders today.

European governments must stay the course despite the political cost, the alternative is continued economic crisis.