As part of the widespread recession across Europe, Britain as well as the adjacent nation of Ireland are seeking ways out to wriggle out of the web of recession. Brian Cowen, Irish Prime Minister belonging to Fianna Fail party in order to tide over the recession did approach the European nations and International Monetary Fund and as a result of the beleaguered govt’s rescue efforts invited the wrath of people across that nation. The sudden bubble burst naturally resulted in spending cuts as also massive retrenchment of employees, even affecting the incentives paid to unemployed educated youth coming to round about more than 1-2 lakhs. Those who are employed face the heat as a result of the reduction in monthly salaries forcing them to adjust their daily lives accordingly - with reduced monthly incomes.
The European communities offer of 100 billion euros (85 billion pound sterling) plus the 7 billion pound sterling offer of Britain - weathering the opposition of British people at a time that country too is in the grip of recession - to help Ireland tide over the crisis is on the anvil.
The demands arising from various quarters for the resignation of the incumbent govt ruled by Fianna Fail party including its own constituent Green Party and the Opposition Sin Feinn are mounting up with the passing of each day.
Ireland’s is not a new phenomenon, the whole Europe is in the grip of an economic disaster. We witnessed the violence and demands for the resignation of Prime Minister George Pappandreau in Greece as a follow-up of the austerity measures initiated by him in the form of 20 percentage cut in monthly salaries of the irate employed youth, the reforms affecting pensioners in order to meet the tough conditions imposed by IMF in the capacity of the donor as also the 27 member of European community.
Pappandreau had to bow down to the demands of the authorities of IMF and European community very much aware of the dire consequences that lay ahead back home. His immediate concern being the lifting of the badly affected Greek economy from the deep ditch it had found itself in even by initiating austerity measures. Mass protests, rallies and strikes resulted for days together and the embers of discontent and disillusionment still keep on burning in the heap of ashes of an economy in a shambles.
The contagion still spreads throughout European nations, for instance we witnessed in France on a large-scale in the form of protest rallies and strikes by skilled and unskilled employees including engineers, doctors, post-office employees, software professionals, teachers, railway employees, transport sector, factory workers – a whole lot of them demanding the French govt under Nicholas Sarkozy to reverse the austerity measures forthwith otherwise be prepared for the worst in the coming days. Even students joined the bandwagon to express solidarity with the striking, protesting employees. An adamant, stubborn Nicholas Sarkozy still remaining tough, the situation in France still is at a flashpoint. A bout of protests and strikes could be expected in the coming days, France even now sits on a fuming volcano ready to erupt anytime.
Similar is the case in Spain, a strike which turned violent was witnessed and now according to media reports Britain too has found itself in a soup. The new Tory govt headed by David Cameroon is in the grip of an imminent threat from the masses consequent to massive spending cuts on the academic front with steep hike in tuition fees affecting academic community adversely. The students as well as teachers are up in arms against the Cameroon-Nick Clegg nexus as the new measures are certain to affect the field of higher studies. The newly initiated measure according to govt at the helm is part of austerity measures. A strange justification for enacting the new measure put forward by the govt is that huge spending cuts on the academic front will naturally get neutralised by the steep hike in the tuition fees. Many students are certain to feel discouraged to continue higher-studies in British Universities and the measure is sure to rebound on the govt. Such unwelcome measures were initiated way back in 1990 by the Tory govt under the Iron Lady Margarret Thatcher and even after mounting protests and strikes across Britain she declined to backtrack from the reforms initiated by her and the consequence as expected by many led to her downfall.
Now in 2010, twenty years after a new ‘Avatar’ in the form of David Cameroon has come back with such a measure amidst growing anger and discontent and if the situation is set to aggravate, David Cameroon can very well follow in the foot-steps of his former leader.
The 2008 meltdown in US and a partial bail-out by pumping in US $ 789 billion into the system could not help the country in a big way and even now its aftershocks are very much existing and even the other day two more banks in US crashed. The entire European community too in the grip of economic turmoil are still in search of joint efforts to tide over the crisis.
No comments:
Post a Comment