Hello
Die prognose is nie goed nie. Hoe om dit goed op te som? Die koerante is vol hiervan en die volgende opsommings gee ’n idee daarvan:
“Berlusconi is a Joke, Behind Him is a Void”
Süddeutsche Zeitung skryf:
Berlusconi promised Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on Tuesday that he will step down when the promised austerity package is pushed through parliament. But because we are in Italy, some observers believe that even this is not Berlusconi's last act. He might, they believe, try to use some trick to hang onto power in the end.
"As such, it isn't quite time yet to analyze what the long-term effects of the 17 Berlusconi years might be for this grandiose, crazy country – such as the shocking lack of gravitas, the egoism and the superficiality he introduced into Italian politics. At the moment, the fact that he allowed the country's economy to erode stands in the foreground. Interest rates for Italian sovereign bonds climbed to a record high of 6.74 percent on Tuesday. If the European Central Bank doesn't buy massive quantities of Italian bonds, then Rome will approach the territory which triggered bailout packages for Portugal and Ireland.
That, though, won't be successful for long, given that in the next year, Italy must pay back a €300 billion tranche of its €1.9 trillion in debt. At the same time, Rome is losing €400 billion annually through tax evasion, corruption and the underground economy. A turn toward the utmost seriousness would be appropriate. It is clear what must be done and where reforms need to be made. Among the priorities should be injecting flexibility into the moribund labor market.
Der Spiegel skryf:
Concerns about the ultimate survival of the European Union as currently constituted have been heightened this week by the dismal situation in Italy, with interest rates on the country's sovereign bonds well above the 7 percent threshold that analysts say makes long-term borrowing unsustainable. After hitting 7.4 percent on Wednesday, a level comparable to that reached by Portuguese and Irish bonds before those countries sought refuge in the euro backstop fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), the rate spiked again on Thursday before receding to 7.1 percent.
Cause for particular worry is that the size of Italy's economy, the euro zone's third largest, makes it too large to bail out. A euro-zone official told Reuters on Thursday that "financial assistance is not in the cards" and said that granting an emergency credit line to Italy, enabling it to avoid the punitive interest rates currently being demanded on the open market, was not under consideration.
Daar is dus nie ’n verskil nie, wat die argument betref nie, maar wel met die redes hoekom jy die stok gebruik. Hierdie probleme maak nie Afrika of Sjina beter nie. Weereens ’n korrekte beeld van elke land of streek se probleme word benodig.
Baie dankie
Wouter
Brief verkort. – Maggie