New Europe is not all its ‘cracked-up’ to be
By Michael Werbowski
The rising rage is palpable across Europe. Grumblings of discontent simmering beneath the surface for years have turned nasty, in places such as Greece last year. In 2009, these feelings persist and are intensifying by the day.
The cold temperatures haven’t dampened the ire which has spread from the Mediterranean to the Balkans (Bulgaria) right up to the Baltic Sea and as far even as Iceland. Scuffles have broken out in the Baltic States (Lithuania and Latvia) over perceived corruption among officialdom, drastic government spending cuts, inflation, tax hikes topped off with the sudden downturn in the local economies due to the ongoing global market, and financial turmoil.
Helmeted riot police stand in front of the Lithuanian Parliament in Vilnius. Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty photo.
In the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, thousands of enraged throngs gathered outside parliament chanting “thieves, thieves!”. One of the three “Baltic tigers”, which implemented draconian neo liberal inspired and IMF prescribed market reforms back in 2000 is now reeling from the impact of the global downturn and the consequences of rapid economic restructuring towards free market principles.
A similar rowdy mass gathering took place on Tuesday, in front of the Latvian national parliament buildings. Latvia’s economy is staying afloat with a 7.5 Billion Euro stand-by loan from the IMF ($9.8 Billion). The government envisages austerity measures which must be implemented as part of the “IMF’s loan package”.
The Legacy of decades of Sachs’ “Shock Therapy”
Many of these economic transformations adopted earlier in the decade by the Baltic states were modeled on experiments done in eastern and central Europe known as “shock therapy”. This economic dogma, devised by Harvard trained professor Jeffrey Sachs, heralded an era of growth or “boom times”…
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http://www.worldpress.org/Europe/3298.cfm
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