efsyn.gr
Opinion
31.08.25
Grigoris Roubanis
The creaks you hear aren't from the tram passing through the square or the metro traversing the earth beneath the apartment buildings. They come from afar, from the shifting of tectonic plates upon which the once-United Europe of peoples (nonsense, cheap propaganda it was) was built, but (now openly and shamelessly) of the greedy oligarchy, which proved incapable of forming even basic economic cohesion, a balance of interests, and beneficial societal political orientations.
What's happening in France doesn't only concern Macron and his prime minister of questionable abilities, François Bayrou, but the whole of Europe. By favoring fat wallets, opening war with Russia (which provided France, as well as all of Europe, with cheap energy), and burdening the French rooster with the bad finances created by its own governments, it is leading its country into a deep austerity program. Macron's economic program failed spectacularly, and the "savior" Bayrou (who is, in any case, a minority prime minister) is heading down the path of our own George Papandreou, while the International Monetary Fund lurks, as the Minister of Finance, Le Maire, admits.
However, the extreme austerity program is not an easy undertaking. The outcome of the vote in the French parliament on September 8th has been predetermined. The new blue-bloods may have forgotten that France may be the homeland of the Louis' and Bonapartes, but it is also the homeland of "La Marseillaise," which has left behind many children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, etc., as revealed by the ever-vigilant "Yellow Vests" movement, which is once again warming up its engines.
Under other circumstances, the Chancellery in Berlin would be rubbing its hands, but the equally inept Merz is unable to fill the void, as he has his own troubles, with an economy sinking ever deeper into the quicksand of recession. The once-powerful German industry is struggling, and expensive German cars are no longer being bought, except by the nouveau riche of globalization and the masters of dirty money. Trump's tariffs exacerbate the uncertainty, making the country's investment recovery even more problematic and deepening political uncertainty. The government is losing its electoral base as rising unemployment and the decline of the welfare state have increased popular discontent.
It is clear, therefore, that when the number 1 and number 2 economies of Europe are buckling under the weight of their own choices, the future of the EU—at least as we knew it until now—is not bright. It is dark and uncertain. The Franco-German pillar is buckling due to "material failure," and the crisis is already spreading to its neighbors. The Italian economy has been problematic for some time, and despite recent stabilization, it has begun to be tested again by the lower absorption of its products in the German and French markets. Things are even worse in the peripheral powers of the EU, which are largely investment-dependent on these two countries.
With the European crisis deepening, the Athenian governing elite is packing its bags. Anyway, apart from von der Leyen (who is also leaving), nobody wanted them.
Grigoris Roubanis
The creaks you hear aren't from the tram passing through the square or the metro traversing the earth beneath the apartment buildings. They come from afar, from the shifting of tectonic plates upon which the once-United Europe of peoples (nonsense, cheap propaganda it was) was built, but (now openly and shamelessly) of the greedy oligarchy, which proved incapable of forming even basic economic cohesion, a balance of interests, and beneficial societal political orientations.
What's happening in France doesn't only concern Macron and his prime minister of questionable abilities, François Bayrou, but the whole of Europe. By favoring fat wallets, opening war with Russia (which provided France, as well as all of Europe, with cheap energy), and burdening the French rooster with the bad finances created by its own governments, it is leading its country into a deep austerity program. Macron's economic program failed spectacularly, and the "savior" Bayrou (who is, in any case, a minority prime minister) is heading down the path of our own George Papandreou, while the International Monetary Fund lurks, as the Minister of Finance, Le Maire, admits.
However, the extreme austerity program is not an easy undertaking. The outcome of the vote in the French parliament on September 8th has been predetermined. The new blue-bloods may have forgotten that France may be the homeland of the Louis' and Bonapartes, but it is also the homeland of "La Marseillaise," which has left behind many children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, etc., as revealed by the ever-vigilant "Yellow Vests" movement, which is once again warming up its engines.
Under other circumstances, the Chancellery in Berlin would be rubbing its hands, but the equally inept Merz is unable to fill the void, as he has his own troubles, with an economy sinking ever deeper into the quicksand of recession. The once-powerful German industry is struggling, and expensive German cars are no longer being bought, except by the nouveau riche of globalization and the masters of dirty money. Trump's tariffs exacerbate the uncertainty, making the country's investment recovery even more problematic and deepening political uncertainty. The government is losing its electoral base as rising unemployment and the decline of the welfare state have increased popular discontent.
It is clear, therefore, that when the number 1 and number 2 economies of Europe are buckling under the weight of their own choices, the future of the EU—at least as we knew it until now—is not bright. It is dark and uncertain. The Franco-German pillar is buckling due to "material failure," and the crisis is already spreading to its neighbors. The Italian economy has been problematic for some time, and despite recent stabilization, it has begun to be tested again by the lower absorption of its products in the German and French markets. Things are even worse in the peripheral powers of the EU, which are largely investment-dependent on these two countries.
With the European crisis deepening, the Athenian governing elite is packing its bags. Anyway, apart from von der Leyen (who is also leaving), nobody wanted them.
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