AICGS Advisor
What’s at Stake in the Election
The last days of the U.S. presidential campaign have not only offered a very tight race, they have also spread the illusion that electing a new or confirming the old president will have a deep and lasting impact on the future of the country. There are a number of reasons why that… Read more >
Obama or Romney: What differences for Europe?
With the tightening U.S. Presidential race in its final stages, Europeans are coming to grips with the prospect of a Romney foreign policy. President Obama remains a slight favorite according to most pundits and a second Obama term would see changes in personnel and focus that could have modest impact on the… Read more >
Electoral Law Blues
With the next scheduled federal election about 14 months away, Germany has a problem. On July 25, 2012 the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that most, if not all, of the electoral law passed in late 2011 is unconstitutional. In fact it is so unconstitutional that the Court refused to allow any “temporary,” stop-gap version of the old law for 2013. What happens if the Merkel government falls before then (unlikely, but always a possibility in a parliamentary system)? No one knows.
What Really Must Be Said
As the dust slowly begins to settle following the uproar created by Günter Grass’s poem on Israel’s military stance towards Iran, Harry & Helen Gray Senior Fellow Dr. Lily Gardner Feldman takes an opportunity to highlight four lessons that relate to a larger context surrounding this affair: the depth, complexity, and fundamental stability of German-Israeli relations.
The Master Tactician
Facing increasing headwinds within her coalition, Merkel has decided to ask for a constitutional majority of two thirds of lawmakers to endorse the European fiscal pact, arguably her main personal achievement since the beginning of the crisis. It was a bold tactical move that could have far reaching consequences.
The ‘Good’ Week
In spite of some cautionary words from Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke on the economic recovery, this past week was a relatively good one for the financial markets. However, according to AICGS Senior Fellow Alexander Privitera, the mood could soon be changing.
Buying Time, Building Firewalls
European leaders have finally agreed to a deal that will send the next tranche of financial aid to embattled Greece in exchange for further austerity measures in Athens. According to Senior Fellow Alexander Privitera, while the deal will help Greece stay afloat in the short term, it increasingly signals that politicians in Europe may simply be buying time for an eventual Greek default.
Unwarranted Schadenfreude (or Why the Survival of the Euro Matters to Americans)
Schadenfreude [shahd-n-froi-duh] noun: satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else’s misfortune It’s very tempting for Americans to roll their eyes about the debt crisis in Greece, and to treat the entire European euro crisis as a remote parlor game, where the success or failure of Greece to stay in the euro is… Read more >
The Moral Dilemma
While promoting the work of his government to U.S. President Barack Obama, Italian Prime minister Mario Monti was suddenly asked by his host how he dealt with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. President Obama wanted to know, “How do you get through to her?” Three years into his presidency and after innumerable meetings… Read more >
Italian Lessons for Bernanke
Looking at Europe, FED Chairman Ben Bernanke has drawn some hard lessons that the U.S should be aware of. In fact, with the most acute phase of the Euro crisis somewhat abating, Bernanke feels compelled to issue a stern warning to U.S. politicians not to make the same mistakes made by some European countries, which have made them vulnerable to fiscal crisis. What happened to Europe could very well happen to the US, and more suddenly and sooner than many today think is possible.
