Italy may abandon euro if debt not renegotiated - Beppe Grillo

 

Beppe Grillo (Reuters / Giorgio Perottino)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/grillo-italy-euro-abandon-731/

The economic crisis may see Italy abandoning euro and returning to lira, says comedian-turned-politician, Beppe Grillo, who’s anti-establishment Five Star Movement became a major power in the country’s politics after the last week’s general election.

In his interview with German Focus magazine, Grillo urged for the renegotiation of Italy’s €2-trillion debt, which is the second highest in the euro zone after Greece, at 127 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

“Right now we are being crushed, not by the euro, but by our debt. When the interest payments reach €100 billion a year, we’re dead. There’s no alternative,” the 64-year-old said.

According to the Five Star Movement leader’s forecast, the Italian political system has "only six months" left before it collapses and the state will no longer be able "to pay pensions and public sector salaries".

If there’ll be no changes to the debt obligations, Grillo believes, the option for his country would be to leave the euro and return to it's former national currency, the lira.

"If I've bought shares in a company that goes bankrupt, then that's my bad luck. I took a risk, and lost," he explained, drawing a comparison with the private market. “If the conditions remain the same, Italy would leave the euro and return to the lira.”

The Five Star Movement has attracted the sympathy of nearly a quarter of the many austerity-weary voters to win 109 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 54 seats in the Senate in the general election on February 24-25. This has created a political deadlock.

Neither Pier Luigi Bersani‘s center-Left Democratic Party nor the center-Right coalition led by Silvio Berlusconi currently have sufficient majority in in both chambers to form a government. The conditions of the parliament’s newcomers is unacceptable to the established parties preventing the formation of a coalition government.

"If Bersani's PD and Berlusconi's PDL suggest an immediate change in the electoral law, cancellation of election expenses reimbursement, and a maximum of two terms for any deputy – we would of course support such a government immediately," Grillo said."But they won't do that. They are just bluffing to win time."

"If we get into parliament we would bring the old system down, not because we would enjoy doing so but because the system is rotten," he added.

The Five Star Movement has everything it takes to become a huge headache for the European leaders, who have urged Italy to stay on the economic course laid out by Mario Monti ‘s outgoing government.

"Italy, as a major European economy, has a great responsibility,”Philipp Roesler, Germany's Economy Minister, was quoted in the same edition of Focus. “There is no alternative to the policy of structural reforms... I'm confident that those responsible in Italy recognize the importance of stability.”

Beppe Grillo was a popular comedian on Italian television in 80s, but he disappeared from the screen in the 90s, with many suggesting that his harsh satire was too much to handle for Italian politicians.

After that he mainly performed in theatres and staged a series of mass rallies, including the 2007 V-Day celebrations, which gathered around 2 million people, protesting against the criminal activities of the Italian political elite.

The Five Star Movement was started by Grillo in 2010 and has made a splash at local elections, receiving the third highest number of votes overall and winning the mayoral election for Parma before the latest success in the general election.

For the Italian government to be able to pass legislation, it must have a majority both in the Chamber, and the Senate, and to achieve this majority coalitions are often formed.

 

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Pro-independence parties win votes in Spain’s Basque Country

 

Inigo Urkullu, the candidate of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), casts his ballot at a polling station in the northern Spanish Basque village of Durango, October 21, 2012.

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/10/22/268080/basque-separatists-win-votes-in-spain/

Nationalist and separatist parties have won the regional elections in Spain’s northern autonomous region of Basque Country, with the winners expected to call for a referendum on independence.

The moderate Basque Nationalist Party came top in the Sunday elections in one of Spain’s 17 autonomous regions, winning 27 seats in the 75-member regional parliament.

The left-wing separatist EH Bildu coalition, which campaigns for an independent country within the European Union, won 21 seats. The two parties jointly took almost two-thirds of the parliament seats and brought an end to the rule of the socialist government that took office three years ago.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s center-right People’s Party retained its majority in his home province of Galicia, despite the government’s unpopular harsh austerity measures.

The prosperous Basque region, which is home to 2.2 million people, has been racked by decades of separatist violence.

The poll results are expected to lead to more anti-government sentiments, which has been under fire over its austerity measures and public spending cuts and tax hikes.

Public protests have grown in Spain over the speculation that the government will seek a Greek-style European bailout to keep its borrowing costs in check.

Over the past few months, anti-austerity demonstrations have turned violent in Spanish cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, as well as in rural mining locations in the north.

Battered by the global financial downturn, the Spanish economy collapsed into recession in the second half of 2008.

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Koch brothers threaten to fire employees if Obama wins

 

David H. Koch (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images / AFP)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/usa/news/koch-brothers-obama-vote-501/

The billionaire Koch brothers this month threatened to fire many of their more than 50,000 employees if they dare to vote for President Obama or any other Democrats in the 2012 elections.

The Kansas-based Koch brothers, who run a multi-national group of companies called the Koch Industries, sent a voter information packet to 45,000 of its Georgia Pacific subsidiary this month, threatening that “many of our more than 50,000 US employees and contractors may suffer the consequences” if they vote for Democrats. The packet also included an op-ed by David Koch endorsing Mitt Romney and one by Charles Koch slamming Obama, reported the monthly magazine, In These Times.

The brothers also warned that electing Democrats would also lead to other consequences, including higher gasoline prices, runaway inflation and “other ills.”

“This is true regardless of what your political affiliation might be,” reads the cover letter to the packet, written by Koch Industries President and Chief Operating Officer Dave Robertson.

The brothers have already donated millions to Republican candidates and conservative causes, including an $18 million fundraiser for Romney at a beachfront home this summer.

Their threat has created a culture of fear among their employees, who worry they could lose their jobs for expressing their opinions. In September, a group of unionized employees at Georgia Pacific posed for a photograph with Democratic state Senate candidate Arnie Roblan. After the packet arrived in the mail, they grew worried that if the picture fell into the hands of the Koch brothers, it could cost them their jobs – especially since the Georgia Pacific plant is in the background.

But Koch Industries is not the only company seeking to control the votes of its employees. Florida billionaire David Siegel, CEO of Westgate Resorts, recently sent out an e-mail to 7,000 employees describing possible consequences of an Obama win.

“I can’t tell you whom to vote for, and I certainly wouldn’t interfere with your right to vote for whomever you choose,” Siegel wrote in an e-mail first published by Gawker. But the billionaire CEO then warned that Obama’s reelection would cost some of his employees their jobs.

“So where am I going with all this?” he asked.“It’s quite simple. If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, as our current President plans, I will have no choice but to reduce the size of this company. Rather than grow this company I will be forced to cut back. This means fewer jobs, less benefits and certainly less opportunity for everyone.”

This e-mail is not the first attempt Siegel has made to keep Republicans in power. Earlier this year he claimed to have been “personally responsible” for former President George W. Bush’s 2000 win, even though his methods may “not necessarily have been legal.”

The largest privately held US coal company, Murray Energy, was also found to have pressured its employees to donate money to Republican candidates, The New Republic found.

“We have been insulted by every salaried employee who does not support our efforts,” CEO Robert Murray wrote in a letter to employees, which listed names of those who had not yet attended fundraisers.

And last year, Delta Airlines offered free Washington, DC-bound flights to flight attendants who agreed to lobby for a Federal Aviation Administration bill that would make it more difficult for employees to unionize.

The Koch brothers threats are just the latest in a series of intimidation tactics by billionaire employers trying to encourage their large number of employees to vote like them.

 

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Lithuanians vote out pro austerity government

 

Two women cast their ballot at a polling station in Vilnius, Lithuania on October 14, 2012.

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/10/15/266755/lithuanians-vote-out-austerity-govt/

Lithuania’s left-wing and populist opposition parties are expected to form a new coalition government after anti-austerity Lithuanians voted out the country’s conservative-led government.

The leaders of three opposition parties--Labour, the Social Democrats and Order and Justice parties-- held a meeting early on Monday after an exit poll showed that the voters decided to evict the country’s centre-right Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius in Sunday parliamentary election.

"We're creating a working group to start consultations on a coalition," Labour leader Viktor Uspaskich said after the meeting.

Figures published by the national elections commission indicated that with almost half of the ballots counted, the left-wing populist Labour party secured about 23 percent of the vote.

The Baltic state’s centre-left Social Democrats came in second with 20 percent of the vote, while the ruling conservatives received about 13 percent.

The incumbent government took office in 2008 amid global economic crisis and implemented a drastic austerity package in a bid to prevent the country’s bankruptcy.

The economic output of Lithuania, which is regarded as one of the European Union countries most harshly hit bythe crisis, fell by 15 percent and unemployment climbed.

Meanwhile, opposition parties pledged to ease the unpopular belt tightening measures by raising the minimum wage, creating jobs and making the rich pay more income tax.

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Quebec premier announces resignation after electoral defeat

Quebec's outgoing Premier Jean Charest

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/09/07/260220/quebec-premier-announces-resignation/

Jean Charest has announced his resignation as the head of Quebec's ruling Liberal Party and consequently the province’s premier, a day after the party suffered a humiliating defeat in the provincial elections.

Charest, who has been the premier of the majority French-speaking province for nine years, said on Wednesday that he had decided to leave politics in the coming days after consulting with his family.

"The decision was unanimous. I will leave my post as leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec in a few days, once a new government is formed," he told reporters at a news conference at the National Assembly in Quebec City.

Charest said he was stepping down without regrets. “I'm going home now. I thank you for the privilege that you gave me to enable me to be your premier."

On Tuesday, the 54-year-old lost his seat to Pauline Marois of the Parti Quebecois (PQ), who will become the province's first woman premier.

The PQ formed a minority government by winning 54 of the provincial legislature’s 125 seats. With 50 seats, the Liberal Party was relegated to the opposition.

The liberals started losing popularity after proposing a university tuition fee hike, which sparked months of massive street protests across the province.

The newly-elected prime minister has promised to revoke the controversial tuition hike.

During the electoral campaigns, Marois also promised that if elected, she would call for a referendum on the separation of Quebec from Canada.

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Quebec provincial elections to begin

Major candidates for Quebec provincial elections, Coalition Avenir Québec party leader Francois Legault (L) Parti Quebecois leader Pauline Marois, incumbent premier Jean Charest (R)

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/09/04/259746/quebec-provincial-elections-to-begin/

Voters in Canada’s French-speaking province of Quebec will cast their ballots in provincial elections, with a separatist party looking to return to power.

Voters in Quebec will head to the polls on Tuesday, amid rising frustration with the current government led by Liberal leader Jean Charest, who has been in power for about a decade.

According to the latest opinion polls conducted by Forum Research, the pro-independence opposition party, Parti Quebecois, was in the lead with 36 percent of the votes and the incumbent Liberal party stood at second place with 29 percent. The polls also showed that the Coalition Avenir Quebec Party (CAQ) received 25 percent of the votes.

Parti Quebecois leader Pauline Marois earlier said that if she won the elections for a new Quebec government, she would call for a referendum on the separation of Quebec from Canada.

Marois also pledged that she would roll back the government’s proposed tuition fee rises, if her party won the elections.

Since February, students have been protesting against the hikes and the provincial government’s controversial anti-protest Bill 78. The protests later turned into a larger movement dubbed as the “maple revolution,” which reveals deeper social unrest.

 

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