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Rasonyi, Peter
5 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Tuition fees trouble for UK government
Given the violence of the protests in London against a drastic increase in tuition fees the liberal-conservative daily is amazed at how unwavering the British coalition government is proving: "Even under a conventional one-party government it's clear that such a radical reform programme couldn't be pushed through without encountering fierce opposition. What is truly astonishing here is the almost daring determination with which the young party leaders Cameron and Clegg have acted from day one. ... The main danger for the coalition does not come from the Labour Party, weakened and unstable at an ideological and personal level. Its fiercest opponents are on the left wing of the Liberal Democrats - who fear the disintegration of the party - and the right wing of the Tories. Significantly, in the vote on tuition fees not only roughly half of the Liberals but also a handful of Tories voted against the government. Traditionalists on both sides are sharpening their knives. There will be further opportunities for them to flex their muscles."
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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » United Kingdom
UK's unaffordable public sector
The UK's public sector expenditure has reached an all-time high, as figures published on Monday reveal. The British pound went into freefall after the figures were published. In reality the government's debts are even larger than announced, the conservative daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung contends: "If the state had a company accounts department it would be looking at debts of between 2,700 billion and 4,000 billion pounds, and that's not counting the guarantees of 1,000 billion pounds to 1,500 billion pounds for the banks rescued during the financial crisis. The effective debt amounts to a horrendous 186 percent to 277 percent of GDP, several times the net debt published. In this context it's understandable that new Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has announced a wage freeze and a re-examination of the generous pensions of public sector employees. The public sector, which became over-inflated under the New Labour government, can no longer be financed."
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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Fiscal Policy, » United Kingdom
Movement on the European energy front
Peter Rasonyi thinks the Eon energy group lost interest in the power grid that must be built in the coming years, given the billions in investments and painstaking authorization processes it will require. "But it is ironic that the EU Commission comes out the winner, precisely at the moment when the regulations finally reveal their positive influence on competition. Now an experiment begins, without the pressure of urgent need, and with an open outcome. Will a new owner run the power grid in a competent, efficient and secure manner? Will it invest enough? What hidden interests will it have? The regulatory authorities will soon face major tasks and responsibilities.”
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More from the press review on the subject » Energy, » Corporations, » Germany, » Europe
Nokia closes plant in Germany
Peter Rasonyi criticises Jürgen Rüttgers, Prime Minister of the German state North Rhine-Westphalia, who had called Nokia a "corporate raider of subsidies". "Strategic location decisions are always business decisions which the corporations must take. Public policy can make the framework conditions as attractive as possible by means of taxes, infrastructure, regulations and educational efforts. But if a company decides upon a different location anyway, then that is just as legitimate as it is necessary for an efficient, competitive economy... In fact, this case provides further evidence that state subsidies are nonsense. If the conditions at a particular location are structurally unfavourable, then, in a competitive situation, decline can at best be delayed. This impedes the emergence of new structures, and is ultimately disadvantageous to the workers whose layoff is just postponed."
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More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » Germany, » Finland
Germany's boom
Vigorous economic growth and sinking unemployment figures are boosting the general mood in Germany. At 8.8 percent, the unemployment rate is lower than it has been for the past five years and according to business analysts these trends will continue for the next two years, writes the daily's Berlin Correspondent Peter Rasonyi. But he adds critically: "Despite the positive outlook there's no cause for euphoria. A glance at the charts suffices to show that we still have a long way to go on the path to full employment. Moreover the fact that despite the unemployment of roughly 9 %, business and industry are complaining louder about the lack of skilled labour than about the 3.7 million jobless reaffirms the notorious lack of flexibility and market orientation of our labour market... Given that the government is making no effort whatsoever to correct the structural weaknesses in its labour market policy, it's unlikely the current economic upswing will endure."
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More from the press review on the subject » Germany
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