Brown could win his bet

The Italian newspaper La Repubblica welcomes the sinking of VAT as an act of social justice on the part of Prime Minister Gordon Brown: "The raise of income taxes - from 40 to 45 percent - to finance the reduction of the value added tax will affect a minority of around 300,000 people, but it will put an end to the alliance between New Labour and the privileged class forged by [Brown's predecessor Tony] Blair. The increase of the national debt from 2.8 to 4 percent of gross national product, which exceeds the Maastricht maximum of 3 percent for the Euro countries is of little concern to Labour's prime minister, especially as England does not belong to the Eurozone, and in spite of everything national debt is still lower than it was ten years ago. ... This is exactly where David Cameron is most critical, because what is given out today must be paid back tomorrow. But the initial reactions by the financial markets are positive, with a spectacular rise in share prices. If the economy sees a similar boom before Christmas, Brown could could win his bet."

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