England part of the wave of protectionism

The liberal daily Corriere del Ticino sees the strikes against foreign workers in England as part of a rampant protectionist trend: "Despite all the declarations of loyalty to the principles of free international trade made by the heads of state and government, the great totem of globalisation is tottering under the repeated blows dealt of the crisis, in which each country is pumping money into its own economy and its own banking system. … The fact is that from the English workers who demand protection for English jobs to the states that are helping their car manufacturers and trying to save their banking systems, everyone is sending the unmistakable message that the system of international trade which is based on the rules laid down by the WTO [World Trade Organisation] will be among the victims of the crisis. This outcome can only be averted if the governments of the economic superpowers come up with a plausible idea for how to steer the global economy out of this chaos. But day after day all we have seen is tentative efforts, for no one has a credible plan."

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