Austerity won't help Belgium out of crisis

Public sector employees are staging a strike against the new government's austerity package and the pension reform that raises the retirement age from 60 to 62 in Belgium today, Thursday. Reforms may be necessary but it's dangerous to make cutbacks in the crisis, writes the left-liberal daily De Morgen: "Only by raising state expenditure can we emerge from the euro crisis. For the sake of honesty it has to be said that the government in this country has no influence over the course set by the European supertanker. The ship is sailing under the flag of budgetary discipline and austerity with Angela Merkel at the helm. Germany has an efficient state and a high retirement age. Now the rest of Europe must follow suit: economise and make cuts. ... But only a gigantic investment programme can lead the way out of the dead end. A stimulus package aimed at building a new economy. Education as well as research and development are crucial elements here."

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