“It is not always easy to put the blame on someone in such a crisis, but this one is crystal clear: Angela Merkel needs to learn that political leaders are sometimes better off with their mouths shut” declared PES President Poul Rasmussen in reaction to the economic situation developing in Ireland and across Europe.

As the Irish crisis enters its third week, the responsibility of the German Chancellor in the emergence of a speculative bubble has been pointed out by many analysts. Ms Merkel has been calling for a “bail-in” mechanism for the eurozone since October 29th.

“When someone in her position declares that the markets will have to pay their fair share, but fails to follow it through with real, coherent political action, this is a recipe for disaster” said President Rasmussen. “You can’t toy around with market sensitive issues for cheap political gains” added Rasmussen.

He continued: “This crisis shows that we need more than just a limited crisis-management mechanism, based on national loans: we need first and foremost a credible European plan for jobs, growth and sustainable public finances. The markets know that Ms Merkel stands for less Europe; they know her austerity politics will kill recovery. So they sanction her, and in doing that they sanction the whole of Europe too”.

The PES has been promoting a Progressive Way Out of the Crisis, a comprehensive policy roadmap to put back Europe on a sustainable track for public finances while not jeopardizing growth and jobs. The PES has also been advocating for a real European crisis-management mechanism to provide support to countries facing difficulties. Our proposals are an alternative to the economic strategy implemented by conservatives and liberals across Europe, which is detrimental to growth, jobs and welfare.

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For further information please contact Brian Synnott on +32 474 98 96 75 (brian.synnott@pes.org)