Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This is an outstanding article by Judy Dempsey, senior associate and editor-in-chief of Strategic Europe at Carnegie Europe, published in the Moscow Times. It’s a strongly recommended read. Check it out!
via Merkel Is the Unsung Hero of Ukraine Crisis | News | The Moscow Times.
The article makes good sense to me and I worry about Angela Merkel passing negotiations with Russia to Obama‘s team.
Thoughts?
English: Tony Abbott in 2010. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Here’s a powerful, breaking, lead story, shared by the Sydney Morning Herald. It’s an interesting read. Check it out!
via Seven ministers put Tony Abbott on notice – Sydney Morning Herald.
It seems that the knives are out for Australia’s Prime Minister, Tony Abbott. Extreme care is probably required because of Australia’s economic outlook, plus the national security considerations.
As an outsider, I would suggest that Australia has perhaps lived beyond her means benefiting from the enormous wealth of natural resources? Now that natural resources are going through a tougher time, so is Australia. A second observation is that Australians carry very high debt levels to support domestic property investment, so with a weakened economy, there’s an increased risk of bursting the property bubble? Thirdly, Australia needs to face that austerity is the right shock policy for financial weakness – like in Europe, structural reform is essential for international competition.
For me, despite Tony Abbott’s perceived weaknesses, a political coup of a serving Australian Prime Minister would appear to be highly risky.
Thoughts?
Dr Alf's Blog 