Anti-austerity forces grow in Italy after Greece vote. If Italy were to team up with Greece and other debt-strapped eurozone countries ...

After the left-wing Syriza party notched an impressive victory in Greece's recent parliamentary elections, a gust of energy has swept across debt-laden southern Europe, which has borne the brunt of the eurozone's fiscal crisis...

In southern Europe, popular opposition has been growing against the fiscal austerity measures demanded by Germany, the economic anchor of the eurozone. In Spain, tens of thousands of people protested against welfare cuts on January 31, in rallies led by left-wing movement Podemos - which in just months has rocketed from obscurity to lead the opinion polls for Spain's elections this year.

Meanwhile, in Italy - which, like Greece, suffers from a stagnant economy, high debt, and an astronomical youth unemployment rate - Syriza's victory was met with supportive but tempered statements from centre-left Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

With a debt load that stands at 132 percent of its GDP, Italy may find that Syriza's victory in Greece will help it in its own economic negotiations with the European Union.

•  If Italy were to team up with Greece and other debt-strapped eurozone countries such as Portugal and Spain, analysts say, they could pressure the EU to ease austerity measures and adopt more fiscally expansive policies - which could in turn restart economic growth.

Generation austerity

At a joint press conference on February 3, Renzi seconded incoming Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' demand for a more lenient bailout agreement for Greece. "The conditions exist to find an accord with the European institutions," said the Italian prime minister, while assuring that he would lend "bilateral cooperation" to any dialogue.

"A Tsipras government gives other leaders, particularly Renzi and Hollande, strong support in their negotiations with [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel to loosen the purse strings," explained Luca Fantacci, an economist and the author of Saving the Market from Capitalism. "And this is beneficial not only for Greece, but for the whole eurozone - which is being choked by austerity."

Since last November, both Italy and France have been pushing EU institutions for fiscal expansion. Meanwhile, both countries have been breaching the eurozone's Growth and Stability Pact, which requires member countries to keep budget deficits below 3 percent of their GDP..........................http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/02/anti-austerity-forces-grow-italy-greece-vote-150207073012952.html

7/2/15

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Feggos Times and Polyzone Flash News (February 2015 - A)