Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)

A lot has been said about what this fiscal compact means for us and the rest of Europe. I would like to quote from Martin Wolf's article in the Financial Times today. He puts it pretty well when he states:

The ECB has saved the eurozone from a heart attack. But its members face a long convalescence, made worse by the insistence that fiscal starvation is the right remedy for feeble patients ... fiscal indiscipline is not all. Just as it was not the dominant cause of the collapse, but rather sloppy lending and improvident private borrowing, so fiscal discipline is not the cure. This attempt to vindicate the catastrophic austerity of Heinrich Brüning, German chancellor in 1930-1932, is horrifying. The perspective embodied in the fiscal compact - itself an attempt to revive the failed stability and growth pact - lacks the necessary understanding of the dependence of output in one member country on demand in others, of the role of payments imbalances and of the fact that competitiveness is always relative.

There is little doubt that the level of austerity that this brings to the rest of Europe suits Germany more than the other 26 member states. In fact, it can be argued that not one of the others is very fond of what is being imposed on them by Germany. The Germans are in control and very few in Europe seem to have the stomach to contradict our masters today. Regardless of whether we like it, it appears that the politicians no longer run Europe; it is being run by the financial markets and banking institutions. The latter institutions have probably been the most culpable in the current crisis. They are the ones who have lost most money and had the poorest business models, yet they are being saved. We are going to do everything that suits them, rather than those who are suffering at their hands.

This treaty definitely enshrines the German model of fiscal and monetarist rigour, as binding on the eurozone. It almost literally outlaws Keynesian economics. It was interesting to hear the German Chancellor, Dr. Merkel, saying on Saturday that "We will only be able to strengthen our common currency if we co-ordinate our policies more closely and are prepared to gradually give up more powers to the EU". So we are going to give up more powers to the EU, but I do not believe the Government got a mandate for doing that last February. There is a general election in this country every five years, but I do not think it appropriate that it is the only say the public should have in how things are done here. Given that the Government parties went into the election with various promises and a different mandate came out of it for them, I do not think they now have a mandate to do this. Whether it is demanded constitutionally or not, the Government has an obligation to put this matter to the people. We pretend to live in some form of democracy - a more fitting definition of this democracy is: "You can say what you like, and you do what you're told." We pretend, however, that it is a little bit more sociable than that, so I do not see how the Government can refuse to give the people a say on this matter. It is really important to do so.

Attending meetings on the household charge in recent weeks, I have noticed the amount of public interest in how the country is being run. It is fascinating and much greater than I could have anticipated. The notion that the people are not clued in to what is happening is completely dishonest. It is not true. I have been amazed at the level of interest and knowledge that people have all over the country in the current crisis. They would like a say on this issue. If this Government wants the mandate to work with this fiscal compact, it must be put to the people.

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