The Price for Mediocrity
May 23, 2005
I partly disagree with Larry Kudlow on this point:
... interesting to note that America's George Bush, Australia's John Howard, and Britain's Tony Blair -- all pro-war heads of state – won re-election. With this defeat, Schroeder's hopes are dimming. France's Chirac is in trouble too. Maybe the war isn't as unpopular internationally as the mainstream media would have us believe. Could it be that, even in the heart of Old Europe, pro-America capitalism trumps anti-war socialism?
Real GDP growth rates in 2004:
- US: 3.1%
- UK: 2.1%
- Australia: 2.8%
- Germany: -.10%
- France: .10%
Unemployment rates in 2004:
- US: 5.5%
- UK: 4.8%
- Australia: 5.1%
- Germany: 10.6%
- France: 10.1%
The major reason that Schroeder and Chirac are in political trouble is because of the miserable performance of their economies. I think their positions on the present war is not going to make a difference in the coming elections. That is not to say that they haven't milked anti-Americanism in the past for political gain. But after 3 years of a stagnant economy, the Germans and the French have had enough.
This, however, doesn't imply that Germany and France are going to become pro-America. Just that they'll have new leaders with likely pro-capitalist policies. I think that the majority of these populations will still remain fervently anti-war, and still vote in Israel as the greatest threat to world peace.
The coming French and German elections are going to be decided by national, not foreign, policy.
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