Therefore, how to straighten this bar which seems? There are not a thousand ways to achieve this.
“Opening the floodgates in the hope of reviving the economy and reaping the benefits. I don’t believe in it. In a small, very open economy like our country, it’s illusory. If we give more purchasing power to fellow citizens, it may be nice, but they will buy more products from abroad. The return effect on the local economy will be limited so this cannot be an option”argued Etienne de Callatay.
For him, “It is the option of austerity which is essential which would come either from an increase in taxes, or from a reduction in expenditure. It is not for an economist to say what should or should not be done, but let us look at what is happening elsewhere. It can be seen that taxation is already very high in Belgium and that public expenditure is also very high. It is rather on this side that it will be necessary to look at it.“
For Benoit Bayenet, president of the Central Economic Council, a reorganization cure is not the right solution: “A harsh austerity cure may not be the wisest option because we are not really out of the crisis yet. I think that we now need a policy of responsibility, that is to say, to arbitrate between good and bad public policies. We will have to move on to evaluating them and making choices. We know that we are going to have to spend more, invest more in a certain number of sectors and we must therefore make strategic choices on what will be the most promising for the future of the country and the population.
One year from the next federal elections, it remains to be seen what position the De Croo crew will take to straighten the helm of the liner Belgium and avoid the iceberg straight ahead.
