Fear vs. Anger?

What Ireland and Europe need now is a real debate between alternative visions of economic recovery and sustainable growth that are positive, realistic and clear with regard to what needs to be done at national and European levels. Instead, the Irish debate on the Fiscal Treaty is consistently framed (see two MEPS in this clip) as a choice between fear (vote yes) and anger (vote no). The ‘yes’ camp fails to situate the treaty within a plausible and positive strategy for recovery and thus contributes to the public’s loss of faith in Europe, while the ‘no’ camp proposes massive stimulus and even nationalisation that seems naive in an era of suspicious capital markets and foot-loose investors.