Francois Hollande, the current favourite to win France’s presidential race, is telling everyone that growth, and not austerity, is the answer to Europe’s economic woes. As Gideon Rachman in the FT points out, this is easier said than done.

“If building great roads and trains were the route to lasting prosperity, Greece and Spain would be booming. The past 30 years have seen a huge splurge in infrastructure spending, often funded by the EU. The Athens metro is excellent. The AVE fast trains in Spain are a marvel. But this kind of spending has done very little to change the fundamental problems that now plague both Greece and Spain – in particular, youth unemployment.”

As such, “Hollande’s talk of growth is not an alternative to austerity”. Click here to read on.

To find out more about Gideon Rachman, or to book him as a speaker or moderator for your conference or event, please contact Leo von Bülow-Quirk at leo@chartwellspeakers.com or call 0044 (0) 20 7792 8000.