Insightperspectives January 1, 2016 v3

in Denmark to pass more sovereignty to the European

Union.

The vote was first of all a no-confidence vote to the

Danish parliament and Prime Minister Lars Loekke

Rasmussen in particular. Interestingly, the majority of

the Danes are positive when it comes to the European

Union (the Danes want membership of Europol); but it

annoys many Danes that

without asking

them directly.

The outcome of the Danish referendum may not have

any direct significance for the European Union (it is

neither an issue in Brussels nor in Strasbourg). On the

other hand, this is a message to Berlin and other

European capitals that the “European idea” is still not

deeply rooted, at least not when it comes to deeper

integration. In many small member states, an

increasing number of voters are worried about giving

up sovereignity.

This may also have something to do with

Chancellor Merkel. In 2015, Mrs. Merkel may finally

have shown a capacity to act; but her style has often

been highly autocratic. Today, Mrs. Merkel ignores that

she is Chancellor in a country where the constitution

was based on West Germany (Mrs. Merkel is from East

Germany). Even though Mrs Merkel may have all the

“politically correct” answers, she cannot commit the

entire European Union alone. Such commitment has to

be based on democratic rules. If Mrs Merkel does not

recognise this important difference, she risks alienating

many member states. The failure of the political elite to

listen to the voters risks creating tensions in Europe in

2016, which is also an important part of the

on page 17.

China – Devaluation is now an official part of the

strategy; supply-side economics is on the rise

Until August 2015, Chinese policymakers abstained

from using the yuan to create growth. Beijing is very