There must be some bureaucrats in Brussels and many dyed-in-the-wool Europhiles engaging in schadenfreude following the political chaos that has engulfed the UK in recent weeks. There is good reason to blame the false promises made by some UK politicians for promoting Brexit some years ago. Still, Europe’s long-term economic prospects are in no better shape than the UK’s. It has become customary for almost all European political leaders to blame COVID and the war in Ukraine for the lacklustre economic performance characterised by slow growth and high inflation. Most governments have rightly prioritised support for industry and households to protect the economy from a depression. But Europe’s dream of economic revival is disappearing, and the reasons for this predate the recent geo-political developments. The UK political scene has undoubtedly been the most chaotic in the last few weeks. With elections to be held within the next two years, the Conservative Party in government first dumped its prime minister and appointed a new one. Liz Truss sacked her loyal chancellor after her mantra of challenging orthodox economic strategy failed to impress financial markets. The trickle-down...
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