So, good morning, ladies and gentlemen, if you could just take your seats. My name is Lionel Barber, I'm the editor of the Financial Times. I'm here to chair this discussion. We have four distinguished political leaders from Europe who will be talking about resilient dynamism in Europe, European economy and Eurozone. I'm going to start with Prime Minister Mario Monti. And if you look at this panel, we have a real rich tapestry. We have big countries, we have smaller countries, I did not say small. We have debtor countries and we have creditor countries. We have countries in the Eurozone and outside the Eurozone. So they're all going to offer their own distinct national perspective in a European dimension. So Prime Minister Monti, I think it was the Financial Times that a year ago said that two people needed to save Europe and the Eurozone. They both were called Mario. Do tell us, last year we felt as though Europe and the Eurozone was on the edge. This year some conferences come back, but the big story is where's the growth going to come from. So it would be interesting to hear your perspective on how you see what you've accomplished over the last year as Prime Minister and what you see in the year ahead, including those elections. Yes, there are elections I understand in at least two large European countries this year. Well, what are we doing to achieve growth? I think each of us has to do things domestically and concerning Italy what we have been doing in spite or maybe helped by the pressures of financial emergency has been to begin injecting more competition and openness in the markets. This is something that is totally in line with the EU inspiration of a social market economy and we did that by, first of all, securing the sustainability of public finances in the long term, including a tough pension reform and also looking at the factors for growth. Infrastructures, long delayed in Italy. We have simplified the process of building infrastructures and injected an acceleration of those. Then the functioning of the markets and we have introduced more competition. For example, in the liberal professions who like to call themselves liberal but need many pushes to become liberal and in the separation between gas production and gas distribution to give you another example or in the shopping hours and the commerce sector. Also a lot of simplification concerning public administration and bureaucracy. Of course, this needs to be continued and one issue about the Italian elections in which I will not go unless requested here today is which political configuration is more in line with the need to sustain these structural forms. But I believe that no individual country in Europe, not even the largest ones, can really keep a momentum for growth or resume a momentum for growth unless the EU policies are more oriented towards growth and much of the time and energy in this year of Italian government has been devoted precisely to that and we have been among the pushing factors at the table of the European Council concerning the adoption of a pact for growth and also with the daily insistence on the single market being taken more seriously. We all know that Europe is based on the single market but we also know as Prime Minister Cameron I heard just say that there isn't really a single market for energy, for many of the services, for the digital services in Europe and finally we insist with some success in the recent European Councils to have a more forward looking understanding in Europe of the role of good public investment, particular for the interconnections for the infrastructure investment and this is something that we should also take into account in our view when we move in a couple of weeks to I hope the final negotiations on the EU seven year budget. We all have an interest in saving, in containing public spending at the national and the EU level. Italy is the third largest net contributor. We certainly have an interest in that but I think it's against common sense, economics and history not to see the potential for economies of scale of a EU budget slightly less restrained than we are forced and willing to restrain our national budgets. Thank you Prime Minister. Prime Minister Kenny, Ireland has been through the equivalent of a hurricane since the onset of the global financial crisis and yet in the last 12 months Ireland has come back to the capital markets. Can you tell us a little bit more about the structural economic reforms that you've been taking in Ireland and particularly perhaps to repair the banking system which after all is the sine qua non for resumption of growth? Yes, well it's been a hurricane. Two years ago when the administration or government I lead was elected, we'd actually lost 250,000 jobs in the private sector in the three years prior to that, our reputation was in shreds around the world, our banks were dysfunctional, it couldn't approach any market and there was a complete sense of hopelessness and despair and disillusionment. Now government was elected with a very clear mandate to sort this out, to deal with our public financial problems, to make the changes in the structures in Ireland that would lead us to being able to prove that when you have a strategy and a plan and that you follow it, you'll see results and two years on interest rates are down from 14% to 4%, our banks have been recapitalized, restructured, have been back in the markets without a state guarantee as tentative signs of being able to exit this program in 2013. We've over a thousand multinationals still driving exports in double digit figures, but our people have had to take really serious challenges because government made really serious decisions and it's an example for Europe and for anywhere else that if a government actually works with its people and understanding the patience of people and putting up with these changes that in the greater picture of things results will flow. Now we expect to exit our program in 2013, but we cannot do it without the cooperation of what's been committed to from our European colleagues and we hope to do that in 2013 as an example of what a success can be for a smaller country as you say as part of the bigger European Union issue. And I would like to say that it's important in terms of international reputation for contributor countries to be able to understand that their money here is not wasted, that there's an example of a country having measured up now to the seven analysis by the triker and having exceeded all of those targets, that the finishing part of that particular difficulty is the promissory notes issue and the following through on the decision of the 29th of June to break the link between sovereign debt and bank debt moving on to the supervisory mechanism and banking union because for a smaller country as you say, the mechanisms and the tools that are available now were not available when the crash hit Ireland and we were required to borrow 64 billion or 40% of our GDP to pay for banks and private creditors to banks in a situation which has been a crushing burden on the people. So their patience has been long and they've been waiting and markets have actually factored in a conclusion to this situation for Ireland. So we hope that that can be so. Now I would like to say that as in the middle of all that, Lionel, in the middle of all that, we were required by our constitution to have a referendum of the people on the fiscal stability treaty and Ireland voted 60, 40 in favour of the euro and in favour of maintaining our central contact with Europe and the eurozone because that's where we see our future. And that's why in this presidency we want to run this effectively in the interests of all the countries as an honest broker for Europe and that's why I'd like to see the issues of trade, the digital single market, Japan, Singapore, Canada, the opening of negotiations with the United States following the high level report. I think these are real opportunities. Politics for all of us here who are leaders is essentially about people. We've got 26 million people unemployed in the European Union. There are millions of young people who do not see their careers or their opportunities being rewarded by the decisions made by politicians. And that's a central issue that people have to see leaders follow through on the decisions that are made. And that's an issue always with Europe. When you make decisions at the European Council, see that they're followed through in the interests of all the citizens. So I hope that we can conclude an MFF for the seven years. I hope that during this presidency we can then go to the parliament and discuss that with them because they're required from Lisbon to give their consent and authorization and then move to CEP reform and the 70 legislative files that are necessary to be put through. We have that future. We must follow through on the decisions and make them happen. That's what politics is about. Thank you very much for that. Just one clarification. You rightly said it's an incredible result to get 60-40 in favour of the fiscal stability pact given what Ireland's gone through. So you clearly know how to win a referendum. Would you like to give Mr Cameron some advice on that? They put it this way. We've had referendums over the last 40 years. We've been married to Europe for 40 years now and are very proud of that fact. We've had all those referendums, Lisbon, Police, Amsterdam, Maastricht. People in our country understand the difference between the council and the commission and the parliament. They understand structural funds, cohesion funds, social funds, the CEP all of these things. We have made our decision linked clearly to the future of the eurozone and Europe. But we're also the closest partner to Britain. We have strategic partnerships signed with Britain. They're our biggest trading partner. Obviously there's a great contact for a very long time there. I don't speak for the British government here, but it is true to say that Britain were a driving force for the single market, that the European Union will continue to be much stronger because Britain can remain a part of that. But I would argue that many of the issues that arise for politicians, sort of from a bureaucracy point of view or from an administration point of view, these are things that you can change from inside. That's why I would like to see the digital market become truly single with that opportunity and we can do that collectively with the energy of the Union. So I don't speak obviously for the British government, but whatever happens, I would like to see that Britain would remain central to the European Union and for its future. It's very important in a global sense where most of the big opportunities will arise outside the European Union in the next 20 years. Thank you very much. Prime Minister Toying Schmidt, it would be very interesting, I think, for this audience to hear about your government's reform program. You obviously run a minority government, so that presents challenges. It's also a coalition government. We're just getting used to that in the UK. But above all, I'm interested in the degree to which you have a margin of manoeuvre as a smaller country within this big block. Just to speak, thank you. Well, first of all, I think this whole crisis that we have been through, and we're not through it yet, there are still an enormous amount of people suffering in this crisis. Everyone has spoken about the young people who are unemployed and unable to make a living, so we're not through the crisis yet. But it has been a wake-up call for all of us, and this wake-up call should be used in a good way so that the last years we have been through will not be lost but will be a useful way of taking us through to the other side. And this is what we've been learning at the European level that we need to reform in order to maintain the Europe that we want. We woke up when we had the crisis, realizing that we lost our competitive edge, that our welfare state was too unmanageable, that we had lost what we thought was so good about Europe. And what we need to do in the coming years is to restore all that. We need to change, and we need to change in a structural way to maintain what we like so much about Europe, and at the same time keeping very clear in our heads what makes Europe special. What makes Europe special is that we have a social market economy, that we have focused on environment, climate issues, and we also try to make a good business out of that, and of course our democracy, our human rights, our equality, and all the other things that make Europe special. And what we need to do the coming years is to change, but still keeping what we feel is our core values. This is exactly the same as I have tried to do back home as Prime Minister in Denmark. We have done three things. First of all, we have kept an extremely tight budget. We have adopted a budget legislation. We can no longer exceed our budget from year to year. We are running a very tight budget, and believe me, it's not easy to run a tight budget, but it's necessary. All this is meant we have a very low interest rate in Denmark. We have become a safe haven in these difficult times, so a tight budget is extremely important. The second thing we have done is to be on a reform frenzy. We have reformed so much the last year that I don't think it has any comparison in our history. We have reformed the tax system, early retirement. We are now reforming the benefit system. We are trying to reform the schooling system, so we have been on a big, and this is not all, we have been on a big reform frenzy over the last year because this is necessary in order to preserve the well-developed welfare state that we want to have in my country. And the third thing, and I think this is very important for the individual member states, but for Europe as a whole as well, we have tried to bring balance into our budget, but at the same time having a focus on the groups in our society who are most vulnerable. What does that mean? That means that every year when we have made the budget we have made sure that the most vulnerable citizens be it children in a vulnerable position, be it the poorest pensioners have got something out of our budget. So we have tried to preserve equality, which is also part of not only Danish values but European values as such. So the three things, tight budget control, reforms, also quite harsh reforms, some will think, and also being focused on getting all over to the other side and preserving what we feel is so important for us, equality. This is part of what we need to do at the European level as well, and I think we have so much to offer in the European Union. So whilst we go through the change we need to go through and we need to stay awake now after this wake-up call, we also need to focus what is our core values, what is the great thing about Europe and preserve that while we are changing. This is true for Europe and it's true for the individual countries in Europe. That's a very powerful statement of the reform programme. Just to clarify, do you think though you'd be better of being able to do even more in that Eurozone club or do you think you're better outside? Well, we have always...  And the interesting thing about the development in Europe over the last two years is that we have had different choices. We had to have a choice between splitting up or staying solidaried with each other. We chose the solidarity path, which is a very good thing. Within that path, we also had the choice between should the Euro countries be stronger together and exclude the non-Euro countries or should we try to meet and bridge the divide between non-Euro and Euro countries. Again, we chose the bridge. And one thing I'm extremely happy about is that every time we have taken a decision about strengthening the Euro, be it the fiscal compact, be it the lending mechanisms, all these things, the Euro countries have chosen a policy of the open door, a policy where it's always Euro plus, which means that countries like my own, Denmark and other countries, Sweden, Poland, some of the Baltic countries, we always know that even though we have two different paces and of course we have two different paces, there's an open door for non-Euro countries to join in those decisions. Examples, the fiscal compact was open to non-Euro countries, which meant that I think Denmark was the first to join the fiscal compact, even though we are non-Euro country. Now we're discussing a banking union. The discussion has the starting point that it's a Euro plus initiative, which means that we will have a vivid debate in my country whether we will join this banking union, but the point is it's open to non-Euro country. That has been some of the most important decisions we have taken the last two years, that we have not split, we have stuck together and there's always a Euro plus way of seeing this, whichever initiative that has been taken. Good. Thank you very much. Prime Minister Rutte, you've just been through elections.  You also represent a creditor country. My question is two-fold. One, tell us a little bit about the Dutch reform program, what it's seeking to accomplish. And second, whether you agree that whereas in 2012 there was a question mark about whether the club would lose some members or a member, in fact now that's a settled question and that all countries agreed, including a particularly large one, that the club will remain intact. Well, let me start with answering your second question by uploading my colleagues from Italy and Ireland. They decided in a very difficult phase to take the helm in their countries. They are both now Prime Ministers in the most difficult of circumstances and I think this is fantastic and both Mario and I have done a lot of good stuff now in their countries to implement reforms, get the fiscal discipline which is necessary, get the public finances in order and this is to answer your second question. I believe our aim should be to have to hold your zone intact and to keep all the countries as members of the eurozone. At the same time you can never predict whether at one stage a country would want to leave the eurozone and I think that should be possible but the policy my government has and I think all of the group of 17 has at the moment is to keep the eurozone intact. Then to move to the Netherlands, we are running the tide ship. Ella is mentioning in terms of the public finances. We have to tighten the budget. We are doing this. At the same time we are putting in place the necessary reforms in terms of the labour market, social security, pensions. But we also want to focus on growth. We need to get the economic engine going and therefore we have brought together in the best Dutch traditions all the major players. The universities, the knowledge institutions, secondly the government, obviously the private sector which is here of paramount importance and the non-governmental organisations. At every level we are working together to get the growth engine going again in the Netherlands and this has led to focusing on the main sectors in our economy which we believe will bring us exceptional growth in the future like water management, like the agricultural sector. We are the second largest exporter of agricultural products in the world. But also on other issues like ICT and our financial sector which is considerably big compared to the overall GDP of the Netherlands. So we focus very much on our innovation money, our research money, our education efforts on these main sectors of the economy. And then to Mario's point, he has written this fantastic report on the internal market. If we would implement everything we have previously agreed in terms of the internal market we could add 4% extra of GDP over the next ten years. If we would finally be able to close a foreign trade agreement with Japan, with the United States we could add another 2% of GDP over the next ten years. These are enormous figures and if somebody asks me how to explain the impact of being a member of the European Union it is first and foremost being a member of the common market and the fact that it brings its jobs and prosperity. And sometimes I can be extremely frustrated as I know most of my colleagues are that the debates in the Eurozone group in the Eurozone heads of state and government meetings in the meetings of the European Council of the 27 are so much focused on all the troubles we have and we could spend more time now and move to spend more time on these issues of getting growth going and therefore we need countries like Denmark, Sweden, United Kingdom. David has announced his famous referendum yesterday. We need these countries to stay not only in the European Union but to be very active because Denmark, Sweden, United Kingdom, the countries in the Baltics and some of the other Eastern European countries are very much focused on bolstering economic prosperity and that is a different type of debate from what we are having at this moment within the Eurozone. So I am always trying to liaise as much as possible with the non Eurozone countries and obviously would be great if more of them would join but if not at least that they are a full part of what we are doing together because we need that inspiration. And just picking up on your point about free trade areas what odds do you think there are 7 out of 10, 8 out of 10 about concluding a transatlantic free trade area in 2013-14? I think the chances are positive. I think it is possible to come to an agreement now that Obama has been reelected. I feel personally speaking to the members of the US administration and to Barack Obama himself that they understand yes they are focusing on Asia but to be effective in this relationship between the United States and Asia they have to work very well together with Europe because the Europe and the US is a very strong partnership and it is crazy that we are discussing a trade agreement with the US and this transatlantic thing we should have this years ago. Share that view before I open it up to the floor for discussion and questions. Thank you Prime Minister Monti. Do you also believe that it is possible finally to secure an agreement between the 27 and the United States on a transatlantic free trade area? I think it is crucial. I think it is possible. I think it will require important adjustments in policies on both sides of the Atlantic but I think it will eventually be done in the time span that you outline. That would be one of the adjustments needed but even with agriculture yes. I am making an observation arising from what Mark said here. I actually feel that there is a new sense of realism about Europe, within Europe because two years ago the discussion was the breakup of the Euro, exit from the Eurozone all of these difficulties and all of the cynics who knew all the answers said you would never have any FSM you would never have any FSF you would never have any permanent bailout mechanism that you would never get to a point where you would make a decision to break the link between sovereign and bank debt and for the first time actually the Eurogroup and the Ministers for Finance were able to come in on time with a recommendation for the single supervisory mechanism endorsed by the European Council and now moving on to the discussions about the mechanics of that. As the honest broker, as the presidency when we didn't support the financial transaction tax because of the implications for London and Dublin being so close and yet at the first meeting of the Eurogroup it was the first item on the agenda dealt within 15 minutes without a vote so that countries that supported this could get on with that mechanism. Now I think that what we need now during this current time is the mandate to start the negotiations for free trade between EU and the US that will not be concluded this year and probably not next year but I think it will be a big signal a big signal that the greatest trading block on earth which is the European Union and the United States at the start of a new administration will be able to set out the roadmap by how this can happen. I believe the US is going to recover I believe they will deal with a fiscal cliff I'm concerned about Europe's lack of momentum in terms of having our own energy grid because the US will now become an exporter of energy with the change that have happened there which means that costs are rising in Europe in terms of major infrastructure from an energy perspective. We need much more focus ourselves at the end of the day it's always about jobs jobs and jobs and that means injecting growth into the European economies and making political decisions that will result in jobs being created for millions of young people across this Union and give them hope and inspiration and motivation that politics actually does work I believe in that I think if we get this mandate to start these discussions Europe will certainly respond very positively and share Mario's and Helen's and Mark's view on this. Well there's no doubt that one of the things we should be doing that worked for that when we had the presidency is to pick the low-hanging fruits and they are out there we should complete the single market the digital single market we should finalize these trade agreements we are very hopeful that you can also bring us a few step ahead in this context this is what we should be doing and one of the directors we were extremely eager to finalize when we had the presidency and the efficiency directive why is that important that is important because energy efficiency means that we can be cutting edge in terms of using our energy much better and more efficient if we can be cutting edge in Europe in terms of this we can also make a good business out of that so I think we need to focus on the low-hanging fruits which is completing the single market trade agreements but also realizing where are we front runners in Europe and why should that not become a burden for us but rather the opposite so we use it as something that sets us apart and gives us a competitive advantage in the global competitiveness so this is what we should be focusing on and this is a very practical approach we have four heads in states of government sitting here it's enormous Mark was quoting the figures but the perspective for getting jobs and growth in Europe is enormous and that's why we need to move on these very practical issues right now Just one last question for Prime Minister Monti because this is a very going to be a very important issue in the campaign and it is an issue throughout Europe which is this question of unemployment if there were any things you are doing or you would do if you continued in power to tackle this crisis in unemployment in Italy there are other countries I was in Spain just two weeks ago talking to the Prime Minister Rahoy on this what would you single out to offer some hope to those young people who don't have jobs Two things one is specific measures for youth and that even this outgoing government for all its financial stringency was able to begin awarding some tax relief for companies hiring youth but much more can be done in a five years perspective and with a now much more solid public finance situation secondly the overall labour market reform there we did introduce a labour market reform to inject more flexibility in the labour market that did not go far enough why did it not go far enough because one of the unions was considerably resisting to change and we need to change that culture that is why and by the way they although they were invited to join like all the others they also resisted a recent agreement on productivity towards more decentralization in labour negotiations so the idea that I would promote should I be in a position to do so is definitely to unite those reformist pro reform forces that have been dispersed across the political spectrum so that there is more energy behind the reforms including in the labour market just like at the other end of the political spectrum in Italy there has been one party the right-wing party that has resisted deeper reforms in the area of law of anti-corruption for example of conflict of interest we have done something but we need again by uniting these pro reform forces to do more all this will bring new life to the Italian economy and the first ones to benefit will be the youth and the unemployed youth thank you very much now we're going to take questions from the floor I think I'm going to because we're going to take two so there's a gentleman I can't see whether it's a lady or a gentleman definitely a gentleman not a statement a question the UK prime minister talked about repatriating powers from Brussels back to the UK as a success and are there any powers that the prime ministers on the panel would like to repatriate from Brussels to their own countries ok repatriation the big question and then there's a gentleman there Davide Serra the intra-generational taxation the governments over the last few years have put on the new generation by basically running deficit and now having new guys with no jobs is there a way to have a social contract take away something that was given to the old that was not sustainable in order to kick start employment in the youth before it becomes a social tension thank you very much for that I think we'll quickly take repatriation if you don't mind because if we had all four we won't get through questions so perhaps Prime Minister Rutta and Prime Minister Kenny could take the repatriation question and then we'll go for intra-generational from Prime Minister Monty Prime Minister Torring Schmidt so Prime Minister Kenny do you want to talk about repatriation and what are the possibilities and would you like to repatriate some powers Prime Minister Cameron made his speech, made his contribution here about what he would like to see I think there's a measure here of what it is that Europe wants to do in the time ahead now there is no opportunity now for reopening negotiations about treaty changes my priority and I think the priority of Europe now should be to deal with the consequences of our current crisis just because there is no talk now of the euro failing our countries leaving the euro doesn't mean that there should be any complacency the opposite actually is the effect that Europe should now drive on with making its decisions about improving the issues that we've spoken about here with impact on employment it may well be that when we go down the road of the single supervisory mechanism banking union greater integration in terms of financial management and so on there will be consideration for a future treaty change that's probably after the next parliament and the next commission so I feel that Europe's new priority of understanding that it's lagged behind and that it can do so much better can mean that the collective energy can deal with many of the obstacles that are there to trade and job creation whoever sits on this platform in 10 years time will live in a very different world the internet, genetics, biotech nanotechnology, nanomedicine robotics are changing the world as we sit here and it is the countries that can deal with riding those waves before they actually happen that are going to make the big impact and I think Europe's research, innovation education facilities will allow us to do that I'm not concerned now about the future I'm much more concerned about leading on from where we find ourselves to a brighter and more prosperous future we can talk about all of these issues in the context of future treaty change if and when that arises you might say actually I'm quite all right Jack because the last thing we want is rewriting treaties or changing for example our tax is 12.5% corporate tax rate, it's 11.9% it's transparent across the entire spectrum I know that the tax regime in Europe in general may lead companies to make decisions about their tax rates but Ireland's not a tax a haven for unorthodox practice in respect of tax, it's very clear it's very transparent and it applies right across the board the tax regime generally that may be used by companies but our tax regime is a national competence and it's not changing Yeah, got you Precisely because Europe is changing and the world is changing we need to have this debate on subsidiarity which tasks should be dealt with at the European level and which tasks should be dealt with at the national level with 27 and this is a permanent debate and for example issues personally I would like to have an argument with my colleagues on why in the area of occupational health and safety there is so much which has been dealt with at the European level, it's a bit like in terms of rules and legislations it's a bit like Hotel California you can check out but you can never leave you can never repatriate tasks to the national level I do not agree when somebody would ask for specific opt-outs for just one country I think that is not good I think the end of the debate should be a settlement at the level of the 27 and it could be tasked from the national level to the European level from the European level back to the national level I also very much agreed with David's comments yesterday in terms of making the European union more efficient and to make it more relevant you should also look at your running costs where he spoke about competitiveness getting the engine going getting more jobs in Europe and doing much more in those areas and at the end of the day I think it is vital for us as a European union and for the United Kingdom to stay part of the European Union the United Kingdom outside the European Union would be an island somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean between the United States and Europe it would not be connected with any of these two so I think it is vital for all of us that they stay in fine yes still on repatriation just a word if I may I think it is very important to have a pragmatic attitude here through the history of European integration some subject matters may have to go up in terms of decision making centralizations other can come down in one area on which I worked I think it is very important to look at the international competition policy some years ago a big reform was introduced whereby many competences previously dealt with only by Brussels have been given to the national competition authorities whereas full competence to deal with macro competition cases transatlantic cases etc on future but without much ideology if possible on future generations and taxation in a broad sense I think two things are key one sustainability of pension systems in order not to penalize future generations and secondly fiscal discipline in order again not to penalize future generations to make the case in Italy that much of the difficulties for Italian young people to find a job now is due to the fiscal indiscipline of 20 or 30 years ago before there were European constraints that brought the politician of that time to disregard the future of Italians from this point of view I would only see one movement because we practice a pretty rough fiscal discipline we should allow for a wider accumulation of productive capital in the future like infrastructures otherwise we treat consumption and investment in the same way but one thing is current expenditure by the state another thing is building up an appropriate infrastructure for the future of our children Prime Minister taking away from the old in order to give to the young that's a tricky electoral test well it's necessary for the young that we have sustainable economies I mean if we just keep borrowing we are basically stealing from future generations so it's very clear that we have to have sustainable welfare systems in all our welfare systems I wanted to return to this discussion that the British Prime Minister has started today so clearly I mean there has been a lot of reaction to that and I want to say two things first of all is a perfectly legitimate discussion that is being raised I think this is a discussion that's been going on in the UK for years and it's a perfectly legitimate discussion we might not in Denmark agree on the path and we have chosen a different path but it's a legitimate discussion second of all I think there is questions to be asked of course in terms of how we run Europe and we should keep asking those questions part of the wake-up call that I was referring to before is that every morning we need to wake up and ask are we spending public money in the right way are we spending this corner or this euro in the right way and that goes for member states where we are turning every corner to actually spend it the right way and of course we should go in Europe and this is a discussion we have right now when we're discussing the budget we'll all meet very soon and looking forward to discuss our budget and part of that discussion is that we have to show very clear resolve in terms of spending our money in the best way possible and this is something we should all be interested in if we're doing it at the member state level of course we should be doing that at the European level as well. Thank you very much now you know as editor of the Financial Times I do care about precision so just to ask each one of you do you believe that the changes which are going to take place and which will be agreed to secure the eurozone those changes will require a treaty change? No No I believe the treaty change in the future Thank you very much We've shown that we can do so much without treaty changes the last two years have shown us that so no I don't think so Not an immediate future but I do believe that in the longer term we'll need to move to changes which will require treaty changes on the exact type of membership countries have with the eurozone so in the medium term I believe a treaty change is unavoidable and not treaty changes Not in the immediate I think now a treaty change will trigger referenda and all this so in the immediate future we should not talk or discuss treaty changes but I do believe that to deal with some of the fundamental design flaws in the eurozone we in the medium term need a treaty change So ladies and gentlemen that's two nos and one or two the billion euro question is how does Mr Cameron hold a referendum on an agreement where there hasn't been a change in the treaty I just put that out there This was on the eurozone and you could still have in my view in terms of repatriation of powers treaty changes at the level of the 27 on the running of the European Union Right, do you believe that that will be the case? What exactly because it will be the case that the treaty changes needed not for the eurozone but more broadly for the relationship between the outs and the ends No but let me say one thing about David Cameron's speech one positive thing it is important that whenever the British people or any people for that matter are asked the question in a referendum about the EU that the question be the full question whether they wish to continue to be members of the EU or not This is also the only way that each of our countries can make a choice for its own without conditioning too much the others without hijacking the others so I believe that when the moment comes the UK people will say yes because put as it is that question if they say no they will get out of the single market which I believe they will not wish to do and at any rate it will be a clear cut question rather than hanging on and paralyzing others In respect of the eurozone in the context of greater integration and greater banking union and so on I do see the possibility of going further up the road let me say this in respect of the speech yesterday five years is in eternity in politics it's in eternity what you need now is clarity decisiveness and a horizon and the Europe given its current period of relative calmness now has an opportunity to move on here and make the decisions that we've spoken about to make the changes that will impact the economies of Europe and the job prospects for millions of people which is essentially what politics is about here and we need to have our own perspective inside the EU but also where we're going to stand in a global sense in the coming years giving the enormous populations of the Far East the need for food security changes arising from climate change water and so on but just to be clear with Prime Minister Monty that in the end the referendum question has to be in or out well that's a question for the British government absolutely I think it would be premature to have this discussion now we need to know what the Brits actually want in this discussion and we need to find out over the next next years well I agree with you and I think it is up to the British government to decide what the question exactly will be which it will put before the people and on basis of what outcome of what type of discussion they want so we have to see what happens I think we've chased that rabbit next question from the floor it must be one I can't see anybody gentlemen lady there yes it's Amy Kellogg from Fox again this is a question for Prime Minister Monty and for the T-Shuck the U.S. now needs to make some serious budget cuts in the coming months to avoid the fiscal cliff and both of you have just gone through the process of making budget cuts in your own countries and I'm wondering if you can share any lessons learned or tips for the United States as it starts to make its own budget cuts thank you right tips for the Congress I'm sure they're ready yes I would venture to say that Congress should study the case of Italy in the last year because essentially it was a cross-partisan effort a special strange coalition was put up of three parties making up 85% of parliament which in the past they talked with each other unless to exchange invectives and they were brought to make a cross-partisan an all-partisan agreement on a budget containment which brings to zero this year the budget deficit in structural terms so I always thought that the attempt made one or two years ago in the U.S. of a super committee was a loadable bipartisan effort which had less success than this strange attempt pursued in Italy and this to me simply means that in order for modern democracies to overcome difficult to take difficult decisions in these sectors probably we do need grand coalitions or broader than normally efforts. Thank you. Tisek has the last word on advice to the Congress Republicans and Democrats and maybe even something special for the White House. Well I propose to bring a bowl of shamrock to the President in March because we've had to make very painful decisions here reducing public pay reducing the size and cost of the public sector increasing pension ages changing the regulations governing wage setting mechanisms changing the structures in the areas like health and the way government does its business I think the first thing you need is a plan the strategy that's clear and that can be set out and you have an objective in mind our objective is to get our deficit below 3% by 2015 and we're headed on track for that we've now instituted a new negotiation with the trade unions to take a further billion in current spending and pay overtime allowances all of these premium payments agency workers and so on over the next three years this is another painful challenge but the objective and the strategy is clear now the Congress and the US government operate differently than governments here but I think it's very important the first thing that should be laid out is what do you want what is the strategy within that time to achieve that there's a constant explanation to people as to how you intend to get there and what that's actually going to bring about which is we're not there yet obviously in a fragile economy we need the conclusion of European support but in that sense the United States is such a huge country with such enormous internal potential I believe that if Republicans and Democrats under the return administration of President Obama I believe they will deal with this and I think the United States with respect to them also need to look at their global position because obviously they have an impact on the world economies and therefore on ours good well thank you very much I'm sorry we're going to have to draw this to a close I was hoping that the Irish Prime Minister would say send that message saying if you only could get your act together and cure these problems it would be so much better for the Europe and the world but you're far too much of a diplomat to say that I expect they will he does expect they will I'm sorry we can't take more questions it's been a fascinating session please join me in thanking the Prime Ministers


All right, welcome and it's another edition of the fan duel hurry up. I'm Joe Ranieri I'm joined by Thomas Vecchio today of number of fire and we're gonna dive into the world of Esports because Thomas correct me if I'm wrong here It is it is an ever-growing community of folks and there is an ever-growing Community of people who are betting on esports right now. Yeah, we've had it for DFS You know for the past few seasons. We just recently got it on fan duel It's becoming larger in some of the Vegas books and at this time when you know traditional sports are paused We want to be looking to whatever action we can possibly get so like in anything else in the DFS world No matter what sport you're talking about. Obviously, there are gonna be favorites. They're gonna be underdogs There's gonna be value you just got to figure out which way to go now I know this week and of course we've got a League of Legends tournament going on talk to me here about Some of the big favorites, right? Some of these teams that that we should know about that are like that Let's say the Yankees or the Dodgers so to speak. Yes when it comes to League of Legends DFS It must take us a little bit step back for you know, most people this might not be normal But you want to just treat this as a DFS sport learn it like baseball learn it like hockey You want to be focusing in and on stacking You know who are the teams that can stack up to really rack up the most fantasy points possible and this week We want to start off with TSM team solo mid They're nine and seven for their regular season record. They're tied for second place We're down to the final two games of the regular season They are looking to lock up the second seed which is much much better than the third seed You get to pick your opponent when it comes to playoffs They are playing 100 thieves this weekend who come in with the third most deaths in the North American LCS Team that doesn't play necessarily two disciplined at times So team solo mid aren't a good spot to really rack up the you know potential points Now when it comes to the positions your mid laner and your ADC are kind of like your wide receiver one and running back They're going to be putting up points on a game by game basis But they have even more points when it comes to winning The support jungler and the top laner those players are like maybe a tight end or a wide receiver two Where they have a wider range of outcomes So for me on TSM going to gyrson in the mid lane is a no doubt Cabe at ADC and then if you want to you know implement a little more risk Going to dardoc at jungle or biofrost at support really offer you upside in a spot where they should be able to win And of course, you know with these games going on and and correct me about how many games are we talking about Either a day or per the week. Are we looking at the possibility to be able to uh to create these lineups? So there's five games on a slate they play two games on every weekend So five games on saturday five games on sunday All right, so we're talking about of course, uh, is there anybody else, uh, you know in that favorite or higher price category that we should know about So the best team in the league is a team called cloud nine. They are 15 and one They have locked up the first seed for weeks at this point. They have nothing to play for they're playing a team Evil geniuses who are also nine and seven just like tsm vying for a playoff spot fighting for this seeding Cloud nine looked okay last week They like I said, they don't have anything to play for and I kind of like eg this week as a higher price team hoping for some leverage You know if we have newer people coming into, you know playing esports dfs We want to be looking for a spot where if cloud nine is going to be overowned just because they're 15 and one in the best team I want to go for that leverage in tournaments and it comes to a team like eg who are playing them You can be looking to jizuki in the mid lane for 9.2 bang their adc is one of the most consistent players in the lcs Seeing at 9.6 and really I think the wild card is gonna be their support player zazel at 7.6 So you get a little bit of savings with him You're going up to the high price players that you want and hopefully the lower ownership in tournaments All right, so let's talk here, of course You can have the higher price stacks without having the value the lower price stacks here So talk to us here about some of the more value oriented stacks. We should be looking at this weekend So one of the cheaper stacks we're gonna find tonight or this week I should say for saturdays lcs slate is counter logic gaming now if you look at the standings They are dead last in league. They're 13 and three. They're out of the playoffs They are facing a team golden guardians who is six and ten They're really not that much better than clg and if everyone's gonna be off of clg just because They're terrible or quote unquote terrible I think we can be looking to them for a bit of value now golden guardians actually coming with the second most Debt in the entire league clg is that you know last in the league with the most death But golden guardians like aren't Significantly better just because they have three more wins than clg and the savings that counter watch gaming bring tonight are really awesome We have stick say their most I would say their best player the most expensive at $9,000 You really get some savings if you drop down to their support smoothie at 7.3 And really pobelter in the mid lane at 8.4 is much much cheaper compared to some of the other mids So we get a bit of value. We get a team who yeah, they play a little bit sloppy, but golden guardians are not that good All right So talk to me because I love the name talk to me about the Immortals here tonight in a value that they bring to the table So Immortals back into the lcs this season after a few years off. They are eight and eight They are vying for a playoff spot. We've all these teams nine and seven eight and eight six and ten They're all in the mix I like this spot for Immortals this week mainly because their prices are really really cheap. They kind of remind me of I don't know like just the middle of the road nfl team You know sitting on like the outside looking in they look good sometimes that they look bad sometimes maybe they're losing games They shouldn't be they're winning close games that they shouldn't be winning That kind of team and if everyone's going to be paying up for you know cloud nine or tsm They're gonna be dropping all the way down for a clg We have Immortals in the mid tier apollo came in mid season He's nine point four their most expensive player But really the savings that hako their support brings that six point eight Exmit the in the jungle at seven point eight and ike in the mid lane is only eight point five So we have Immortals really cheap options when it comes to support We have some what should be lower ownership with counter logic gaming and then really that team i'm trusting this week is going to be tsm So as you can hear with thomas obviously there are opportunities this weekend e-sports continues to power through and of course We've got you covered here at fan duel dot com all the information you need the lines the lineups all available to you at fan duel dot Tom so thomas vekio of number fire Certainly appreciate your time and your knowledge when it comes to e-sports and this has been Another edition of the fan duel hurry up. Enjoy your weekend and be safe


Yeah, we on boss talk one-on-one. Here we go. So how long did how long did it take your father to get over there? My dad literally was there like right after it happened like when that card sped off My dad was literally pulling his car You know bagging his car in this you know his parking spot because he was coming to work It was coming to work. Okay. Yeah, so yeah So he he basically was coming to work and when you think about it though like say I just keep you I'm You hear the stories of them trying to say that you guys, you know pretty much was connected to right to doff's murder So at the end of the day, it's like, okay I hear what they saying but you know the thing you wasn't there, but but then I guess I seen you on the news I don't know where how you where did you do that interview at where you was on it was on the side It was on the side of the building. Was that the same day? That was the exact same day So you came over there to that day that I came there with my I was on my way with my mom because my mom wanted to go She wanted to get over there and see what's going on. I mean somebody obviously was just killed in a shop You know, she was she was frantic, you know, she was trying to figure out what was going on Was anybody else hurt cuz nobody wasn't really telling her anything all we heard was that somebody was dead in a shot We didn't know anything else until the second car when we were heading there and then they told us it was Doll, you know, yeah, but about a time we got there, you know, we couldn't of course as a crime scene So we weren't there we can't get over to take we can't talk to anybody about it We just my mom was just trying to get as close to something as possible because it was her shop, you know Yeah, that's that's tough man. Like I said, I don't know that that business come back, you know For us at that location. I don't know, you know what I mean How long it's been there is 22 22 years that's gotta come back. That's the that's like this one But would the community embrace it after that too? Why I will say it is they're asking for it to be back It's a lot of people that want that shop to be opened again I mean, why wouldn't you guys you guys are in the center of Castellar?  So Why I get rid of it now? I mean a lot of people really want so are you planning to reopen it? It's up to my dad. Yeah, Raven.  This is happening. We don't move differently We do everything exactly the same. We have not changed. We get up. We go to work. We bake cookies We have cookies in the stores down there in Memphis all the grocery stores They're still kicking, you know I mean we had a country that we were actually about to sign before all of this even happened that we literally had to put on hold because all of this happened, you know, so You can't say it don't move differently because I guarantee you you're more observative of your surroundings We're more we're observing but we were always observing. I was always observing in my surrounds even before this I mean, I mean you that's everywhere. You gotta be just like that down in Memphis like Everywhere, you can't just necessarily say I mean, yeah, I know y'all see Memphis.  Oh, man, but if you think about it, that's I mean, that's just life, man I mean, that's just that's just the way it is. I Can't say how it is in Texas. I can't say when you grew up in a certain area and you're used to it That's the same thing some people say about Jamaica to say in certain areas. We hear how y'all do it You know people be shooting killin killin a lot, right? But it's not everywhere, but and when you're born and raised there, you don't think about it as anything Yeah, I mean, I think about it is I mean, it's extremely serious. I mean what's going on in Memphis right now is It's extremely serious and it's hard to watch, you know, because that is my city And you know, I weep for my city, you know all the time


It is a big problem. Our region per capita is really one of the highest pollutants in the world. Our shorelines tell a disturbing story. It's not unique to Grenada but similar to that of our other OECS neighbors. Every year when torrential rains signal the start of the rainy season, rivers enter the results of wanton waste disposal actions from upstream inland sources contributing to our big pollution problem. Small island developing state is known for our large water space and as such the issue of pollution through plastic has a direct link to the real in the efforts of realizing the blue economy. The need to implement and develop for saying plastic collection system is of paramount importance in helping islands such as Dominica to deal with the ongoing issue of plastic pollution. Our marine pollution challenge has worsened over the decades in the absence of actions to nip the problem in the body. Miles of plastic floating islands are showing up in oceans around the world and our region is not spare. Our polluted marine ecosystem is affecting our economy, lives and livelihoods in areas such as fishing, tourism, recreation health and the list goes on. Actions to stand the flow of plastic waste into our landfills and very critical into the marine ecosystems are needed now. In dealing with this plastic issue the solution and the model really requires a multi-country approach, original approach because the choice is for various solutions we don't have the volume per country so the scale is an important issue to make it viable. So that's why doing this together as multi-countries is critical to ensure we have a sustainable model. The Recycle OECS project is an initiative of the EU Care Forum and it is being conducted as part of the EU Zero Waste Caribbean Program. The Recycle OECS project is being implemented by the French Development Agency in collaboration with the OECS. The objective of the project is really to develop an OECS model system, plastic waste collection and transport or recycling. The Recycle OECS project is building on programmatic areas which are integrated, holistic and which are specific to our systems in the OECS. It focuses on what some may call the green, the blue and the circular economy, but by whatever name our vision is rarely the same. We are building a new economy. One of our key strategic priorities is reinventing the economy to have a more sustainable approach to the economy and this model would demonstrate how we can convert really something that is considered trash into a sustainable model that could lead to businesses and employment. The second component of the project looks at communications and visibility and under that we will be launching a public awareness campaign to inform on a circular economy approach and by circular economy approach we just look at a different approach to what we use now which is more of a linear approach. We use resources, we make products and we discard these products but under circular economy system we use products and we keep them in the system for as long as possible either by reusing, recycling or repurposing. We are designing a regional model that is sustainable and will demonstrate that model in two countries and hopefully that will set the platform to scale to the broader region. The second pillar is the economic pillar and this pillar recognizes the need for a sustainable market driven process that is dependent on volumes to become more financially sound. As such, cooperation of the member states is important in developing this pillar. The third pillar is the financing mechanism recognizing that plastic recycling is an expensive process in our small island states based on low economies of scale and high capital costs. Another key pillar is the technical one because we need to understand the type of plastic we have, what's the best way of dealing with it, the processing in terms of reusing for the purposes, how was the best way even for collecting and separating. So this is very important. Dominico Service Management Corporation truly welcomes this such initiative and seeks to work with the OECS secretariat in improving the collection, storage and disposal of plastic polymers on the island. We believe through this venture we'd be able to align our member states with the aspiration of many multi-environmental agreements. The specific objective of the Zero Waste in the Caribbean program is to better align solid waste management systems in Caribbean countries with circular economy principles and nationally determined contributions to improve the resource efficiency of Caribbean economies and to attract possible investments. AFD supervises the project. There is a strong technical follow-up through a permanent dialogue between AFD's technical teams and the OECS, which is essential for the implementation of the project. The ultimate goal is to maximize the impacts of the project. Finally, AFD is accountable for the EU funds and is responsible for all monitoring and reporting around the project. We maintain transparency and a regular dialogue with the EU. Combating plastic pollution remains a major challenge for the Caribbean. The region's solid waste is estimated to contain 12% plastic and its coastlines are heavily littered with plastic bottles. To help tackle this issue and promote environmental sustainability, UNEP is guiding the Zero Waste program. Given its wide geographic coverage and experience with political mechanisms, UNEP is responsible for stakeholder management over a range of regional and national organizations. It focuses on strengthening policies and legislative frameworks related to solid waste management in the region as well as promoting circular economy principles and raising awareness among cariform member states. The Recycle OECS initiative is a crucial part of the Zero Waste program because it seeks to develop a financially self-sustainable model for plastic waste management and the blue economy in the eastern Caribbean. In 2019, the Caricom Heads of Government issued the St. John's Declaration as a signal of high-level concern for the problems of plastic waste management in the Caribbean community. Among other things, the Declaration reaffirms our commitment to collectively reduce plastic pollution in the marine environment and to find trade and policy alternatives to single-use plastics. The priorities align quite well and we are happy to support the OECS Commission in whatever way is possible to support and further advance efforts in good management of plastics and solid waste. And we look forward to the success for outcomes of the project. We depend on the ocean for livelihoods, for recreation, for support for our tourism industry and so we really do need to take a coordinated approach in addressing the pollution and matters that affect the oceans that surround us. We encourage all civil society organizations to come together to address this issue of plastic pollution through this coordinated approach because together we can beat plastic pollution as the theme of World Environment Day States.


YouTube team keep it clean. What's going on? It's in Graven Hill with another video and in this video about About four or five minutes before me making this video, which I'm making in that 351 p.m I got a notification that the Ravens had worked out Dakota Watson an outside linebacker And I was like, okay, I guess they just Kicking some tires trying to see some things that's out there and whatnot trying to get a feel for what's out there And whatnot. Okay, cool. It is what it is I didn't really expect much of it because They don't really have room to add somebody They don't have room to add an outside linebacker unless Somebody either went on in your reserve or somebody was released or traded and When I saw that I like I said, I just didn't think anything of it Literally thought nothing of it because this happens each and every week with a lot of different teams They always working out people whether they thinking about them for this season or they thinking about them for the future Just in case they steal a free agent. It happens. It's NFL but then Jeff Zerbiak He confirmed that report even though it was already from somebody. I'll Mike Mike I forgot how to say his last name starts with a K and I'm not gonna butcher it I don't feel like butchering it right now But somebody who was butchered by Eric DeCosta and the Ravens Was Tim Williams They cut them they cut Tim Williams Now I said in the video Well, we talked about hardball calling out Tim Williams and Tyus Bowser. I said in the video That they were on notice now that they either needed to step up Or step out We talked about that in the video because again, we've seen this before if hardball call somebody out like that Like I'm like that then your job is on the line your job is on the line and Jeff Zerbiak said that um, he only plays seven snaps on Sunday. I didn't even notice that But I haven't really noticed him all year this year and Another reason for that is because he just he hasn't been out there too much Tim Williams that you have not seen 56 out there too much Because I know they can say oh, well he he he didn't make an impact He didn't make any plays Well, he also didn't play much This almost and and I'm not saying that Tim Tim Williams he wasn't this electric But well last year before he got hurt. He was doing just fine But he also had a Tyrell Suggs Jude on was obviously there the defense was just obviously a lot different last year, but anyway It this this almost to me Just a little bit it almost seems kind of scapegoatish It almost seemed like they're looking for a scapegoat. Oh The past rush is not doing so good. You know what Tim Williams? He's out of here He called out Tim Williams and tie his bowels of what last week or the week before week the week before last whenever it was Yeah, the veterans needs they need a break. They need some rest The young guys are not taking advantage. They're not they're not earning the reps They need to make some plays too It's like the the past rush with even with the veterans out there is suffers It's not consistent and that whole QB hits leading the league and QB hits. It is a very misleading statistic Because we're not even close. I don't even think we're in the top half in sex But it just this this just seems to me like they're looking to put that blame on somebody They like, you know what? Okay Throw it on Tim Williams Throw it on him and I think he kind of sensed there's something like this was coming Because he was tweeting some stuff out the other day And it was it was there were there were some tweets that were like, okay. He um He ain't feeling this right now and you could tell that something was up So he said oh well, it looks like he knew he was getting cut two hours ago because he said handle adversity and shake back But that wasn't it though, man That wasn't it. Oh, I was gonna find the tweets, but Yeah, he tweets a lot. He tweets more than me. So I'm not about to look through all that But anyway, you can look it up for yourself But the way that he um, he was tweeting you could tell like If his tweets were any indication because sometimes some some people just tweet out stuff Some people sometimes people just tweet out song lyrics and whatnot and even y'all know how it goes But if if his tweets were anything or any indication of how he was feeling then he was not feeling it And again Now that's a wrap Now that's a wrap. Now what this does This puts Tyus Bowser On notice as well. This puts Tyus Bowser on notice as well. Now. I don't think there's anybody Ravens fans are not but mostly Ravens fans because anybody outside of Ravens fans. They wouldn't know who Tim Williams or Tyus Bowser are Well, unless they just really really really know people's rosters But they're mostly the casual fan is not gonna know who a 10 million to a Tyus Bowser are But what I was gonna say is is I don't think anybody and even including Ravens fans Expected them to be with the team beyond this year. I Don't think anybody expected that or is expecting that Because I mean they got drafted This is the third year and it just hasn't been anything That's why I am really um, I'm really I get really surprised when a lot of people They feel very strongly about Jimmy Smith still being here next year. I Always get a little confused by that like cuz Eric the Costa it just this is different Like cutting somebody week four or after week four Eric the Costa and again while I do think there's a little bit of skate go stuff going on here But at the same time Eric the Costa is showing that if you're not producing for me If you're not producing for me then I Don't need you If you're not a factor for me, I don't need you If you're not bringing something to the table for me, then I don't need you And when I say me, I mean the team but yeah, yeah, you know that So it's like who's next and what's next? What I really want to see from this Ravens team is I want them to Make changes based off of play and not just pay make changes based off of play and not just pay because think about this if if There was a Ravens player Who wasn't doing so well? Say for instance, there was somebody in the same scenario. It was another pass rusher in the same scenario You are McDonald's Well, just wait, you know that he's working right now Well McDonald's can wait you didn't even say please Interrupt the daddy video and ain't even say please for McDonald's I think about it if you close the door He didn't even close the door. See how Carter is man. Anyway, um, what I want the Ravens to do is If you are really about cutting somebody Based off of a lack of production if that's really a problem if that's really an issue If it was because there's a lack of production Then not saying to cut somebody or cut every person whose production is lacking But make some changes make some changes with your roster make some changes with your depth chart Because if you're gonna if you're gonna call out Tim Williams and Tyus Bowser fine By all means do that But call out everybody who's a problem on this team Call out everybody who's not playing up to Raven standards call out everybody whose play has been terrible Do that Don't just pin it on somebody who you barely given snaps to don't don't just do that because that's weak That's weak That's like you're trying to curve around the problem and you don't you don't want to take it head on Ravens know what the problem is They know what some of the problems are not just what the problem is what the problems are Do that handle it that way Then that'll really put this team in the right direction So anyway team keep it clean Just like Tim Williams now with the Ravens I'm out


Politics is the process through which a group of people make collectively binding agreements. A political system is a set of social institutions through which this process is conducted. Governments make collective decisions that bind members of their community into agreements. In so doing, they exercise power over people. A primary factor to consider in the analysis of any political system is then to ask on what is the exercise of this power over people based. A government's power is in its capacity to define people's choices for them. People then have to in some way give over their individual choices and agency to the collective organization and thus embody it with the power to make decisions and act on behalf of the community. We can then ask why do the individuals do this? Why do individuals submit to the will of the combined organization and give over their individual agency to it? On what basis is the political systems authority seen to be legitimate by the people? As the legitimacy of a political system is foundational to its construction, it will shape its most basic overall structure and workings. Legitimacy is commonly defined in political science and sociology as the belief that a rule, institution or leader has the right to govern. It is a judgment by the individual about the rightfulness of a hierarchy between rule or rulers and the subjects and about the subordinate's obligations to the political system. Legitimacy is a value whereby something or someone is recognized and accepted as right and proper. Three types of political legitimacy have been identified by the German sociologist Max Weber which she described as being traditional, charismatic or rational legal. Traditional legitimacy derives from societal custom and habit that emphasizes the history of the authority or tradition. Traditionalists understand this form of rule as historically accepted hence its continuity because it is the way society has always been. Charismatic legitimacy derives from the ideas and personal charisma of the leader, an individual whose authoritative personality charms and psychologically dominates the people of the society to agree with the government's regime and rule. Rational legal legitimacy derives from a system of institutional procedures wherein government institutions establish and enforce law and order believed to be in the public interest. On the most basic level, a political system can maintain power through the exercise of forceful coercion. Through the exercise of physical force or the threat of it, they can get people to give over their agency and choices to the political organization. In such a case, the term might makes right defines the authority of the organization although this will likely be masqueraded in various forms. Such a political system may be defined as being autocratic which is government by the few who are strong enough to seize power through forceful means. The term autocratic means of or relating to a ruler who has absolute power and takes little account of other people's wishes or opinions. Autocracy is often termed the oldest form of governments and it can be seen to be inherited from our closest ancestors in the primate group where social order is often maintained through what is called a dominance hierarchy. A dominance hierarchy arises when members of a social group interact often aggressively to create a ranking system. In animal and human social systems, members are likely to compete for access to limited resources. Animal decisions regarding involvement in conflict are defined by the interplay between the costs and benefits of agonistic behavior. Rather than fighting each time they meet, relative relationships are formed between members. Based upon repetitive interactions, a social order is created that is subject to change every time a dominant member is challenged by a subordinate member. Quite simply, the dominance hierarchy that defines autocratic systems means that those who are the strongest will rule others and have the power to determine their actions. In such a political system, power ultimately rests on the fear of the individuals being ruled. The subordinates follow the actions decided by the rulers because of the fear they have of the consequences of not doing so. Thus the system ultimately rests on the capacity of the rulers to induce fear in the subordinates and thus control their actions towards the ends of the ruling members. Without this capacity, the subjects would not do what the rulers command and the political system would lose its control and power. Achieving power over people through the capacity to induce fear in them can come in many different forms and be mediated through many different channels. For example, many authoritarian political regimes maintain power by creating some threat that is external to the group and posit their maintenance of power as the only means of avoiding that threat. For example, contemporary North Korea inculcates a sense of imminent threat from external aggressive nations in its people, thus validating the maintenance of a strong military rule by the regime, which again is ultimately based on the fear of the subjects. Autocracy is characterized by the concentration of power in a centralized organization, be it in an individual dictator or a group of power holders such as a committee or party leadership. This center relies on force to suppress opposition and to limit social developments that might eventuate in its opposition. The power of the center is not subject to effective controls or limits by genuine sanctions, it is often an absolute form of power. Most autocracies in the world today attempt to borrow legitimacy by adopting the language of the constitutions of non-autocratic regimes or by establishing similar institutions. It is a common practice, for example, in many modern totalitarian states to establish institutions such as parliaments, courts, legal codes, elections, etc. that appear to have the institutional structures of democratic republics. Similarly, the language of totalitarian constitutions is often couched in terms of the doctrines of popular rule of democracy. The difference is that in totalitarian regimes, neither the institutions nor the constitutional provisions act as effective checks on the power of those at the top of the political hierarchy. Those who have power want to be free of those constraints. The first form of political system that may be thought of as being legitimate in the sense identified by Max Weber is that of legitimacy based on tradition. Traditional legitimacy derives from societal custom and habit that emphasizes the history of the authority of tradition. In many pre-modern societies, some religion, social or political order that was laid down in the past comes to be accepted without question. And in a conservative system, it is the function of the present organization to uphold and perpetuate that order. This can be seen to come from both some veneration of the past, a desire for continuity and a recognition that what has stood the test of time must in some sense work. The institutions of traditional government usually are historically continuous as in monarchy and tribalism where the system is typically organized to perpetuate the rule of a particular family that ruled in the past. In a political context, this may be called conservatism. Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes retaining traditional social institutions. Conservatism emphasizes stability and continuity in the sociopolitical order. There is no single set of policies that are universally regarded as conservative because the meaning of conservatism depends on what is considered traditional in any given place and time. Thus, conservatives from different parts of the world, each holding their respective traditions, may disagree on a wide range of specific issues. However, at the heart of conservatism is the philosophy of communitarianism. Conservatism aims to preserve the unity and integrity of a given community and to resist change that may threaten, destabilize or disintegrate the existing institutions that constitute the sense of community and shared heritage of a group of people. Communitarianism is a philosophy that emphasizes the connection between the individual and the community. Its overriding philosophy is based upon the belief that a person's social identity and personality are largely molded by community relations with a smaller degree of development being placed on individualism. A quartenant of conservatism is the rejection of the application of abstract reasoning towards remaking society based upon theoretical principles. Instead, asserting that political reality is an embodied phenomenon, embodied within existing social, cultural and political institutions that conservatism desires to retain. From this perspective, politics should be about using existing institutions to respond to current challenges whilst retaining them. Conservatism is distinctly non-theoretical in nature. It can only be understood from within the context of the community whose integrity it wishes to preserve. From a conservative perspective, reason is not a basis for the judging of authority. Traditional practices, actions and ways of being should not be open to reason-based inquiry in order to determine their validity. Their validity is determined within the context of upholding and maintaining the integrity of the existing community and it can't be abstracted from that. That reason is fundamentally limited in scope and a relatively untested innovation compared to the tried and tested historical, religious and social arrangements. Conservatism would posit that authority in the form of tradition and power and people's unquestioned respect and fear of them are required to maintain social stability in order. Traditionalist conservatism is a political philosophy emphasizing organic unity based on common territory often coupled with one dominant-based system. This combination creates a sphere of loyalties and responsibilities that the individual is bound into. A modern expression of this is often found in nationalism where the nation is the identified community. Political conservatism emphasizes the need for the principles of natural law. Natural law begins with the premise that all of our rights come from God or nature and are inherent to our being. It is sometimes defined as the law above the law. Natural law is a vital part of the conservative intellectual heritage where it is generally assumed to be the proper basis for legislation. Above that of positive law that is constructed through the application of abstract reasoning alone. Instead of appealing to reason as a foundation to political organization, conservatism is more inclined to search for its foundation in what we might call human nature. According to Quentin Hogg, a former chairperson of the British Conservative Party, conservatism is not so much a philosophy as an attitude, a constant force performing a timeless function in the development of a free society and corresponding to a deep and permanent requirement of human nature itself. Conservatism in general defends the idea of social and economic inequality which can be seen to derive from the conception of human nature as in some way akin to that of the construct of man in the state of nature, where there is seen to be a natural struggle for resources between communities and people, where the strongest survive and this gives us the formation of natural and organic hierarchical structures to society. Such a hierarchy is seen to be both natural and the correct order of things and thus interventions by the state based on theories of equality between people are seen as detrimental and at times deeply offensive to those who hold a conservative philosophy. Conservatism today often takes the form of a desire for limited state intervention. In a contemporary context, the market system can be seen to replace the more traditional domains within which peoples and groups competed and prove their merit within the hierarchy. As such, both economic, political and social inequality are seen to follow naturally from this premise of human nature. The third form of legitimacy for government that Max Weber outlined was that of rational legal legitimacy. This form of legitimacy is derived from the rational self-interest the members of the community. That is to say, the people do what the government tells them to do because ultimately it is in their individual and collective interests. This idea is formalized in the construct of the social contract. The basic intuition of social contract theory is that people have rights and they give over these rights to a single governing organization in exchange for the protection of their life, liberty and property. In such a formulation of government, power is seen to come from the individual members of the community. They then give over some of their freedom and invest it in the centralized authority, ultimately because they see it as in their best interests. Government is then formalized in terms of contracts wherein freely consenting individuals give over their choices and actions and submit to follow a centralized authority out of their own interests. There are a number of key elements to this model for us to note. Firstly, the power is seen to derive from the people. It derives from the inalienable rights of the individual. Secondly, the system is one based on reason and rationality as encoded in contracts and laws. Thirdly, that the ultimate aim of the system is that of personal fulfillment and the greatest benefit to the greatest number of people. In this formulation of political systems, power is seen to derive from the people. A political organization wherein ultimate power is seen to rest not in some governing organization but instead with the people is called a republic. A republic is a state in which supreme power is held by the people but is typically exercised by some set of elected representatives. The term republic is the broad term meaning ruled by the people which must include some democratic elements within it. Theoretically, power and freedom reside with the individual citizen but they freely consent to give over this to form governing institutions. Government institutions are then designed to establish to enforce law and order in the public interest. If the government fails to act in the common interest then the people have the right to replace that government with a new one. The theoretical construct of the social contract and republics is expressed in constitutions which often start with the implicit or explicit statement that the constitution is an expression of the people's will and rights. In the modern world, constitutional democracy is the primary type of non-autocratic government. The minimal definition in institutional terms of a constitutional democracy is that it should provide for a regular system of periodic elections with a free choice of candidates, the opportunity to organize competing political parties, adult suffrage, decisions by majority vote, with protection for minority rights, an independent judiciary, constitutional safeguards for basic civil liberties and the opportunity to change any aspect of the government system through agreed procedures. The move towards republican political organization that is taking place during the modern era has been underpinned by the underlying cultural transformation from a religious-based culture to a reason-based form of culture. The rise of reason and rational social institutions throughout the modern era has, within the political realm, been translated into a huge rise in liberal republicanism which in many ways has been the defining characteristic of the modern era's political transformation. Pre-modern conceptions of government are invariably based upon some conception of natural law. Natural law is a philosophy asserting that certain rights are inherent in virtue of human nature and are typically seen to be given by some religious tradition or transcendental source. Good governance is then largely equated to what the moral code deems to be correct, good or right. Traditional political philosophy believed the political society required virtuous rulers. However, in the modern era, social institutions came to be designed around rational self-interest and the role of natural law, human nature and virtue are diminished. This break from tradition was most famously expressed in the work of Nicholas Machiavelli who was one of the first political theorists to decouple ideas of human virtue from practical matters of exercising political power. After Machiavelli, modern political philosophy tried to design procedures that would lead to a just outcome without presuming the presence of virtue in the system which is a very modern idea. Political society was to be based on rational self-interest as was found expressed in the work of Adam Smith who tried to illustrate how overall beneficial outcomes for society were achieved even when people followed only their self-interested ends. A key feature in the development of the modern era has been the decoupling of social institutions from the spiritual dimension of the community. The spiritual dimension became increasingly seen as something personal while the realm of the public comes to be seen as the realm of the rational. Politics becomes increasingly decoupled from ethics as political institutions become decoupled from religious narrative and organization. Positive law attempts to create a rule-based framework for governance through the application of reason where all are equal before the legal system. Since the Enlightenment, the cosmopolitan ideal attached to liberal republicanism and capitalism has been that individuals from different races, ethnicities, cultures and civilizations can adopt a set of culturally neutral practices allowing them to interact to one another's advantage being equal before the impersonal apparatus of the law. Part of the legitimacy of rational forms of political organization derives from their equal application to all the constraints of political processes to logic and the transparency of that logic to all. As Tom Tyler writes in his book The Psychology of Legitimacy the roots of legitimacy lie in people's assessment of the fairness of the decision-making process used by the authorities and institutions. The third major dimension to the legitimacy of rational political institutions is that of utility. Utilitarianism became a highly influential philosophy during the formation of the modern political system. Simply put, it sees the legitimacy of rational institutions to lie in their capacity to provide the greatest good to the greatest number of people. Within the rational formalization to the legitimacy of authority the government is seen to derive its legitimacy from its utility to the people. The government is a rational instrument designed to express the community's interest and provide certain services in the most efficient manner possible. Its capacity to fulfill this function and provide the desired services is a basis for its reason for being and a primary metric for an assessment of its validity. Instrumental legitimacy rests on the rational assessment of the usefulness of an authority and describing to what extent that authority responds to shared needs. Instrumental legitimacy is very much based on the perceived effectiveness of the service delivered thus governments become rule-bound bureaucratic systems similar to other forms of rational institutions such as the corporation which are measured according to their efficiency in delivering the desired results. Finally, we can identify one last source of legitimacy to the foundations of political systems as that of normative values. Political order and the foundations to political action can be created through the use of forceful coercion through reference to tradition and continuity to self-interest within rational institutions but people can also be moved into action by normative motives. Normative organizations are those organizations in which membership is voluntary and which are joined in order for members to pursue a common interest. A normative organization is one that shows a strong commitment towards supporting a particular cause. People voluntarily join a normative organization because they identify with the organization's goals and view these goals as socially or morally worthwhile. A normative organization differs from other forms of organization in that the individual is not coerced nor are they bound by tradition to take the action nor is there any immediate tangible reward for joining such organization. They do it out of their own volition to fulfill some normative value that they believe in. People join normative organizations to pursue goals they consider morally worthwhile. The interests of such organizations can be for example community services, social action or environmental protection. They are typically concerned with specific environmental or social issues. Examples of voluntary normative political organizations would be Greenpeace or Amnesty International. In both organizations members combine their political resources towards a common end that is not given by tradition, enforced or gives immediate remuneration but they do it because they believe in the value of the environment or that of human freedom. These voluntary organizations typically strive for participatory democracy in which all members have an equal opportunity to discuss and decide important questions affecting the organization. Of course virtually all political systems will be a combination of all these bases for legitimacy. Virtually all forms of government will use forceful coercion in some way. They will base their legitimacy on some cultural and social heritage that they purport to maintain and develop. Virtually all governments today employ rational institutions and the language of reason based government and through nationalism they will often appeal to normative aspects in their citizens.


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