The sovereign debt crisis and the institutional setup in the EU I agree with the idea that what we ultimately need is a “strong representation of fiscally conservative voters”. But how can we implement this? In principle, by building a wide consensus on the advantages of fiscal discipline we may actually induce voters to punish policy-makers who do not deliver it.
Asking voters to agree on fiscal consolidation packages without convincing them of their advantages is not straightforward. But well-designed, stable and easy to apply fiscal rules can contribute to the emergence of a public consensus in favour of policies aimed at fiscal sustainability.