Prof. McGiffen speaks at meeting of 'Modern Left Parties' on European Crisis

On August 19th-20th Professor Steve McGiffen, who also works as a consultant and translator for the Socialist Party of the Netherlands (SPNL), attended a gathering of 'Modern Left Parties' in Amsterdam. The small, informal meeting was called to discuss alternative approaches to overcoming the crisis, as the parties involved find the austerity imposed by the EU neither effective nor humane. The conference guests were Members of Parliament and senior party figures from the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Portugal and Cyprus. Speakers included the Icelandic Minister of Finance, Steingrimmur J. Sigfusson, who outlined his government's proposed route out of the chaos which followed the financial collapse of 2008 and Finland's Minister of Culture and Gender Affairs, Paavo Erkki Arhinmaki. Professor McGiffen was asked to speak on the links between the crisis and the recent riots in London and other English cities.