Jeroen Dijsselbloem – Austerity: the past, present and future of Europe

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, ‘the Red Engineer’. Although in most countries Ministers of Finance are quite inpopular, Dijsselbloem is loved even by the opposition in The Netherlands. Exactly one week before the Dutch elections we will reflect upon his role both as Finance Minsiter in The Netherlands and as President of the Eurogroup.

In The Netherlands, Dijselbloem’s party PvdA is on historic lows in the polls, with a plunge from their current 38 to 12 parliamentary seats. However, his same party has claimed the success of the revival of the Dutch economy over the past years. How successful has his term as Finance Minister actually been, and how does he explain the plunge of the PvdA?

In Europe, Dijsselbloem received mixed reactions to his tough stance on the debt issues the eurozone was facing since the financial crisis. Greece and other peripheral countries in the Euro are still struggling to keep their fiscal balance in check. How does he look back on his role at the European stage? How does Dijsselbloem explain the rise of populist movements throughout Europe?

A rare but beautiful mix of politics and economics one week before the Dutch elections!

Who: Jeroen Dijsselbloem
What: Dutch-European politics (elections) & economics
Date: 8th of March
Time: 12.00-13.00
Interviewers: Elias Asselbergs & Igno Notermans