Europe on a budget
We look debt and austerity measures across Europe, plus the business model of budget carriers.
One day, we’ll sit down for our weekly CTC editorial meeting … and there won’t be a plethora of stories coming out of Europe about debt and austerity.
That day, however, is a long, long time away!
I liken Europe to an onion (oh dear, I think I’ve done this metaphor before, again!). You know, lots of layers, and each time you peel one back it brings more tears to your eyes? Stop me if I’ve told you this one before.
But seriously, it is like that. This week we’re looking at France (ongoing protests at pension reform), Romania (vote of no-confidence in the government), Portugal (looking like another Greece in the making) … it is all bad new I’m afraid.
The one blip was the UK’s third-quarter growth figures … 0.8 per cent. Usually that wouldn’t be a thing to celebrate, but believe it or not it is double what was expected.
Also on the show this week, the Portuguese economic minister who was passing through Doha on a trade-ties trip … a very nice and softly-spoken man, who I sensed was very worried about where his economy was going, but refused to be beaten by it.
Plus my friend Dan Nolan in Dubai speaks to the CEO of flydubai, a budget carrier that’s been operating for around a year. Budget carriers aren’t big in this part of the world, so it is an interesting business model. It is part of our wider look at the issues of competition between European and Gulf airlines.
Back to Dubai
Just so you know, we’re in the planning stages of a one-year Dubai special. Remember a year ago, we brought you an entire episode of CTC from Dubai as the debt crisis unfolded there?
We’ll we’re doing it again to mark the one-year anniversary! Really looking forward to that. It’ll be interesting to see what the sentiment of the people there is like now … something tells me a year hasn’t been enough to heal all the wounds created by Dubai World’s debt dramas.
Anyway, we’ll see you on the TV for this week’s show, and of course online on twitter: @AJCountingCost.
Counting the Cost can be seen each week at the following times GMT: Friday: 1430, 2130; Saturday: 0300, 1230; Sunday: 0630, 1930; Monday: 0030, 0730.