Economic Situation and Government Ideology in Europe

In the present European election campaign Jean-Claude Juncker defends the view that European states with conservative governments boast better economic data than their counterparts with socialist governments. This article offers a descriptive analysis of the latest data on key economic policy figures, including figures for the year 2013. Juncker’s statement is confirmed as far as debt and deficit/surplus ratios are concerned for the 1995–2013 period. It is, however, only partly true of the primary balance, unemployment rate and youth unemployment rates, and does not apply to GDP growth rates.