Italy and Spam start to feel the pinch
Financial Times
14 Aprile 2008
The Italians and Spanish are feeling the brunt of the credit clinch more than people in other big wèstern European countries, but they are the most confident about their government's ability to handle the crisis, according to a Financial Times poli.
The FT/Harris poli finds that, while many Europeans are yet to feel the impact of the financial crisis in their daily lives, 22 per cent of Italians and 16 per cent of Spaniards say it has already had "a major impact".
Although citizens in both countries stili have some faith in their governments to steer their countries to better times, the poli reveals that Britons have dramatically lost their belief in Gordon Brown, UK prime minister.
Mr Brown built his politicai reputation on his stewardship of the ecqnomy as finance minister, but the financial crisis, depleted public flnances and falling house prices liave taken a heavy toll.
The poli found that 68 per cent of Britons had no confidence in their government's ability to deal with the crisis. That figure fell to 52 per cent in Germany, 51 per cent in the US, 50 per cent in France, 43* per cent in Italy and 36 per cent in Spain.
The pojl found that Britons along with Italians were the most likely to list "excessive taxes" as the biggest problem facing the economy, with 25 per cent putting it at the top of the list. In France, Spain and the US jtrje is$ue)iardly figured at ali.
The* crédit crunch has had a variarne effect on Europe's biggest economies so far, with almost half of Germans (47 per cent) saying it had not impacted at ali on their daily lives. Some 44 per cent of Britons and 35 per cent of French said the same.
Rising prices for food and energy remain the main economie concern in most countries.
Thè poli also finds support for the idea that a govemment or centrai bank should help failing banks.
Source > Financial Times
