Where is the line? Where does common sense end?
We are looking at a Europe in turmoil. The rhetoric of hate, rebellion, and vandalism is masked by other valid causes of problems that will be resolved through the current acts of pure vandalism carried out by a small group of people.
In recent hours, Paris seems to have been overrun and to be in the midst of a war. Streets are filled with burned-out vehicles; small, locally-owned businesses have been looted and set on fire… reduced to ashes, just like the hopes of a person or a family who had invested their hard-earned money in that very business.
Public buildings have been vandalized or destroyed and permanently disfigured, as happened at the Limoges city hall. A climate of insecurity is being fueled by a certain group of people who, driven by a frenzy of destruction, care nothing for the issues cited as having led to this public demonstration.
There are certainly political groups behind all of this. And I’m not just talking about the far left. Even the far right may be interested in sowing chaos and destruction, and in creating even deeper social divisions. To create the false impression that the class struggle Marx spoke of is still present.
But will this senseless destruction ever lead to a resolution of the problems that have been identified? How is the housing crisis—and, in some cases, the conditions in French public schools—being addressed when what is actually taking place is a truly anarchic act that undermines others’ right to property, the right to rest (many of the demonstrations and riots occur in the middle of the night), and the public good?
Nothing is safe.
But will democracy be able to weather this severe blow? Is this fault line being widened by actors outside the country, whose sole aim is to create a climate of social tension that will lead to the downfall of democratically elected governments?
How is walking around with your face covered, armed with a Molotov cocktail in one hand and a rock in your pocket—ready to be hurled at a law enforcement officer—related to the problem that is supposedly at the heart of the protest?
What does the conflict between Israel and Palestine, or even the LGBTi+ issue, have to do with the housing crisis?
Would lifting the eviction rights for tenants who fail to meet their obligations help solve the problem? Quite the contrary. If tenants who fail to meet their obligations to the landlord cannot be evicted, they will not vacate the property so that one or more other people can live there. Rent caps. Is imposing a maximum rent cap the solution? If so, landlords who have houses or apartments to put on the market would not do so, since there would be an upfront cap on the maximum rent they could charge, preventing them from charging the market rate.
Public housing construction, or the public rehabilitation of state-owned properties—converting them into housing—could be part of the solution to this problem.
But I must admit that there are some things that confuse me. These days, young people don’t want to make a life for themselves in the city center. They aren’t keen on living in a more outlying area and then commuting to work, whether by car or public transportation.
That, in fact, is one of the other serious problems facing Portugal’s largest urban centers. The demand for public transportation has increased significantly due to the significant immigration we’ve seen over the past 6 to 8 years, but supply has failed to keep pace with that demand.
A reduction in the VAT rate for construction and renovation companies would also be beneficial, but that reduction could simply be “absorbed” by the companies and not translate into a lower price per square meter.
The supply of public rental housing is insufficient. This problem is well known. However, this issue—which has been highlighted for many years and has worsened over the past 2 to 3 years—cannot be resolved quickly or easily.
Will there ever be the political courage to face the problem and figure out how to tackle it?
Many questions arise in a 21st-century Europe that looks toward the horizon without hope.
Image by Hermann Kollinger from Pixabay
Original text written by 