The IMF have incredibly said that voting Yes to the Austerity Treaty will not result in permanent austerity, this is despite the fact that the treaty is a blatant attempt to institutionalise austerity into law across the 25 states which are to sign up to it.
The IMF is unelected and unaccountable body which is dedicated to neo-liberalism. Across the globe, any country they have put into one of their ‘programmes’ has resulted in the decimation of the living standards of workers and the unemployed, attacks on the welfare state and mass whole-sale privatisations of public services.
They should not try to interfere in the democratic process during this referendum. Their statements are an attempt to influence the debate in Ireland so that a Yes vote to enshrine in law austerity, neo-liberalism and bondholder bailouts.
Together with the E.U. Commission and the ECB, the IMF have been at the heart of driving the austerity which has been inflicted on Ireland over the last number of years. They are no friend or partner to Irish workers, the unemployed or young people. They have been to the fore in calling for the sale of state assets at knock-down prices and for a reduction in state spending which will cause most hardship for the people who rely on these services.
The IMF should stay out of this referendum debate. A massive No vote is needed to strike a blow against the austerity policies of the Troika and European establishment. A yes vote will result in over €5.7 billion worth of further cuts on top of the €8.6 billion already planned. It will mean massive austerity across Europe to the tune of over €166 billion. A yes vote will allow the Irish government to argue that there is support for their polices and that they have a mandate to implement further austerity – water charges, property charges.
The rejection of this treaty is vital to defend the living standards across Ireland and Europe.
Article source: http://www.paulmurphymep.eu/imf-stay-out-of-referendum-debate
