News stories by Mario Soares

LISBON, May 27 (IPS) - The economic crisis began in the United States under the administration of then-President George W. Bush, following the collapse of the Lehman Brothers Bank. It came as a result of unregulated globalisation and a neoliberal ideology that places usurious markets, offshore bank accounts, and money for the sake of money, above state power. It is an ideology that ignores citizens, even as they starve.

French president-elect Francois Hollande is man of broad vision and precisely what France needs to pull itself out of the current crisis and put in place a policy for economic and social recovery. But his victory Sunday goes far beyond this: it is a resounding confirmation of numerous signs that Europe has recognised the failure of neoliberal ideology and is changing course, writes Mario Soares, ex-president and ex-prime minister of Portugal.

It is hard to see how the European Union and the euro can find their way out of the imbroglio their leaders have led themselves, and all Europeanists, into, writes Mario Soares, ex-president and ex-prime minister of Portugal.

Obama's greatest strength derives from the hope he arouses for a better world, one with more solidarity and justice. This is not a new utopia. Today it is possible to take a major step forward, like those taken during other crucial periods of history, writes Mario Soares, ex-president and ex-prime minister of Portugal.

The current economic crisis, which was the swan song of neoliberalism, seems to be bringing about a rescue of Karl Marx from purgatory, writes Mario Soares, ex-president and ex-prime minister of Portugal.

The June 28 coup in Honduras, which ousted the country's legitimate leader Manuel Zelaya, represents an historic test for US President Obama, writes Mario Soares, ex-president and ex-prime minister of Portugal.

While the first good news on the economic crisis is arriving from the US, Barack Obama continues to fight on all fronts, with rigour and courage. In contrast, in the European Union there is a marked lack of responsible leaders, writes Mario Soares, ex-president and ex-prime minister of Portugal.

In office only since January 20, US President Barack Obama has jumped into action so quickly he has not given adversaries or observers the time to organise criticism or attacks. Meanwhile Europeans, and in particular their political leaders, do not seem to have grasped the "Copernican revolution" that is underway in the US and appear stunned and incapable of reacting to the new developments that are taking place each day in Washington, writes Mario Soares, ex-president and ex-prime minister of Portugal.