The Liberal Democrats chose the elegant Palais D’Egmont for their pre-summit gathering. While the leafy grounds are gorgeous, particularly on a very un-Belgian sunny day, the mood was anxious.
‘Obviously, we are all worried,’ Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, told reporters when asked about the situation in Portugal, where the government of Jóse Sócrates failed to push through austerity measures.
Rutte said it was now for the Portuguese to decide their future. But, he warned, whomever succeeds Sócrates will have to embrace austerity if they want European support.
‘For them to ask the stability fund to intervene they need to have the willingness and preparedness to bring a new austerity package to parliament,’ he said. ‘That will always be a prerequisite for European help.’
Across the globe: Gideon Rachman and his FT colleagues debate international affairs on