The Continent’s housing crisis has gone from being a slow burn to a four-alarm fire — but some countries are handling it better than others.
One of Europe’s long-simmering political frustrations is suddenly boiling over.
From Lisbon to Łódź, voters are angry about the lack of affordable housing. Anti-immigrant riots broke out in Dublin last fall, fueled in part by claims that the Irish capital’s limited public housing was being given to foreigners. Meanwhile, in cities like Lisbon, Amsterdam and Milan, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets to denounce the lack of affordable homes.
In a poll ahead of last week’s far-right surge in the European Parliament election, the Continent’s mayors listed housing as one of the most important issues facing their constituencies.
What’d the solution to a fundamental lack of housing stock then?
Government spending but capitalists don’t like that answer unless they’re the ones getting the money.
Government spending do to what exactly?
I have no issue with government spending. If fact I think the government should buy all the land. That’s my proposal. But housing will be built more efficiently by the market. Governments are inefficient.