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Ageing is a timebomb. We celebrate our greater longevity, yet few of us consider its consequences. This book is an important warning that unless Europeans defuse its explosive force, within two decades our societies will be devastated by it.
The hard fact is that because our political economies have been built around shorter lifespans, they risk being blown apart by ageing. The pressures exerted by the over-60s, who are increasing from today's quarter of the population to a third, will upend our politics and impoverish our young.
Millennials and Gen-Zers are already saddled with their elders' runaway pension and healthcare costs, but are themselves poorer and less privileged. Merritt, a veteran analyst of the European scene, traces the demographic projections that politicians of all persuasions have long ignored, and shines a harsh light on policy shortcomings that must be urgently addressed.
For anyone wants a stake in our future, this book is essential reading which clarifies the political choices to be made if comparatively prosperous Europe isn't to die of old age.
"The demographic timebomb is one of the most pressing challenges facing Europe today. Giles Merritt provides a compelling and necessary wake-up call. As the generational imbalance deepens, public policies on pensions, healthcare and the labour market will face unprecedented strain. Merritt lays out these challenges with clarity and urges policy makers to act before it's too late." Enrico Letta, former Prime Minister of Italy and author of the EU's Letta Report on Europe's future
"Giles Merritt takes a deep dive into one of the most significant challenges Europe faces, posing hard-hitting questions for decision-makers. His thoughtful work outlines the problems and puts forward brave and far-reaching measures to address the slow-burning crisis. It would be folly not to heed his call for action." Layla Moran MP, Liberal Democrat Chair of the UK Parliament Select Committee on Health and Social Care
Giles Merritt is right: Europeans must think hard about demographic reality and assess ageing's economic, social and political risks. Ageing may seem a slow-burning crisis, but this book tells us how massive and imminent its consequences are. Merritt underlines growing imbalances of population growth within the EU, and stresses the need for more policy coordination." László Andor, Secretary-General of the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS) and former EU Commissioner
Since his 1978 arrival in the 'Capital of Europe' as a correspondent of the Financial Times, Giles Merritt has specialised in Europe's policy challenges as a journalist and think-tanker. He's often hailed as a 'Brussels institution' by readers of his incisive and often critical commentaries on European politics and economics.
In 1999 he founded the 'Friends of Europe' think tank, and in 2010 the Financial Times named him among thirty 'Eurostars' who most influence debates on Europe's future course.
Giles Merritt writes his fortnightly 'Frankly Speaking' commentaries for 'Friends of Europe' and is also a Senior Associate Fellow at Belgium's Egmont Institute. This is his fifth book, with earlier ones that include World Out of Work, an award-winning study of unemployment (Collins 1982), and Slippery Slope: Europe's Troubled Future (Oxford University Press 2016), which was shortlisted for the European Book Prize .
1. The Timebomb’s Ten Detonators
2. The Timebomb is Ticking Fast
3. Wealth Gaps Will Soon Be Chasms
4. Europe’s Grim Demographics
5. Gen-Z: Golden or Blighted Youth?
6. The Young Need Better Pay
7. For Homeless, Read Childless
8. Older Voters’ 'Silver Stranglehold'
9. Ageing’s Costs are Youth’s Burden
10. The Deepening Debt Quagmire
11. ‘Soaking the Rich’ isn’t That Easy
12. Ten Ways to Defuse the Timebomb