Curiosidade do dia

Na sequência desta Curiosidade do dia, o FT de 5 de Março voltou à carga em "Europe must trim welfare to fund warfare":

"In that rare thing, an Angela Merkel statement that aged well, the long-serving German chancellor worried that Europe accounted for 7 per cent of the world's population, a quarter of its economic output and half of its social spending. Those numbers have modulated somewhat in the subsequent 13 years, but the gist of her point holds.

More than that, it has gained a new urgency. The reason Merkel wanted some welfare trimmings was to preserve Europe's "way of life". The mission now is to defend Europe's lives. How, if not through a smaller welfare state, is a better-armed continent to be funded? Borrowing? Britain and France have had tense moments with bond investors of late. Public debt nears or exceeds national output in both countries, as it does in Italy. ... The other option is to raise taxes. At the margins, this could happen. But big rises? In an already undynamic continent? 

...

The question is whether the public agrees. I have come to doubt whether rich, democratic societies can make difficult reforms - except in a crisis. Public discomfort isn't enough. An element of real fear has to come in, 

...

Still, that isn't the purpose of defence, and politicians must insist on this point. The purpose is survival."

Por cá, já ouviram falar nisto? Vai ser tema da campanha eleitoral?