Wall Street versus Main Street: “Over-representation of Wall Street banks in senior government positions sends bad message" - by David Ignatius

The revival of the U.S. financial system after the crash of 2008 is arguably the Obama administration’s biggest domestic policy success. But Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), in her jihad against Wall Street, seems determined to devalue this accomplishment — and to make financial expertise a mark of shame for Democrats, rather than a source of pride.

Warren’s current target is Antonio Weiss, the president’s nominee for Treasury undersecretary for domestic finance. Weiss’s chief defect, in the eyes of Warren and other liberal critics, is that he worked as an investment banker at Lazard and, in that role, appears to have advised Burger King on how to reduce its U.S. tax liability.

“The over-representation of Wall Street banks in senior government positions sends a bad message.”

Warren and the neo-populists are right that the recovery hasn’t benefited Main Street as much as it has Wall Street and that the fruits of American prosperity are skewed toward the wealthy. Changing the structural problems that limit job growth may be the country’s biggest economic challenge, as Summers has argued persuasively.

But fixing this problem will surely be harder if liberal Democrats such as Weiss, who understand the financial world enough to challenge it, are barred from government for the offense of working on Wall Street. 

Read more: Warren’s war against Wall Street - The Washington Post

European Voice: A new balance of power emerges - by Peter S. Rashish

For the complete report from the European Voice click on this link

A new balance of power emerges - by Peter S. Rashish

The European Parliament elections suggest that a power shift is under way in the European Union. A new triumvirate consisting of Germany, France, and Poland may be emerging; a triumvirate that will keep Berlin in the lead, increase central and eastern Europe's clout and also offer Paris the opportunity to play the role of honest broker. Those forming the US's developing strategy for transatlantic engagement should take note. It is clear that the incumbent parties in Germany, France and especially Poland, all of whom are members of the centre-right European People's Party, were the big winners. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU-CSU won 42 seats, while French President Nicolas Sarkozy's UMP took 29 seats. In both countries, the left-of-centre opposition suffered defeats of historic proportions. But the most impressive victory was scored by Civic Platform, the party of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, which garnered 44% of the vote and 25 seats. Poland – one of the central and eastern European countries best weathering the economic crisis – is going to try to make its voice heard.

While US President Barack Obama has now made two visits to Europe since his inauguration and the tone of transatlantic relations has improved, it appears that his administration's strategy for engagement with the European Union is still evolving. In two policy areas that would benefit from close US-EU co-operation – energy security and the post-crisis economic agenda – Washington should build in an approach that takes account of this emerging EU balance of power.