INTERVIEW
Digitalizing the Market
State’s Role in the Future of Europe’s Economy
an interview with
ESKO AHO
ESKO AHO is a Finnish politician and member of the Club
de Madrid. In the past, he has served as Prime Minister of
Finland and the Executive Vice President of Corporate Relations and Responsibility at Nokia. He currently researches
the state’s role in welfare and global competitiveness as a
senior fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
Considering your experience in both the public and
private sectors as the youngest prime minister of Finland
and executive board member of Nokia, as well as your
research expertise as a senior fellow at the Harvard
Kennedy School, what do you envision as the ideal role
of the government in resolving the current economic
situation in Europe?
The most important role the government is able to play
in the midst of the economic crisis is creating a strategy to
promote new growth. Austerity is needed. I disagree with
those who say austerity is bad. Austerity is necessary not
just to balance the economy but also to get resources that
a growth strategy needs. Austerity is a method of moving
resources from old to new and that is the critical role of a
government during a crisis. This is often forgotten. Governments during a crisis focus too much on looking back and
protecting existing structure.
Are you optimistic about the way European governments have been handling the situation and promoting
growth?
I think European governments have not been able to do
the right kind of things during a crisis partly due to weaknesses on the European level such as weakness in the European market, especially the lack of a digital single market.
This is one reason why Europe has recovered rather slowly
and faces difficulty to promote growth. This weakness is
present in both the European and the national level. But I
have to say that those countries that have been, in certain
ways, most radical in their efforts, such as Estonia, Iceland,
or Baltic countries generally have been the most successful
in returning growth. It has been a painful road, but since
they are the earliest to start the growth efforts, they are also
able to escape the crisis quickly.
What are the biggest changes European govern58
ments will have to face in the coming years in terms of
ho