The parties of the European left need to move beyond the politics of denouncement and prove to voters that they can deliver the solutions needed to address the crisis.

Since the beginning of the crisis the European left has denounced the politics of austerity, which has often led to accusations from the right that it is ‘in denial’ of high deficits and public debts. Andrew Watt argues that the European left now needs to change its tone, to convince disaffected voters that they can offer solutions to the financial crisis at the same time as preserving traditional social-democratic values.