Data is Beautiful

Widespread but being dismantled as we speak.

While the general public is not as indoctrinated to hate socialism as in the US, they are still (being made) resistant to preserving or expanding the welfare state. Every time cuts are made to social programmes, (conservative) people will say "we should be grateful with what we get" and "well we can't afford to keep paying for that", especially if it's cuts in another country that "has it better". The media are an active and gleeful participant in this, constantly running stories about "OMG we are running a deficit" and "how are we going to afford to pay for pensions?", manufacturing consent all the way. Finally, the EU and ECB also play their role as boogeymen by reprimanding states who run deficits, which national politicians then use as an excuse to cut social spending, instead of cutting military spending or taxing the wealthy.