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In an interview on Sunday, French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said: "Austerity is over, but we remain serious," according to Reuters.
The "we remain serious" part seems to refer to the country's dedication to hit deficit targets. But those targets have been loosened; Moscovici obviously believes that Europe has reached an end of budget cutting for the sake of budget cutting.
There's been an incredible collapse in the last month of the pro-austerity movement.
The U.K. has been rebuked by IMF officials. Reinhart and Rogoff have imploded publicly. Niall Ferguson stuck his foot in his mouth equating Keynes' economic philosophy with his sexual orientation. Bill Gross has blasted the U.K. The new Italian Prime Minister has said austerity is over.
The whole facade of trying to stimulate the economy (or even reduce debts) by cutting spending is collapsing.