Hockey says Europe walking from austerity

7 May 2012, 2:16 pm   -   Source: AAP

Opposition Liberal frontbencher Joe Hockey says a swing to the left in Europe could see the continent's promised austerity measures rolled back.

Opposition Liberal frontbencher Joe Hockey says a swing to the left in Europe could see the continent's promised austerity measures rolled back.

Francois Hollande was elected France's first Socialist president in nearly two decades on Sunday, dealing a humiliating defeat to incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy.

"The fact that the new president of France is advocating a rollback of austerity measures, and they are very modest measures compared to what we have in Australia, is of concern," Mr Hockey told reporters in Canberra on Monday.

He said the Europeans needed to make "sacrifices" if they expected the rest of the world to provide support.

"I urged that we get something out of the Europeans in return, now the Europeans are turning to the left and they are turning to the left in rather a dramatic way," he said.

"It will have an impact on the world." Greece also went to the polls at the weekend and faces a similar political gridlock.

Many voters turned their backs on the traditional governing parties, resulting in swing to smaller, anti-bailout groups, which could put the indebted country's future in the eurozone at risk.

Europe has been dealing with the financial ramifications of a global debt crisis that followed the world financial crisis in 2008/2009.

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