When travelling across
Europe these days, I have noticed how once again the economic policy
debate in Germany has completely decoupled from that in the rest of
Europe. While the euro periphery is still licking its wounds from the
euro crisis, in Germany a new narrative of the crisis management of the
past years is taking hold: self-congratulation for a supposedly great
policy response to the crisis.
In short, the new German
view runs as follows: The euro crisis is over. The euro is saved. All
this shows how successful the German-dominated crisis management has
been – with its strong focus on austerity, balanced budgets, and strict “nein”
to Eurobonds. And who has to be thanked for that, if not Angela Merkel?
Wasn’t it her who pushed tirelessly for this policy stance across
Europe and helped teach the EU partners the virtues of fiscal and
macroeconomic thriftiness?
In Germany, this
narrative has taken hold far beyond the usual supporters of austerity.
Last week, Mark Schieritz, one of the leading (and most intelligent and
informed) German financial journalists and a long-time critic of
Merkel’s austerity path asked pointedly in the weekly Die Zeit:
“Do I now have to apologize to Angela Merkel?”, implying that he might
have been too harsh in chastening the popular chancellor.
Read more: Angela Merkel Was Right In The End, Wasn't She?
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