Merkel: A wounded leader
In the end Angela Merkel's candidate won: Christian Wulff, a party insider from the centre-right, is the new German president. But he only got it on the third and final round. It is rare in Germany's post-war history that a presidential election has gone to a third round.
On paper Mrs Merkel would have expected a comfortable majority in the federal assembly. But rebels within her ruling coalition were prepared to embarrass and weaken her by either abstaining or voting for the opposition candidate for president. The scale of the revolt has surprised people here in Berlin.
"That was a big slap in the face," said Gerd Langruth, a political scientist at Bonn university. "I didn't expect that many to vote against her."
"Maybe someone wanted to send a message to the leadership," said Wolfgang Bosbach, deputy leader of Merkel's Christian Democrats. "Great idea," he said, "wrong day."
Within her own ranks there is clearly real unhappiness with her leadership. Some in her coalition have used a very public occasion to damage her. They could have put on a display of unity, but they chose not to.
The core of the problem is the infighting within her coalition with the Free Democrats. There is also widespread disillusionment with her handling of the crisis in the eurozone. Germans do not want to bailout weaker, less disciplined countries like Greece. They worry that time and again there will be raids on German funds. Msr Merkel is seen to have acted indecisively. Some also believe that the German austerity package was not socially fair.
But this political tremor has its roots in a sense that Mrs Merkel has made mistakes and misjudgements and that her coalition seems fragmented.
Der Spiegel, in its online version, said: "Merkel should fear the twilight of her chancellorship."
Those who know her well, like Margaret Heckel, who has written "So Reigns the Chancellor", an account of her leadership, says Mrs Merkel can't be muscled out of power.
"She's very analytical," says Heckel. "If trouble happens she becomes very quiet. The room temperature drops 10 degrees. She withdraws into herself and becomes very quiet to think things over. I've never seen her act impulsively."
She likes being chancellor, according to Heckel, and feels her job is not done. She wants to "get Germany through the financial crisis and back on track".
Mrs Merkel's immediate challenge is to get her coalition functioning smoothly. There are reports of rows and shouting matches as recently as yesterday.
In many ways she is bending Europe to her vision. She believes in austerity, in reducing debt, in balanced budgets. Other leaders may not like being forced to become more like Germany but, so far, she has won the argument.
She will resist pressure from other Europeans to increase domestic demand at home. As Heckel says: "How could she start telling the German public to start buying because one has to save the rest of Europe? The German nation likes to save, to have stable personal budgets. How could she change that? It's futile."
So her instinct will be to fight on, but a Germany with a less confident leader could be a blow to Europe which is looking to its strongest country to help lead it out of recession.
I'm 
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~54~RS~)
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Wait for the 2nd quarter business results !
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Poor Angela!
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"In many ways she is bending Europe to her vision. She believes in austerity, in reducing debt, in balanced budgets. Other leaders may not like being forced to become more like Germany but, so far, she has won the argument. "
I wouldn't mind us all being a bit more German. Not least in football.
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What is this some sort of joke? Here's what you said two threads ago Mr. Hewitt;
"If the unexpected happens, Angela Merkel's authority will be undermined."
And here was my reply in post #15 of "Merkel a nail biting election."
"Why is it unexpected? Many Germans feel she sold them out. Their interests took a back seat to saving the EU and the Euro. It came straight out of their pockets. They were sold as big a bill of
Spanferkel as the British were. They were promised it would never happen. But when it did, were they consulted? They don't think so. In a democracy, the time when you send a message to those in power who do not understand that they are subservient to the popular will is election day and the message is good-bye. This may well be the first occasion they've had since the sellout to send her that message. It won't be the last."
Maybe it should be the other way around and I should be writing the blogs while you should be posting your comments below them :-)
It's the beginning of the end for her as she sinks slowly in the East with the rest of them.
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"Maybe it should be the other way around and I should be writing the blogs while you should be posting your comments below them :-)"
lol
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4. At 00:02am on 01 Jul 2010, MarcusAureliusII wrote:
"Maybe it should be the other way around and I should be writing the blogs while you should be posting your comments below them :-)"
What a tremendously arrogant thing to say.
I think the rest of us can be glad that that isn't the case.
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Mr Hewitt -- Another one sided blog !
What responsibility has Britain to increase spending --- NONE ?
#4 Marcus
I am still waiting for your enlightened intelligent answer as to whether Social spending is a monetary stimulus ?
--- And don´t claim Communist spending is inferior to Capitalist subsidies !
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At a previous article: Merkel and a nail-biting election
30. At 10:12am on 30 Jun 2010, opinion wrote:
"...Everyone is writing (talking) about Germans bailing out the Greeks. Everyone comes up with numbers: that much Germany paid for Greece bail out, that much the German people are paying for Greeks laziness and so on. I wanna see some numbers showing up how much money German companies earned from Greece in the last 10 years and how much more money are they gonna earn from Greece..."
Here is a brief response:
Greece received EU aid for 8.5 billions - Gross income - (8% of the total EU aid) in 2008
Germany gave 22 billions Gross outcome aid to the EU countries
That means 8% of 22 = 1.76 billions gone to Greece from the Germans
Of those money (the 8.5 billions) Greece gave back as EU aid 2.3 billions. That means almost a 20% of that money went back to Germans:
20% of 1.76 billions are approximately a 1.4 billions aid (after deductions) that went to the Greeks from the Germans as aid in the year 2008
At the same time, in the name of the false European solidarity, the Germans (Greece can't be self-defended anymore by stopping German goods from entering) exported in 2008 goods to Greece for a total of 5.4 billions euros
(lidl - garbage food an drinks, expensive cars & defective tanks and submarines, Siemens bribery to Greek politicians, medicines ecc.)
...That means a total of 4 billion euros gain profit against Greece and Greek people.
So we had enough of the "good working Germans" who pay for us and bail us with a 5% interest rate loan when at the same time their banks take the money from the European bank with 1% interest rate and have 4% gain against Greece
So for those who think that we took your money...in about 3-4 years you have to ask them back from your government...if they ever give them back to you people...because be sure that they will take them back...THEM!
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Mr. toaktree;
"What responsibility has MarcusAureliusII to respond to your endless and endlessly inane postings --- NONE ?
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loner_ass;
""Maybe it should be the other way around and I should be writing the blogs while you should be posting your comments below them :-)"
What a tremendously arrogant thing to say."
It almost hurts to point out the incontrovertible fact that I got it right while he got it wrong. Do you want right and arrogant or do you prefer wrong and humble? If you are British, I know the answer already so you don't have to tell me.
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Many enjoy kicking any famous person when she's down. Many enjoy destroying what anyone tries to create. On balance, Frau Chancellor Merkel is a very good chancellor for Germany and the German people. Also, in fact, her candidate won the election, which many who love to destroy were sure would not happen, so Frau Chancellor Merkel is still ahead of them there, too. Add it all up and subtract the defects, and Frau Merkel IS the chancellor of Germany. No one else can say that.
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FA;
"Frau Merkel IS the chancellor of Germany. No one else can say that."
I am sure Germans will keep that thought in their minds...every time they pay tax on anything...and especially uppermost in their thoughts come election day.
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In the third round Wulff only needed a simple majority to get elected, but he actually won the absolute majority. If you analyse on that, it is clear that people in Merkel's own group have used the opportunity to send a message.
It will to complicated to explain the tactical structures of the event yesterday, but the opposition, consisting of SPD, the Greens, and the left party called Die Linke, actually succeeded in making a tremendous infight between themselves out of the electon - to the advantage of the coalition government.
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Frau Merkel has learned politics from Helmut Kohl. We were very happy in 1998 when we got rid of him, but his successor, Gerhard Schröder made things even worse which Kohl left behind to tackle.
I can´t understand the appreciation for Frau Merkel from outside Germany, for she is following the same patterns she learned from Helmut Kohl. Is there a big problem to tackle, just sit and wait in the hope it´ll be solved by itself. The only thing she really is interested in is how to keep herself in power and by this attitude there is no difference in her acting may it be on European or German matters.
There are plenty of rich people who publicly said that they think it is unfair that they are spared to do their financial bid towards the tackeling of the crisis. But Frau Merkel is stubborn ignoring them. I really hope that this current coalition won´t last the whole legislation period and the sooner we got new general elections, the better.
I´m really sick of these kind of politicians, we´ve had enough of them in the past 25 years. It´s time for a change and for politicians who do care more for the country and follow their duties instead of thinking just to keep themselves in power. That´s not what they´re elected for.
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Whichever way you look at it, the German economy is still the most powerful in Europe. Criticising the politicians who have exercised power in Germany for the last 30 years or so is easy to do but look at what they did. They unified Germany, kept the economy and German businesses in better shape than all the other European countries and when Merkel does leave, she will hand over a country in the best financial position in Europe.
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10. At 02:47am on 01 Jul 2010, MarcusAureliusII wrote:
"loner_ass;"
Oh, that'd be so clever and funny. If I was 12 years old.
"Do you want right and arrogant or do you prefer wrong and humble?"
Oh, forgive me, for in my gross naïveté, I thought those were not the only options.
"If you are British, I know the answer already so you don't have to tell me."
I guess it's a good thing, then, that I'm not British.
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"20% of 1.76 billions are approximately a 1.4 billions aid (after deductions) that went to the Greeks from the Germans as aid in the year 2008"
The actual budget numbers can be found here http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8036097.stm and here http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8036096.stm
Not surprisingly the Greeks get out far more than they pay into the EU. That's not a bad thing - it's good to develop the poorer nations as in the end it makes the whole area wealthier.
"At the same time, in the name of the false European solidarity, the Germans (Greece can't be self-defended anymore by stopping German goods from entering) exported in 2008 goods to Greece for a total of 5.4 billions euros
(lidl - garbage food an drinks, expensive cars & defective tanks and submarines, Siemens bribery to Greek politicians, medicines ecc.)"
The Greeks did not *give* Germany anything, they exchanged money in return for things they were unable to make themselves. That's trade, it's not 'aid' to Germany, nor is it aid from Germany to Greece. As for quality, if Germany just sold crap it wouldn't be able to compete against the likes of China to be the world's 2nd biggest exporter. Maybe if Greece developed a real economy beyond employing everyone in a bloated public sector they'd understand what trade is.
"So we had enough of the "good working Germans" who pay for us and bail us with a 5% interest rate loan when at the same time their banks take the money from the European bank with 1% interest rate and have 4% gain against Greece"
Germany's government didn't get this money from the ECB at some absurdly low interest rate, that's not how the system works. They raised the money on the financial markets using the strength of Germany's economy and expectation of payments from Germany's future taxpayers as backing. Sort of like when parents borrow money against their house that they own to help their kids through University.
4 or 5% is quite accurate for what Germany has to pay to get that money to give to Greece. If you think that's expensive go and have a look at what Argentina, who defaulted on their debt several years ago (like Greece would have done without German help), has to pay. You Greeks would have to say goodbye to just about all government services at those rates.
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By no means knowledgeable on Germany's 'political' internal scene:
However, it would seem in the 1st & 2nd votes many of Chancellor Merkel's supposed allies decided to give her a bit of a personal kicking. It was their way to express frustration with what was a popular Government, a sure-footed Leadership and an assured Coalition of basic policies even as late as this February.
All 3 have dwindled in the EUro-zone crisis to a point where those in power can see their 'political' future is not guaranteed: Indirectly this metaphorical insider-elite 'kicking' of Frau Merkel is a reflection and reaction to Germany's Citizens in surveys/polls expressing their understandable anger & bitterness at Merkel's swift & radical changes of 'policy-direction'. A 'conservative' Chancellor & Government became internationally spendthrift in the eyes of many Germans. Huge amounts of their Tax-Payer monies are going to seemingly feckless, irresponsible other EUro-zone Nations when they should have been better used in Germany on German Citizens.
Germany's population may well be very largely still in favour of the EU & recognise the EUro is their only option: What they have told Merkel & all German Politicians is that in that case the future EU & EUro had better be for Germany's benefit above any other interested members.
Thus, we see the EU taking the shape that those of us who are 'anti' have all along predicted: Whether it is Merkel or her inevitable successor the purse-strings are going to be in Berlin and with that comes the core authority & power for the running of the EU.
Nobody has to be anti-German/Berlin, it is just like if it were Paris or Rome or Warsaw etc. an "ever closer union" of 'one-size-fits-all' EU Policies determined from 1 place out of 27 is not a Union of equals, it is a tyranny.
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Ellinas #8
your calculations are total garbage. Italy alone sent about 16 billion to u. What do u mean Greece repaid in EU aid? Sure you paid in EU aid. But you're a net recipient anyway so that has no value. Whatsoever.
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"9. At 02:44am on 01 Jul 2010, MarcusAureliusII wrote:
Mr. toaktree;
"What responsibility has MarcusAureliusII to respond to your endless and endlessly inane postings --- NONE ?"
Wow, quietoaktree, I think you got him there. He admits defeat. Hilarious.
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"12. At 03:56am on 01 Jul 2010, MarcusAureliusII wrote:
FA;
"Frau Merkel IS the chancellor of Germany. No one else can say that."
I am sure Germans will keep that thought in their minds...every time they pay tax on anything...and especially uppermost in their thoughts come election day. "
Election day has just passed. Come election day again, we should hopefully all be on the path to growth again.
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#15 NewsStudent
Amen
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Gheryando
"..election day has just passed.."
Erm, no, it hasn't.
The Presidency 'election' is by the Political elite of Germany - - there was no public participation.
Point is: Germany's Presidency was used by some of those political elite closest to Chancellor Merkel to via a secret ballot knock & weaken her 'leadership'. If Merkel had been doing well in Germany's polls, if the Conservative-led Coalition was still ticking the boxes of Citizen's contentment Merkel's Herr Wulff would have strolled in at first ballot.
In that sense MAII is correct: Germany's Citizens are extremely unhappy with Merkel's leadership & her 'political' allies have visibly/numerically reminded and reflected this declining situation for her personally & the Government.
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Mrs. Merkel’s reputation seems to be have been based on not being “Mr. Flash” (i.e. Tony Blair), or a relentless neck-down action man like Sarkozy who struts around vaingloriously without a thought to the long-run consequences of what he is proposing. But as time progresses one sees that she differs from Sarkozy more in style than substance. She is the head of government most responsible for reviving the EU Constitution and ratifying it through rubber-stamp votes in the national parliaments they control, after it had been defeated in referendums in multiple countries. She has therefore contributed more than any other current politician to the break-down of EU legitimacy. The EU legitimacy crisis has both deepened and broadened in geographical scope beyond the UK such that German voters now realise they too were sold a pack of lies by earlier German politicians when the Euro was introduced and are now expected to bail-out countries who profligacy has been encouraged by low eurozone rates that are only suitable for countries with a strong savings culture.
Merkel may be less flash than Blair or Sarkozy but she is no example that ‘still water run deep’. She has often been compared to Margaret Thatcher, but as time goes by she reminds more and more of Denis Thatcher’s maxim that it is “better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than open it and remove all doubt”. The trouble for her is that political leaders do get found out in the end, because the consequences of the decisions they take come home to roost. History will judge her as merely the latest of a long line of post-war Continental leaders who have relied on 'integration by stealth' to advance an anti-democratic EU project they know cannot be sold on merit, but whose implications are now increasingly visible to voters.
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""..election day has just passed.."
Erm, no, it hasn't.
The Presidency 'election' is by the Political elite of Germany - - there was no public participation."
erm, yes. MAII is talking about popular vote for parliament. Thats what we are discussing. Who cares about the symbolic president.
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NewsStudent
re #15
Yes, in fact the German 'miracle' has been a 60 year episode: First in the 'west' with unparalleled economic recovery post-WW2, and then post-unification the 'east' has been emerging these last 10 years as an 'equal' partner in the new Germany.
Of course it is all too easy to overlook what has had to be shelved as a memeory imprint along the way.
The elected President Wulff has just defeated in a democratic election Herr Guack.
Beaten Herr Gauck is from from former communist 'East' Germany, and shares some of the same limited up-bringing of Chancellor Merkel. As Mr Hewitt mentioned elsewhere, in other times they would in all probability have made a common cause.
So, what has been "..shelved.."?
The Presidential election clearly demonstrated if 'there is no honour among thieves' then there is no honour or esteem among politicians.
Herr Gauck was eminently the better man: Not necessarily the better politician, but as a representative of the new, unified Germany then Gauck stood head & shoulders above his victorious rival. He had a long record of 'resistance' to the DDR regime; post-Wall his unique reputation had him appointed to the most volatile & vulnerable position the 'reunification' could offer.
Let us not forget among the 'shelved' memories that might inconveneiently have arisen with a Gauck Presidency was the thought the man was 'in-charge' of the Stasi 'east' Geman secret & not so secret police files on 18 million. A fair few German Citizens, some in highly responsible positions in the new Germany, may have felt very uncomfortable knowing their President really had presided over their pasts!
I'm reminded of some of those absurd yet indicative 'fact' books produced after the demise of the 'east' regime: 'Laid out upright and end-to-end, the Stasi files kept on East Germany's Citizens, their fellow countrymen, women & children would form a line 180 kilometres long' (111 miles)!
Other odd & telling (in more ways than there's space here to dwell on) 'fact' from that regime, it was nourished & sustained by 1 in 12 of its Citizens being a classified "informer" on the other 11! The Stasi even had 'smell jars' that were supposedly to identify the 'odour' of 'criminals' & 'anti-socials' - - in this case, of course, criminal/anti-social included Citizens with a copy of the Bible or Playboy! Neither being illegal but simply unnecessary & unacceptable in the DDR's 'workers paradise'.
Herr Gauck had access to all that and also: Who gave the order to shoot the teenage girl caught on the walls' barbed wire, who ordered the body be removed in dead of night, who ordered the entire family arrested & taken to hidden prison cell-blocks & questioned without pause for 24/36/48 hrs etc.?
Now, it may be concluded that is a man with much 'power' if he so chose: So, why is he not President?
Herr Gauck does not use that power - - a man of formidable ethical & moral rectitude - - it is why he is eminently the better man for the Presidency of Germany and why most of the elite German political leadership inc. Frau Merkel feel much more comfortable to have elected one of their own ilk. Politics is the dirtiest game played by Humans. None of them want to be faced by an image of what they can only fantasise would have been their role but for the inescapable fact they are that very common breed of 'political' Human: So hungry for 'authority' & 'power' they really would do anything to get & keep it!
Unlike the inestimable Herr Gauck.
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Marcus, no doubt this will enable you to stick your chest out and warm your heart. I thought I could just cheer you up a little ?
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/13-million-unemployed-wont-apf-23988520.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=1&asset=&ccode=
We won´t let those Commies win will we ?
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"15. At 08:09am on 01 Jul 2010, NewsStudent wrote:
Whichever way you look at it, the German economy is still the most powerful in Europe. Criticising the politicians who have exercised power in Germany for the last 30 years or so is easy to do but look at what they did. They unified Germany, kept the economy and German businesses in better shape than all the other European countries and when Merkel does leave, she will hand over a country in the best financial position in Europe."
I´ve a different understanding of a powerful economy and that means that in such a term, there wouldn´t be companies in need to apply for money from the taxpayer as it happened recently to keep the company running.
I don´t know where you lived within the last 30 years and what you´ve experienced but to me - a German living in Germany - it isn´t so like you think it has been here. Without the agreement of the Allied Nations there were no German unification and without Gorbachev and the civil movement in the GDR there wouldn´t been a downfall of the Wall. So Kohl grabbed the historical chance for unification, not a big deal by himself, because to act in that way was his constitutional duty as Chancellor of Germany in that time.
I either can´t see the good shape of the German economy the CDU/CSU and FDP governments took efforts to put it in that good place, because it happened on the expence of the employees in Germany and their working conditions.
When we are so rich, what are the short cuts planned by the current German government necessary for?
I can´t help it, but your post is just cheap CDU propagande in my opinion. I really can spare me such opinions, because I can read it every day in the newspaper.
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"That was a big slap in the face," said Gerd Langruth, a political scientist at Bonn university. "I didn't expect that many to vote against her."
This says it all.
It`s the elction for the President and party politics should keep the fxxxx out of it.
But even political scientists seem to take no shame in admitting their lackluster understanding of that position.
Well, maybe Mr. Langruth is just a realist who already accepted how things are run in Germany.
Disgusting.
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What ?
Still no complaints from the Pro-Brit anti-EU lobby that Britain was ignored by Mr. Hewitt in assisting the WORLD out of the mess ?
Britain is depending on Germany and America is depending on ALL others ?
However the anti-Euro´s have in some way justified their existence by wishing the Euro ill-will.
The unemployment in Germany is now 7.5% and dropping, while world demand for German exports is increasing. The developments of the next 6 months will determine Merkel´s future.
Germans have a habit of complaining from a high level. This has apparently escaped the observations and knowledge of Mr. Hewitt and some contributors !
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"In many ways she is bending Europe to her vision. She believes in austerity, in reducing debt, in balanced budgets. Other leaders may not like being forced to become more like Germany but, so far, she has won the argument.
She will resist pressure from other Europeans to increase domestic demand at home. As Heckel says: "How could she start telling the German public to start buying because one has to save the rest of Europe? The German nation likes to save, to have stable personal budgets. How could she change that? It's futile.""
Not spending money you have and paying back your debts in order to get your budget in balance is a good thing.
But it has nothing to do with the failure of domestic markets in Germany. It`s not about telling the people to spend more, the savings rate has always been quite high.
Merkel needs to take a look at the dumping wages of the time-working and cheap labour sectors.
It cannot be allowed for businesses in Germany to have people work for 5 euros or less an hour.
Even 7 euros would be a bare minimum, nothing more.
And in general, average wages have had a growth of 0,4 percent during the last decade. Other European nations had up to 10 times that growth.
And the rich are richer than 10 years ago.
These are the real problems:
Lobbyism and clientel politics.
And one more thing about the demands from other European politicians to increase domestic demand:
Do they really believe that German corporations will just stop exporting goods, because demand at home increases?
Why would they not decide to have both?
It just makes no sense to think that the trading surplus will go down by much.
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See what I mean ?
#28 is a typical German !
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4. At 00:02am on 01 Jul 2010, MarcusAureliusII wrote:
" ...
Maybe it should be the other way around and I should be writing the blogs while you should be posting your comments below them :-)..."
EUpris: I think you might be onto something there. Maybe you should start up your own blog here you and others could post stuff that got deleted here. Maybe it would be a world wide hit and you could make money out of advertising.
You could maybe point to it from this blog.
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British media are reporting Hague is going to focus away from EU, US and towards BRIC etc.
He also wants to change the fact that the UK exports more to Ireland than it exports to the BRIC countries..
What a ridiculous statement. the US exports similar amounts to Canada, a 30 million people country as it does to the whole of the EU.
But politicians are no economists (mostly)..
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Loner_ass;
"I guess it's a good thing, then, that I'm not British."
Ah, I see a surprising point of agreement. I'm also glad I'm not British. We have something in common...and that's about where what we have in common ends :-) And AFAIAC, that's also a good thing.
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Interestingly, the Austrian Radio website interpretation was very similar to Gavin's although it goes a bit further.
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What the Chancellor is doing is what comes naturally to her and to many Germans. She believes in 'good house keeping', financial caution, deep seated German values which involves saving more, borrowing less and making tangible products rather than just generating cash flow. Now her ghosts have come home to haunt her. Because the rest of Europe did not embrace those values, they have run out of money (or more correctly, credit, because there was never as much real money as they would have liked to believe). Now she has to be game keeper turned poacher. A large proportion of Germany's export market has evaporated because no one can afford to buy product until the economies improve and the only way that is going to happen is if they can lay their hands on some real money which Germany now finds themselves lending out to the likes of Greece.
No wonder she is trouble. Everything that the German right believes in - caution, sensible investment, good honest work - which come naturally to her seems to be crumbling. You have to sympathise with her. She may very well end up paying the political price for, paradoxically, doing the right thing. Again, I come back to the parallel with Thatcher. After many years of successfully promoting her core values, she found her support dwindling in the face of the new realities. Her reaction, sadly, was to lose the plot. Frau Merkel will need to keep a very cool head if she is going to survive in the longer term.
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New Student;
"Whichever way you look at it, the German economy is still the most powerful in Europe."
New student, you still have a lot of lessons to learn. There is always one part of a ship that is at the highest point above the water. But when the ship sinks, being firmly anchored to it that point will go down to Davy Jones' Locker just as surely as the rest of it will. That's the problem with being in a crows nest that was affixed to a mast on a hull built from rotting timbers. And when it does go down, the highest point might not even be the last one to go under the waves.
The German economy seems to have largely prospered on exports financed by its own banks to countries who can not pay them back. The bail outs are merely German government extensions of the private bank loans that were used to pay for whatever was bought in the first place. Given the realities of the financial condition of the world, the nature of the economies of the deadbeat countries, even if their 5% cuts go into effect it seems rather dubious that they will ever be able to pay it back, at least in full. The so called strength in the German economy will be seen in retrospct as nothing more than an accounting trick if that happens, based on expectations of return of money with interest that never materialized. Like much of Europe's perpetual hubris and boasting, Germany's economic strength was more hyperbole than sound economic fact. If the German economy does well at all, like the other large economies in Europe it will likely be mostly due to investments in production in other places like China by its large corporations and sales to other parts of the world which have recovered and where those products are in demand and are being bought. Europe's domestic economy is IMO for all practical purposes dead. BTW, the WTO just dealt EADS another death blow.
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@28 Thomas_B
"I either can´t see the good shape of the German economy the CDU/CSU and FDP governments took efforts to put it in that good place, because it happened on the expence of the employees in Germany and their working conditions.
When we are so rich, what are the short cuts planned by the current German government necessary for?
I can´t help it, but your post is just cheap CDU propagande in my opinion. I really can spare me such opinions, because I can read it every day in the newspaper. "
Open your eyes.
It were the SOCIAL democrats (SPD) along with "die Grüne" who introduced dumping wage labour and increased the time-working sector.
They lowered the taxes for people with high income.
They are no different from the CDU or FDP.
All the same bunch of lobbyists.
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"Maybe it should be the other way around and I should be writing the blogs while you should be posting your comments below them :-)..."
EUpris: I think you might be onto something there. Maybe you should start up your own blog here you and others could post stuff that got deleted here. Maybe it would be a world wide hit and you could make money out of advertising.
You could maybe point to it from this blog."
Good idea, Euprisoner. I'd love to see a MAII Blog (without the censoring)
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Each country is different and that is not a bad thing. The Germans have the strongest economy and they should be given credit for their businesses and ability to produce products for the markets. All the governments fell for or were persuaded by the Wall Street cabal that created the crisis. The bad paper assumed by the governments, created by the banks is at the heart of the deficit for each country and the economic slow-down followed. The US Senate passed a Banking Reform bill that deleted the tax on banking to pay for the regulations and passed the costs to the US taxpayers. The anti-tax Republicans are simply hypocrits. The remaining PIIGS have yet to put their spreadsheets on the table, although I am sure they have been discussed in the back rooms. Greece is but one and as the bankers continue to extort payments and interest on the debts they created the future appears painful. Without greater control over the banks the problems will continue. 19th century Capitalism is not working in the 21st century as consoldiated wealth and power in banking has eleminated any sense of competition and free markets and much of this has been accomplished through government regulation at the request of the bankers.
There appears to be a lack of appreciation for the humble efforts of Marcus the A to correct all the world problems and fill the role of a modern day Nostradamus.
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"32. At 12:51pm on 01 Jul 2010, quietoaktree wrote:
See what I mean ?
#28 is a typical German !"
So what?
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A wounded Merkel - I think not.
The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) captures business conditions (manufacturing sector). The manufacturing sector dominates a large part of total GDP, the manufacturing PMI is an important indicator of overall economic conditions in Germany. Normally, a result above 50 is good for the EUR, whereas a result below 50 is seen as uncertain.
While all this conjecturing was going on re Merkel and Wulff, the German manufacturing PMI jumped up to a reading of 58.4 in June, overshooting the 58.1 target (which was thought optimistic).
If yesterday was a Merkel confidence vote, the PMI had confidence.
I never saw this Presidential vote as a vote of confidence. I saw the voting as a tribute to Joachim Gauck, 70, a pro-democracy activist and pastor from former East Germany, and a man deserving of the Presidential post if he just younger, more robust.
Why is the western media so determined to make Merkel seem like she is walking a political tightrope?
German unemployment fell for a 12th month in June. Exports are booming.
Was the three-round vote “a sign of weakness” for Merkel’s coalition, or was it something little heard of in Western Governments: a tribute to a man who deserved every vote he got in the first two rounds, but who was never intended to win the third.
Personally, I feel Merkel is doing just fine.
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"AFAIAC" its s telling sign of our times that I can read acronyms that I've never seen before almost as quickly as if it was a sentence.
Eupris: Which Austrian radio are u listening to? Back home, we always listen to "Hitradio OE 3". Is that the one?
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#38 Marcus
NPR has just reported 46 US States are deep in the red for 2011 !
--- not many remaining to save your endangered Species ?
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MarcusAureliusII wrote:
"Loner_ass;
"I guess it's a good thing, then, that I'm not British."
Ah, I see a surprising point of agreement. I'm also glad I'm not British."
Careful, you'll set CBW off on one of his turns.
I also second the motion to have Marcus write for the BBC. It wouldn't be dull!
A bit of the old American work ethic would do wonders for this blog.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
correction...
Christine Lagarde, French Minister of Economic Affairs...
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"42. At 2:06pm on 01 Jul 2010, Thomas_B wrote:
"32. At 12:51pm on 01 Jul 2010, quietoaktree wrote:
See what I mean ?
#28 is a typical German !"
So what?"
Yes...very patronizing...
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#44 - Gheryando
". . . its s telling sign of our times that I can read acronyms that I've never seen before . . ."
Which seems to leave me with a choice between dyslexia and the onset of premature senile dementia.
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@46. democracythreat wrote:
"I also second the motion to have Marcus write for the BBC. It wouldn't be dull!"
I will cast my veto...
and EUlover123456789 will need his referendum on this...
GOD SAVE US
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dt
"I also second the motion to have Marcus write for the BBC. It wouldn't be dull!"
Wouldn't work on BBC. We could comment on his blog. But probably couldn't read it due to "un-pc" content..
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30. At 12:30pm on 01 Jul 2010, quietoaktree wrote
“Germans have a habit of complaining from a high level. “
Correct.
Merkel has two major problems: How to get the Euro through the debt crisis, - and that involves a not helpful American government that would like to see some consumption in Europe, and how to get through the legislation period without a breakdown of the coalition government. The latter is illustrated by the circumstance that Merkel one year ago called this coalition her dream coalition. She is not saying this anymore and must ask herself if it can last at all.
Germany also has a demographic problem. Merkel tries to solve this through the educational policy and the family policy. Both cost money and therefore it involves the taxation, and her coalition is not in agreement in any of these points. Further it cannot reach an agreement in the health care policy, and have disagreement in the defence policy. Quite a handful of problems to deal with.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Marcus write for the BBC?
Marcus is a character written by the BBC.
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Noisy little acorn;
"#38 Marcus
NPR has just reported 46 US States are deep in the red for 2011 !"
Well that is a surprise to me. What happened to the other four?
The defecits come from many factors. It's not just gross financial mismanagement and the do gooder government can fix all liberal mentality that spends taxpayer money like there will be no tomorrow. You have to lay some of the blame on Federal legislation and court rulings that demand and enforce unfunded mandates, in effect telling the states what they must do without giving them the money to do it.
This continued spending beyond government's means cannot go on forever. There really is only one way out and that is for the US government to start the printing presses rolling. This will eventually happen because there is no alternative, at least not short of a depression. This will of course devalue the US currency, raise interest rates, cause inflation but that is the price that is paid for wasting vast financial resources on unproductive spending for such a long time.
Contrary to those who wring their hands at the prospect of inflation, when that happens there are winners as well as losers. Those who have fixed rate debts and do not depend on fixed incomes but whose incomes and assets will increase with inflated prices will be able to pay off old debt far more easily. This has been the case since the great depression every time there has been a recession, we've just never seen it before on as massive a scale as will be required. IMO it would be best done in one massive surprise shot accompanied by US protectionism to keep the money inside the US and after Europe is broke. There might be a jolt to the financial markets by the surprise and impact but if it is clear that it is a one time event, the markets may settle down to the new paradigm. Markets usually base their reactions on what they think will happen with uncertainty being their greatest worry, not what has happened. A $50,000 check to each of 100 million American taxpayers would suddenly put five trillion dollars into circulation. That should warm things up more than a bit.
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#42 Thomas_B
Compare Germany with the link posted ( #27)
Complete Medical coverage (optician and dentistry) for the working, unemployed and those on social benefits. Quick access to specialists and operations at token payments. Payed rent and food costs etc etc. The list is endless.
OK, there are now reductions, but still many millions of Americans wish your problems!
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#52 - Gheryando
Setting up a blog is a piece of cake. Getting anyone to read it is a whole different matter.
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#49 Gheryando
80 million Americans would love to have the German problems presented by Thomas_B and Durstigerman.
--- A few million Brits could also be added and for the toping the PIIGS.
The German Sozialmarktwirtschaft idea functions much better than most of the alternatives and while admiration is in order, sympathy is a bit too much to expect from those who know the problems of other societies.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
@21. Gheryando wrote:
"Election day has just passed. Come election day again, we should hopefully all be on the path to growth again."
Exactly, no regional election scheduled until March 2011.
Will see if this coalition holds together until then.
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@31. DurstigerMann wrote:
"She will resist pressure from other Europeans to increase domestic demand at home. As Heckel says: "How could she start telling the German public to start buying because one has to save the rest of Europe? The German nation likes to save, to have stable personal budgets. How could she change that? It's futile."
...
"Do they really believe that German corporations will just stop exporting goods, because demand at home increases?
Why would they not decide to have both?
It just makes no sense to think that the trading surplus will go down by much."
Exactly...the French Minister of Economic Affairs Christine Lagarde is dreaming...
Even if the Germans earned more to spend more, what would they spend it on?
More French cheese, more Italian parma ham, more Greek olive oil, more Spanish holidays ???
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Let's see which part the BBC mod doesn't like...
I bet it's #60
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47. At 3:32pm on 01 Jul 2010, you wrote:
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
soft version @54. At 4:14pm on 01 Jul 2010, you wrote:
This comment has been referred for further consideration. Explain
original version @60. went through
How many different BBC Mod are there???
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Hail Britannia, Britania rules the waves....well the airwaves anyway, at least in parts of the English speaking language world.
Won't Thrill Ya;
"Marcus is a character written by the BBC."
Do you really think that even collectively BBC has the inventiveness it would take to create MarcusAureliusII? Have you taken a long hard look at these people and made an impartial assessment of their capabilities and limitations? BBC's greatest value to me is that it is broadcast late at night on some local NPR radio stations. If I have insomnia, it works like a charm every time. I just set the radio sleep timer, tune to BBC's broadcast and the next thing I know it's morning.
Besides, BBC could never hire me. How could it when I spend about 5% of my postings telling you how little I think of it. The other 95% I spend telling you how little I think of.....
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""EUprisoner209456731 wrote:
"4. At 00:02am on 01 Jul 2010, MarcusAureliusII wrote:
Maybe it should be the other way around and I should be writing the blogs while you should be posting your comments below them :-)..."
EUpris: I think you might be onto something there. Maybe you should start up your own blog here you and others could post stuff that got deleted here. Maybe it would be a world wide hit and you could make money out of advertising.
You could maybe point to it from this blog.""
And then you could post to each other in your little echo chamber, and never have your views challenged. Sad really.
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#66 marcusAurellius
Your diaper has slipped !
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Re #46
No, there's no "..turn" like the original DemocThreat! No one competes with the Swiss domecile's declamations.
And I'm only too pleased to bring you all another passage from the man.
E.g. 10.07a.m 02 Nov, '09, DemocThreat generously informed 'Isenhorn' and all other contributors of his untrammelled self-belief:
"...But do not pretend that your (isenhorn) emotions can effect the reason that underpins this debate. Your emotional reaction is transient, and your disapproval of me will be as dust on yesterday's wind. But the reason that underlies my own position will eat away at your thoughts like a child asking 'why', and there will be nothing you can do about it. It will follow you for as long as you are prepared to think like an adult human being who cares about the structuring of your own understanding."
PHEW! When it comes to funny "..turns" they rarely come more self-indulgent than that!
Only, there are many more from the Swiss philosopher-in-residence!
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#66 - MarcusAureliusII
"The other 95% I spend telling you how little I think of..... "
. . . anything before writing about it?
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#66
Marcus old boy.
It´s ´Hail to the Chief ´ and ´Rule Britannia ´
Now it´s time for bedybies.
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threnodious, you made a funny. Congratulations, a first for you. But it really doesn't require much thought to post here. Just a computer and an internet connection. And judging from the quality of much of what I read, it seems to me that's all many people have.
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@63 oeichler
"Exactly...the French Minister of Economic Affairs Christine Lagarde is dreaming...
Even if the Germans earned more to spend more, what would they spend it on?
More French cheese, more Italian parma ham, more Greek olive oil, more Spanish holidays ???"
I see it this way (simplified):
1. There is a lack of domestic demand in Germany, which is, to a significant degree, caused by lacking increases in real wages.
2. The German economy can make up for this lacking demand by importing more.
3. But this is only possible, because other nations are uncompetetive and are living beyond their means.
The German export to Greece for example does only make up around 12-15% of Greek imports. They would still have a high deficit without any import from Germany. Same problem for all the other nations who have deficit with Germany.
Furthermore, most German products are not exactly cheap.
That`s China`s business.
A Greek businessman or doctor who is evading taxes, won`t buy a Greek car out of a sudden. Oh wait..Greek car? J/k.
4. If domestic demand in Germany increases, the trade surplus will decrease somewhat.
But from where do people think will those products come? You named it already.
Some will come from Europe. Some from America.
But most will come from Asia.
Countries like Greece, Portugal and Italy are not uncompetetive, because Germany forces them to import. They are, because they never had a strong industrial and technological base to export themselves (would they drill oil, their trade balance would be a different issue).
The only nation with a comparable capacity in Europe was Great Britain. But they destroyed it for the so-called future, the service sector.
And all of a sudden everyone has begun realizing that service sector societies are not the future.
So now some politicians and "experts" all around the world are putting blame on Germany and Japan for siphoning off wealth from other nations.
Good going.
The Anglo-Saxon idea of a modern economy has failed and it`s neither Germany`s nor Japan`s fault.
Credit expansion simply doesn`t work. Increasing growth by making debt is a ludicrous idea and, in essence, just a concept of transferring wealth from the normal people to the rich ones.
This criminal FIAT system came into existence about a hundred years ago with the Federal Reserve Act and it`s about time people realize this.
Germany and Japan have their own problems:
The wage development and lack of domestic demand leads to an increased outflux of money which is invested elsewhere (in case of Germany, it`s mostly Asia and the eastern nations of Europe).
The gain in wealth is not transferred to the people and I blame our lobbyist politicians for this.
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Apparently it breaks the BBC house rule to write what you think about the quality of BBC journalism
Thanks BBC
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And even "MADE IN PRC" is censured...
unbelievable...
Sorry but this is what is written in Greece on the labels of goods coming from the biggest Asian country...
It is to circumvent any quality concerns people might have with products "MADE IN CHINA"
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@8. Ellinas wrote:
(lidl - garbage food an drinks, expensive cars & defective tanks and submarines, Siemens bribery to Greek politicians, medicines ecc.)
Don't buy it... nobody forces you... buy "MADE IN PRC"
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69 cool brush work writes:
re 46 democracythreat
"PHEW! When it comes to funny "..turns" they rarely come more self-indulgent than that!"
Pot calling the kettle black comes to mind!
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Margaret Howard
Re #77
If You could provide a quote from me on any topic that alludes to my being 'clever' & my 'thoughts'/'ideas' being above everyone else, please feel free to do so.
Meanwhile, just why are You always getting at me!?
I don't recall geeting at You!
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Yikes, parts of Merkel's coaliton is rebelling against her, and even her own people are disgruntled.
A few questions:
-"They worry that time and again there will be raids on German funds"
What does that mean? Does the term "raids" mean the government taking from the budget or something?
-"Some also believe that the German austerity package was not socially fair."
Socially fit? I know that certain cuts and/or fees will hurt various people, but I'm confused on the term Socially Fit. Can someone enlighten me?
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#79 Timbap_akj
Germany is rich country and has been asked to help other countries who have not been so careful with their spending. ´Raid´in this case can imply that other countries expect Germany ( its tax payers) to pay for another countries overspending.
´ Not socially fair´means that in times of financial difficulty a country may cut benefits to the ´poor´, instead of raising the taxes on richer people who could afford the increase.
Being ´socially fair´ is very important in Germany. I think it is written into their Constitution. It also means that when the economy is doing well, both Government and industry have the responsibility to see that the workers also benefit. In bad times (as now) both the rich and ´poor´ should be treated fairly if the living standard must be lowered to save money.
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@8 Ellinas
"
At the same time, in the name of the false European solidarity, the Germans (Greece can't be self-defended anymore by stopping German goods from entering) exported in 2008 goods to Greece for a total of 5.4 billions euros
(lidl - garbage food an drinks, expensive cars & defective tanks and submarines, Siemens bribery to Greek politicians, medicines ecc.)
...That means a total of 4 billion euros gain profit against Greece and Greek people.
So we had enough of the "good working Germans" who pay for us and bail us with a 5% interest rate loan when at the same time their banks take the money from the European bank with 1% interest rate and have 4% gain against Greece"
So that means a total of 4 billion euros worth of goods bought by Greek people.
But nobody forced you to buy anything.
Nobody forced Greece to join the EU.
Nobody forced Greeks not to build up their own businesses and produce stuff that can compete with foreign products.
But this says it all:
"(lidl - garbage food an drinks, expensive cars & defective tanks and submarines, Siemens bribery to Greek politicians, medicines ecc.)"
So if all the stuff is crap, why do you buy it? Why don`t you produce it yourselves?
The submarines for example:
When your government realized that those submarines are too expensive, they just could have said so instead of trying to excuse themselves out of it.
No excuses. If you are not satisfied with the stuff, just don`t buy it. If you want better quality than the stuff you import, just build it yourselves.
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cool_brush_work wrote:
"Margaret Howard
Re #77
If You could provide a quote from me on any topic that alludes to my being 'clever' & my 'thoughts'/'ideas' being above everyone else, please feel free to do so."
The touching lament of the eternal fool ought not cloud the judgement of those in a state of grace.
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"57. At 4:37pm on 01 Jul 2010, quietoaktree wrote:
#42 Thomas_B
Compare Germany with the link posted ( #27)
Complete Medical coverage (optician and dentistry) for the working, unemployed and those on social benefits. Quick access to specialists and operations at token payments. Payed rent and food costs etc etc. The list is endless.
OK, there are now reductions, but still many millions of Americans wish your problems!"
I find it very difficult to compare the situations in Germany with those in the USA. I´m really sorry but your post sounds more like in the old style of the American Republicans and it was just a few months ago since the reform of the American Healthsystem by President Obama made its way through.
It might be superficial from my point of view, but I regard the USA as a country with a lack of an social state. I assume that some million Americans might be better off in the future with the new introduced Health insurance. But you may tell me why it makes sense that some people in the USA have to get at least two if not three jobs by jobsharing in different places to earn their average living to can afford their normal life. I am not talking here about luxury, just about what they need and even in this, there is a difference between our two countries.
So if you like Frau Merkel, I´ve no problem with this, but I think it is a wrong track to put all the success the German economy has recieved during the crisis to her account, because she is not the one that run the companies, but she is the one who granted the credits to Opel because GM was on the financial decline because of GM´s management. So why do we had to pay for this? To save the jobs in Germany, but I´m sure in your opinion this kind of government help won´t happened by your decison if you´d been on her place. That´s what I am sure of it.
I really do hope that the Presidency of Obama will bring the USA again to the better stage as it has been before G.W.B. ruined the international reputation of the USA. It was as if the sun shines again after eight dark years when Obama became the President of the USA, what a relief. God bless him.
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#83 Thomas-B
After I had posted #42, I realized that language problems could occur. I took a language short-cut which could easily cause confusion. Only one Buchstaben ´r´ may be the problem ---you and your ?
If you read as ´many millions of Americans would like to have such (minor) problems´ ---that was the intended meaning. #59 was to clarify.
I used ´Typical German´ as a compliment meaning that Germany ALWAYS ridicules its successes -- which you did !
Much time is wasted with unfounded US and UK Nationalism on the blogs, a depressed group of Anti-Nationalistic Germans crying over their country´s success is more difficult to handle when most of the World is falling apart.
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Re #82 etc.
And yet: 'Young men think old men fools, old men know young men are.'
Thus we have, 30th May 2010, "..It is a moral principle to choose to criticise your own culture rather than other cultures. We are responsible & can change what we are. Pointing fingers at others is a coward's way of of dealing with the world's problems..", by DemocThreat.
Followed an hour later on the 30th May 2010, ".. And I do think it is useful to have prejudices about culture. Otherwise you end up approving of nasty practises..", by, none other than DemocThreat.
The exposure of Your repeated inadequacy in any debate by Your inability to sustain a thread of argument gives no me no pleasure, however I do arrive at a certain understanding of how an "eternal fool" comes about.
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#53 Mathiasen
With her ´Dithering ´ Merkel got much more from Europe than if she ´gave in ´ at the beginning of the Greek crisis. That does NOT look like failure to me.
Germany is in a CONTINUAL state of spending with its Social benefits, for Obama to complain that more stimulus should occur is strange, when the Republicans are sticking a knife into his back at every opportunity.
The Social benefits cut may be difficult for some, but I can see her strategy (I think) she was (and is ) betting that the German industrial Juggernaut will speed up soon. This does indeed appear to be happening and should decrease the unemployment rate by the end of the year.
While German industry probably hedged on the $, the Middle and Small sized export businesses probably didn´t. So they now have the profits from Merkel´s ´Dithering ´ --A low Euro. Many had calculated for a $1.35 exchange .
Only two things are NOT negotiable with Germany -- Inflation and Unemployment. The problems with her coalition partners ( and some of her own party) I see as minor diversions, to be handled later.
If anyone hopes to make political gain by removing Merkel within the next 6 months while the unemployment rate falls and the economy picks up they will probably risk political suicide.
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86. At 1:16pm on 02 Jul 2010, quietoaktree wrote
"The problems with her coalition partners (and some of her own party) I see as minor diversions, to be handled later."
Well, the German press and the politicians of CSU-CDU (Merkel's camp) are seeing this differently, and they have reasons to. What is guarding Merkel right now is probably the circumstance that there is no alternative to her.
Not many are impressed by the way she handled the threatening insolvency of Greece. Therefore Hewitt is right that Merkel is weakened now. However, in this edition of Die Zeit Merkel’s cuts of deficits and the similar cuts in other European countries is getting support. The paper also notices in its front page editorial that Obama has promised to cut 50 per cent of his deficit within three years.
- As citizens we should of course be aware that the press lives by conflicts and if they are not sufficiently clear the press starts to use sharpening and overstatements.
I think, it would be very wise of us if we notice another thing: The serious part of the European press has started to discuss economic theories, and the conclusion so far is that none of the theories or models from the past seem to explain the situation, and therefore P. Krugman, who is quoted in this blog from time to time, is not seen as a prophet in this part of the press. That includes Die Zeit.
Merkel has made her decision: Insolvencies within the Euro zone are endangering the currency, and she will vigorously defend this currency and made no compromise on this in Canada.
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You have a very small sense of humour, CBW.
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the german policy brakes himself again. is the world's crisis ended, that our selfisch politicans play games?
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"84. At 11:14am on 02 Jul 2010, quietoaktree wrote:
#83 Thomas-B
After I had posted #42, I realized that language problems could occur. I took a language short-cut which could easily cause confusion. Only one Buchstaben ´r´ may be the problem ---you and your ?
If you read as ´many millions of Americans would like to have such (minor) problems´ ---that was the intended meaning. #59 was to clarify.
I used ´Typical German´ as a compliment meaning that Germany ALWAYS ridicules its successes -- which you did !
Much time is wasted with unfounded US and UK Nationalism on the blogs, a depressed group of Anti-Nationalistic Germans crying over their country´s success is more difficult to handle when most of the World is falling apart."
Thanks for that post quietoaktree.
I´m not - as you said - "crying over my country´s success", but I´m not agreeing with the attitude that if some success has been received, the "award" is to Frau Merkel´s account given. That´s not right, because it sickens me that when she has done something according to her duty being the German Chancellor, there is no need to award her. That´s the main problem I really complaining about, that our politicians don´t see it as naturally to fulfill their duties for which they were elected. I know that the picture the other nations have about her may differ from what we have here. When it is in need to save money, I regard it as contravenial to fly to the football match of the German team in South Africa and yet again, she´ll take the route again on Wednesday to attend the match in the half final. Normally, in former times our representatives, Chancellor included, attended a Word Coup match of the German team when they reached the final. There wouldn´t be anything to critisize. What she did, was just to escape the embarrasment from the recent President election. That´s the point that they call on the people for the needs to save money and on their own hands, they don´t go ahead by saving taxe payers money theirselves.
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I think the distinction that Merkel's candidate won an absolute majority is an important one. It's true there was another strong contender and that by all appearances Merkel's coalition is fracturing, but the fact that she still got her way despite picking a candidate who evidently was not the public favorite, I think says something about her remaining political pull. Whether she'll be able to hold on to that come the next election, we'll see. But I don't think things are quite so dismal for her as they're generally made out to be, though they're clearly not as rosy as they have been.
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What Germany needs is a leader similar to France's Charles De Gaulle,that is,a leader who will put Germany first and NATO second.Germany should and deserves to take it's place among the nations of the world and embark on a policy to promote world peace along with justice.All Germany does now is take orders from Washington and London without any regard for justice or decency and that is wrong.
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I salute to Margaret Thatcher, Angela Merkel,Laura Bush, Hellary Clinton. The nations should be proud of them. Wish one could have like them in Afghanistan ......
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