When Angela Merkel came out a few weeks ago and elicited guffaws and belly laughs from all and sundry (given Germany's mediocre track record in this regard) by proposing that the EU enact stricter controls over countries with excessive budgetary deficits, we were kind enough not to suggest that simultaneously they might prohibit countries from suddenly increasing their populations by 16 million inhabitants from the soviet third world.Now, unfortunately, it seems that the European Union is not only on board but wants to take the whole thing one step further.
Expansión is reporting that the European Commission is giving serious consideration to including a nation's private debt levels in the calculation from which appropriate punishments will be derived.
We can see it now. Private debt to GDP hits 60% and suddenly the shock troops of the Policía Nacional appear on the temple steps to haul off all the usurers.
To think that we were on the verge of scribbling a piece on how flexible, despite universal structurally-based prognostications, the EU had proven itself to be over the past two years. Then again, the incredible stupidity of this idea probably means that it is yet another later-to-be-ignored impediment being put in place to satisfy the parochial political necessities one very disruptive country - the one that got the low rates it needed to incorporate East Germany into its fold.
Etcetera.
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4 Comments:
Ze beatings will continue until moral improves.
Hmmm, I'm not sure the Germans were quite that hypocritical Charles. That is not to say that your account of what happened is not correct, merely that different Germans, at different times, reacted differently. Kohl got what he wanted: Merkel is now (somewhat late in the game) discovering that she can get what she wants too, or at least that she can get enough of it to make a useful political impact back home. The real issue is excessive German dominance over the ECB: note how Trichet seems to have eaten a little too much sauerkraut and turned German....
Yeah, yeah. I'm taking cheap shots. Just preparing my readership for a rapid descent into pure demagoguery.
It's interesting to speculate on how the hardball game would have played out had Greece not given free rein to the German fiscal rectitude strategy.
Cheers
I suppose it goes both ways. Who knows how committed the next Greek government is going to be to sacrificing themselves on the altar of austerity.
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