Category: Germany

Germany: a country undone

August 5, 2022 0

  The energy crisis is upsetting the balance of power in Europe, as we finally have realised that Germany is indeed quite fallible. The country’s moral authority was constantly being unleashed upon Mario Draghi during his time as president of the ECB because of his active monetary policy. Germany’s arrogance went as far as proposing…

By Michel Santi

Europe is sick with Germany

May 28, 2018 0

My intention here is not to fall into caricaturisation or outrage, but Germany is now being governed a bit like Ceausescu’s Romania. Just before being overthrown, he managed to run up a surplus in the way of 9 billion dollars on his country’s balance of payments, just like how Olaf Scholz, the new German Minister…

By Michel Santi

The European illusion

March 15, 2017 0

The infamous Treaty of Versailles which was imposed on Germany following the First World War forced the nation to pay the astronomical sum of 132 billion Marks. This iniquitous treaty was to provoke the Occupation of the Ruhr in 1923 by France, displeased at the delays in German payments. In 1924 however, the Dawes Plan,…

By Michel Santi

A Germany living on borrowed time

February 18, 2017 0

The narrow-minded attitude of the Germans with regards to austerity, currency and money in general is totally counterproductive in Europe’s current situation. There is nevertheless one certainty: they are sincere! In fact, Germany’s behaviour can only be understood in relation to its at the very least tormented history. Wasn’t bread worth 400 billion marks in…

By Michel Santi

Back to the Deutschmark

January 6, 2017 0

The staunchly anti-European Martin Feldstein, a Harvard economist, wrote prophetically in 1997 that the introduction of the euro would exacerbate economic cycles by aggravating unemployment in certain member-states. Whose economic problems would contribute to a crisis in confidence in the Union. In fact, those who were convinced that the Union had been suffering a crisis…

By Michel Santi

Overcoming the German autocracy

May 29, 2016 0

German households and businesses are clearly creditors and in surplus with regards to countries abroad. As for the German government, its objective is to clear its public debt and run a budget surplus. So why would it now trouble itself with the endemic deceleration of the country’s domestic investment, which has been induced directly by…

By Michel Santi

The European social nightmare

March 8, 2016 0

What European social model? Is there only one, when the Germans are more than ever obsessed with competitiveness and their trade surplus? In reality, Merkel and Schauble’s only solution in order to compete with emerging and developing countries – and therefore to preserve Germany’s market shares – consists of crushing southern European workers under an…

By Michel Santi

Europe: A German colony

October 24, 2015 0

Last summer, during a telephone interview with his American counterpart, German Minister for Economic Affairs, Wolfgang Schäuble, thought he was being funny by suggesting that they should swap Puerto Rico (which has nearly gone bankrupt) for Greece! In fact, the overwhelming majority of Germans have been convinced by the narrative which claims that their hard…

By Michel Santi

Europe faces its old demons

March 23, 2015 0

The European government elites are sinking into denial. Their frightened posture against public deficits and preference for strict financial orthodoxy is a reflection of an age-old tendency for self-destruction. However, the current version of this tendency is about to lead them to a nasty state of affairs. I am referring to the ascension of extreme-right…

By Michel Santi

There is no German miracle

March 14, 2015 0

German politicians live and evolve in a parallel universe. Their trade surpluses, their fiscal and restrictive fiscal policies and their anemic domestic investment are all compelling evidence of the “economic autism” of their government elites. Those political leaders incessantly affirm in public the validity of these surpluses as if trying to convince themselves that these…

By Michel Santi