The state should not save sinking ships

The government of the Belgian region of Flanders has announced plans to give the crisis-stricken Opel plant in Antwerp 500 million euros in aid. The liberal daily De Standaard, however, writes that the plant is beyond hope: "That's a lot of money, particularly when you know that the Flemish car industry has been shrinking for years and that there is no reason to believe this trend will change. …Sweden has proven that there are other options. The liberal Swedish government is reacting quite differently to the auto industry crisis than the Flemish and German governments. It refuses to invest government money in activities that seem doomed to generate only losses and thus allowed Saab to declare bankruptcy without intervention. For a long time the European investment bank's loan for Volvo hung by a thread because the Swedish government didn't want to act as guarantor. Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said back then that you shouldn't try to save a sinking ship. A statement we should recall when the curtain goes down on Opel Antwerp."

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