Austerity time bomb

Germany's budget policy has exacerbated inequality in the Eurozone, writes the daily Der Standard: "The German propensity to hard work and self-deprivation has created the very global imbalances that rocked the international financial system and weakened the European common currency in the first place. Leading economists and Germany's trading partners have been saying this for years, most recently at the G20 planning meeting in South Korea. But the Germans - like the Chinese and Japanese who are also firmly bound up in mercantilist thinking - refuse to listen. Their fear of 'Greek circumstances' has led them to recreate these very circumstances. No one can force them to make an about-turn. Nevertheless the Germans themselves must foot the bill for the crisis, as the value of their financial assets dwindles and they are forced to stand surety for other people's debts."

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