Harold James on Germany's economic policy in the crisis

In the Hungarian business newspaper Világgazdaság Harold James, a British historian and professor at Princeton University, questions Germany's economic policy: "All over the world, public-sector deficits are exploding. Governments face massive costs rescuing banks and businesses hit by the financial and economic crisis. There is a universal consensus that Keynesian stimulus is needed. ... Germany is different ... . The German government has taken a peculiarly aggressive line in attacking deficits and trying to lay down a firm exit strategy. ... The real problem with the German measure is not so much our lack of knowledge about what the world will look like in 2016 or 2020 as it is that Germany is politically and economically bound to European integration, and thus tied to states with very different budgetary perspectives and priorities. As a result, it makes little sense for Germany to compete to have more solid budgets than its neighbors: all European countries have tied themselves together."

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