In the battle against statism, it's France vs. Germany

Germany’s France Problem

By STEPHAN RICHTER

As Berlin sees it, Europe’s real struggle is not over Greece—it’s about sending a tough message to its No. 1 partner.

As s the Eurozone stumbles through another crisis, most of the media’s attention is on Angela Merkel, the leader of the continent’s greatest power, Germany. But the figure we should really be asking questions about is the man at her side, Wolfgang Schaeuble, who is the German finance minister and is widely considered the arch-champion of austerity. Is Schaeuble a flame-thrower hell-bent on upbraiding not just Greece, but much of Europe, if not the entire world economy? Do the policies he advocates perhaps reflect personal bitterness, as some people somberly surmise? And just how much does Greece matter at this stage in the battle for Europe’s future?

Not really that much. And that’s what the new Greek government—which is playing chicken with Germany, daring it to kick Athens out of the eurozone—needs to be told. What Mr. Game Theory, aka Greece’s new Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, has never understood properly is that the battle is not about Greece—or Europe’s South, for that matter.

It’s about France, stupid!


Berlin is extremely nervous about the ability of its biggest partner in what must still be considered a grand experiment in continental unity, France, to re-dynamize its economy.

.........


Readmore: www.capx.co