German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s social democratic (SPD) party has been hit hard in regional elections over the weekend, with voter anger at his party over the crummy state of the economy overwhelming an attempt by some of his own party members to whip up a storm of anti-capitalist sentiment in order to cling to power. Good. I honestly don’t know whether we are seeing a transition phase in Germany towards sanity and liberal economics. What is clear is that a country that has suffered double-digit unemployment for more than half a decade cannot go on like this without dreadful strains on its social fabric. Maybe some of the more intelligent parts of the German political class might get this point. We need the once-mighty German economic machine, brought to such a pitch by the late great Konrad Adenauer and Ludwig Ehrhard (friend of Hayek) brought to a purring level of growth again. It is in no-body’s interests, least of all ours in Britain, to see that nation permanently in the doldrums.
There is a related article here about what has gone wrong in Germany here in the latest edition of the Spectator. As Glenn Reynolds likes to say, read the whole thing.
To the extent that economic misery breeds unhappiness with Euro project, I would think it would be in everyone’s long-term best interest to have Germany continue to botch along, at least until it rejects the EU constitution and does its bit to kill off the whole superstate.
I suspect there will have to be somewhat unseasonable weather in Hades, before the Germans are willing to lose the welfare state fantasyland in which they live.
Our primary concern in the UK must be to avoid being dragged into the same anaesthetised condition, which means getting out of the EU as fast as we possibly can.
RC Dean, of course the crappy state of the German economy (ditto Italy/France) bolsters the anti-EU case, but one should not tie the argument solely to the misfortunes of other countries. If Germany did embrace the free market path, I cannot see how the likes of us would object to that.
And as always for German political matters, don’t forget to stop in at David’s place.(Link)