‘Old Europe Doesn’t Have a future’ And ‘Is Not an Option for Germany.’
Wolf Richter www.testosteronepit.com
“The fact that we profit massively from the euro doesn’t mean that we have to accept every political horse-trade to save the common currency,” Anton F. Börner, president of the German Association of Exporters (BGA), told the Handelsblatt—a swipe at Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti who’d demanded that Germany dig deeper into its pockets to reduce the debt burden of other countries, such as, well, Italy.
“The Italian government is on the wrong track if it thinks it can get out of this without difficult reforms to strengthen its competitiveness,” Börner said. Clear political messages would be necessary; and Italy would have to deliver. But if countries like Italy that are mired in crisis—the Krisenländer—refuse to implement those reforms, then the breakup of the Eurozone would be a solution.
His voice doesn’t go unnoticed: the BGA represents 120,000 exporters—the lifeblood of the economy. Germany fights for the euro because failure would have a “massive economic cost and incalculable political consequences,” Börner said. It would mean “renationalization and protectionism” and finally “balkanization and marginalization of Europe.”
He’d already stepped into the spotlight in November when he uttered the then still unspeakable: “We need a common market, not one currency.” And he'd suggested an alternative: a mini-eurozone, one without Italy. For that whole debacle, read.... The Next Step Towards The End Of The Euro.
Each country must fight to retain the confidence of the financial markets or regain it through reforms, Börner said. But if “a country cannot keep its deficits and debt within the commonly agreed-upon limits, it must irrevocably accept a substantial reduction in sovereignty.” Germany is prepared to sink a lot of money into the Krisenländer to help them on their way to competitiveness, he said, but “the old Europe doesn’t have a future—and is therefore not an option for Germany.”
He isn’t the only one. Over the weekend, it was Wolfgang Reitzle, CEO of Linde AG, who’d elicited gasps when he told the Spiegel, “I don’t believe that the euro must be saved at any price.”
He feared that reform efforts would fade if the ECB takes pressure off the Krisenländer by buying their bonds. And he explained: “If it is not possible to discipline the Krisenländer, then Germany must exit.”
Yes, it would lead to an appreciation of the “Deutschmark, the euro-north, or whatever currency we’d have then.” It would be a shock to the economy. Exports would cave and unemployment would rise. But not for long. “Five years down the road, Germany would be even stronger in comparison to its Asian competitors.”
The German industrial elite now openly discuss exiting the Eurozone. The question no longer is whether or not to keep Greece in it—the capital markets had already “checked off” that topic long ago, Reitzle said—but what price Germany should pay to stay in it itself. Already, there is utter frustration with the ECB. Hans-Werner Sinn, president of Ifo, a large economic research institute, lamented that Germany was being marginalized at the ECB as neither its president nor its chief economist were Germans. “All the pretty words how the ECB would function after its model, the Bundesbank, and how Germany, as the largest country, would retain its special role turned out to be echo and smoke.”
But there is no agreement. Yet.
“A return to the D-Mark would be catastrophic,” BMW CFO Friedrich Eichner told Reuters (Spiegel). “We should to do everything possible to avoid that it will get that far.”
Siemens CEO Peter Löscher was more sanguine. “The euro is extremely important for the European industry,” he said. Frank Appel, CEO of Deutsche Post DHL, said, “whatever it would cost to save the euro will be less than that what the euro has given and will continue to give Germany and Europe.” The spokesperson for Merck KGaA was more ambivalent: “It’s part of our job ... to be prepared for changes.”
Meanwhile, austerity is taking its toll on Greece. Suicides jumped by 22.5%. Unemployment rose to 18.2%. Pharmacies are having difficulties obtaining medications. More cuts are coming. If there is no agreement with bondholders, the bailout Troika will walk and Greece will default in March. But now, even the Troika is in disarray. Read.... Greece: Disagreement Everywhere.
(7 votes)
»
- testosteronepit's blog
- Login or register to post comments
- 8226 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
GERMANY, the DISGRACE of Europe
...the barbarians, who forced beautiful Europe to get down Zeus’“back” and made her a prostitute ...the unworthy Europeans, who in 1945 “took Europe down” from “Mount Olympus” and in 2012 relinquished “enslaved” Europe to the Phoenician loan sharks.
Germans are proved to be the easy solution to breach Europe’s door. Whoever wishes to “set foot” on Europe and demolish it, the only thing he has to do is to “fool” the Germans. For a second time in less than fifty years, Europe’s idiots become the victims of foreigners and they serve their interests at the expense of Europe...
http://eamb-ydrohoos.blogspot.com/2012/02/germany-disgrace-of-europe.html
_____________________
The German traitors of Europe along with the Phoenicians from Asia may have forced Europe to get down from the "back” of the Greek “bull”, but it remains to be seen how they shall pull it through with the “bull”.
Authored by PANAGIOTIS TRAIANOU
Gabrielle pomegranate diet pills Giffords, who survived slim pomegranate a gunshot wound to the super slim head a year ago, said super slim diet pills Sunday she would step down super slim green lean body capsule from Congress this week, setting super slim pills off a political scramble in Arizona super slim pomegranate to fill her seat. In a super slim pomegranate diet pills video released on YouTube, the super slim pomegranate pills Democratic congresswoman said she would super slim pomegranate weight loss capsule resign because she had more work to do on her recovery.
It's inevitable. The only other alternative is for fundamentally statist and irresponsible societies to embrace massive free market reforms, particularly in the labour market, and for the governments and recipients of state privilege to drastically shrink their gravy train. This will not happen. Germany will leave.
Ah, the anti-Euro brigade, comforting one another in blaming a method of exchange for all of Europe's ills.
The countries that are in trouble are the same old faces, lazy countries, that want something for nothing. They could devalue to zero in their own currencies, and it would do them no good, they would still be lazy.
However, such a devaluation would simply penalise the few productive members of those countries who save, as bang goes the value of their savings.
The Euro is just a method of exchange, and a damn fine one, as it has delivered true price stability, as per its mandate.
All Keynesians should wake up to reality, it's debt/laziness/malinvestment and wanting something for nothing that has got these countries into hot water, and now they need to confront reality.
Luckily for them all, and the whole world, Freegold is but a few years away, enabling full recapitisation, and finally a fair and useful international monetary system. (And the Euro architects knew this day was coming when they designed the currency).
Just read some Fofoa if you want more background, or keep your head in the sand!
Buggar the bottom line
Germany is finished too.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1991216,00.html
The D-Mark will be the new yen and the German economy will become stale.
Yen has been the strongest currency in the world for years, is that what you mean?
I mean that a country with an inverted population pyramid will inevitably have 'lost decades'.The difference between the two countries is that Germany allows immigration.
NO MORE CENTRALIZATION.
Centralization is DISEASE.
Individualism is HEALTH.
This doesn't just apply to individual human relations, but also to so-called "collectives". No collective of individuals is valid or potentially benevolent unless it is a fully VOLUNTARY collective. This inherently means that all collectives must be SMALL and must be extremely limited in scope... limited to bare essentials that ALL voluntarily agree upon.
The entire euro argument is a COMPLETE LIE, perpetrated by the globalist predators who promote the euro, the eurozone and eventually global governance. If real, physical gold coins were "money", then all of europe and all of the entire planet could have a perfect, functional "one world currency" that would punish nobody and give special benefits to nobody. There is no reason that free travel and free trade require any kind of centralized body or centralized anything.
The only reason the euro is a disaster is... it is FIAT, FAKE, FRAUD, FICTION, FANTASY and most importantly FRACTIONAL RESERVE PERVERSION that lets the predators-that-be and predator-class lie, cheat, steal, destroy and manipulate everyone else.
If the world does not STOP the move towards ever more centralization, then...
MANKIND IS FINISHED
The predators-that-be and predator-class know this. And that is what they want, the end of mankind and a much smaller world population of their revolting breed of two-legged sheep.
It was all OK for Germany and France to be lending to Greece despite its poor record and it was OK to lend without due diligence. It was also OK to bribe and cajole the Greeks into buying expensive armaments rather than guarantee their territorial sovereignty against Turkish ambitions. And before I forget it was also OK for them to bribe Greek bureaucrats and Ministers to sell them telephone systems and other contracts.
But when Greece went belly up, the French and Germans started asking for their pound of flesh. Well according to a friend, the Germans owe the Greeks much more than a pound of flesh in return for the human and property damage they inflicted on Greece during WWII.
What goes round comes round.
It is better that a fiat currency dies rather than the future of a whole continent of people.
As the Spartans said to the Persians: Come and get us !!
Wait, Wait Super Mario is doing a 10 T LTRO, all is well! Just ask Watching with Amazement.
I found this quote interesting:
'Börner said. But if “a country cannot keep its deficits and debt within the commonly agreed-upon limits, it must irrevocably accept a substantial reduction in sovereignty.”'
Wouldn't this mean that every country on the planet should experience substantial reductions in sovereignty?
No. US citizenism lingo.
Mutualization of debt goes to the favour of the most indebted.
What we have here is a situation some countries can subdue other countries thanks to debt.
Nothing new.
Actually, it is just pimping. Countries that are able to subdue the others are the countries the most indebted.
Fuck thesquareheads. Anybody with a brain and the least grasp of European history knows Greece is the lush that never, ever pays their tab, but the Germans (who violated Maastricht whenever it suited their purposes), looked the other way when the Greeks fudged their numbers to get into the Eurozone. Now it's all gone predictably pear-shaped, and suddenly Germany notices "Hey, there's a competitiveness problem." Wankers.
If you think market and banking regulation is a joke in the US, check out their counterparts in the EU, including Germany. They're living in a glass house that's already covered with cracks.
You left out the part about Goldman Sachs helping Greece hide their real debt off balance sheet.
The war that the US is conducting against the Euro currency has been going on longer than ZH has been a site...
@Heyoka Bianco, squareheads are Finns, not Germans.
germans are rotmoffen
...en jij gaat lekker met de tijd mee. oelewapper...
Ahmeexnal is nog nooit in Europa geweest maar wil altijd wat te zeggen hebben, beetje zielig.
I fully support Germany telling rest of EU fuck off, and going back to the D-mark.
Euro was created to make bankers rich and nations poor.
... exactly what we see happening.
d mark is fiat too.
wtf do you care who tell who about the same stuff.
germany is germany and like in every country i know there are a lot of people talking about alot of stuff. for some reason we hear about it. beats me because most have an issue with the fact that we humans are physically thight to fiat. fiat might have functioned in the past. i dont know. i wasnt there.
now im looking for an alternative. and so do more.
fiat is parabolic.
pm is linieare.
bitcoin is tangent.
what do you prefer
Greece is the Detroit of Europe with slightly more interesting ruins and slightly more civilized welfare cases.
Excellent Freddie!
California is the Italy, Spain the Illinois.
All pale in comparison to Washington.
Fiat on.
California has far better wines than Italy.
nfp
You have obviously not spent any time in Italy sampling the local wines.
Now I know (with own eyes) why Germany started World War One (and lost). I know now why Germany started World War Two (and lost).
They are complete idiots.
(Hey jackasses. If the other EU counties do what you want them to do and 'become competitive' (whatever that means) they will not buy your shit. If they don't do what you want them to do they CAN'T buy your shit.)
Aye Chi Whawha! Worse than watching the Redskins on TV.
Both World Wars were planned and funded by central bankers. Do you think it was just a coincidence that the Fed was hatched in 1913?
Read both of Antony Sutton's books, "Wall Street and the Bolshevik Revolution" and "Wall Street and the Rise of Hitler."
If you want to see a jackass look in the mirror.
Only moron serfs watch TV. It enables and enpowers the elites you stupid serf.
The Germans are far smarter than you will ever be.
As an aside, it's "empower", rather than "enpower".
Yes, I am a grammar nazi. Boom tish.
The Euro was never an equitable arrangement, to begin with. When the pros and cons of a common currency were being debated, the very situation that is taking it apart today, was a major objection, back then. The critics were right. Europe is reduced to peon status by the UK, Germany and France. It is only a matter of time before those three betray each other, repeating European history.
http://georgesblogforum.wordpress.com/2011/11/02/the-daily-climb-2/
You are perfectly right, the Euro poses roughly the same dynamics on the trade inside of the eurozone as a gold standard would/did. Not equitable, compared with every region having the possibility of inflating as needed for the budget. We have to go back to a currency per city, eh?
they call it doucheland for a reason
It's "Deutschland" (pronounced "doytchland") people...
Not "doucheland"...
You'll find out how "douchy" Germans are when the Leopard MkIII tanks start rolling across the territory of "defaulted" euro nations and when the Kriegsmarine once again floods the Atlantic with Unterseebooten...
It's high time for Round III of Furor Teutonicus...
Bah! The German army is so gay these days that they would not make it past Amsterdam!
Good,good... This time we will hand the whole of Germany over to the Russians. And tell them to keep it.
agent default... If you really believe your comment you are about as out of touch with whats going on in the world as anyone posting here..."This time we will hand the whole of Germany over to the Russians. And tell them to keep it."
......................................
Putin and Merkel have been meeting privately for over six years. None of their discussions have been made public; nor have even the topics of their discussions been made public... but, we do know several FACTS about Russia and Germany. Germany is a manufacturing and engineering powerhouse that is short on natural resources. Russia is rich in natural resources but lacking in modern manufacturing capability and rife with corruption at every level of government. An accomodation between Russia and Germany would be beneficial to both. Of course, all this is the same now as it was at the beginning of WW2.
Moving on... Germany, and all members of the EU, know full well that the Euro currency has been under attack by every force that the US can bring to bear on it. The US cannot allow the Euro to succeed because of the damage it would cause to dollar hegemony in the 'dollars for oil' trade.
Many nations have begun to trade in their local currencies with their trading partners. This activity too is a threat to dollar hegemony and can be countered in several ways. The US can export inflation by weakening the dollar. The US can threaten military intervention, as we are now seeing in Iran, and which has caused the Iranian currency to fall in value by about 50% in a short period of time. The US can sponsor 'opposition parties' in an attempt to oust rulers that are not US puppets, as in the various 'colored' revolutions and as is ongoing in Russia now. The US can invade militarily as in Iraq and Lybia when the leaders of those countries threatened, or actually did, begin trading oil for currencies other than dollars.
Military conflicts are usually limited and occur when economic diplomacy fails. What we are now witnessing is economic warfare, which is a constant battle, mixed with occasional military intervention or war.
If the Euro currency fails, or Germany opts out of the Euro currency, do not be surprised if Germany and Russia sign new trade agreements and do not be surprised if Germany and Russia begin to trade with each other in their respective currencies; ie, rubles and 'new' Dmarks... Since this is exactly what happened prior to WW2.
If this does happen you can expect the US to take the necessary steps to disrupt the Russian/German trade pacts. Voila, as Solomon said... 'There is nothing new under the sun'.
"It's high time for Round III of Furor Teutonicus..."
LOL - historically Furor Teutonicus was the catchword for a quite extensive Roman Propaganda Action to explain the masses why the Legions had to be sent that far north where you got only diminuishing returns on your investments on capital/conquest. The ancient roman equivalent of "they hate us because we are free" or the Domino Theory. Human history evolves and revolves but some things just remain the same...
Haha, Doucheland it is. We all know how the last 2 rounds of Furor Teutonicus ended
we can only hope and pray that Merkel sets herself ablaze like her daddy made the world believe he did (he most probably escaped to the vatican or to spain where his puppet Franco hid him).
what's your beef with Angie's father, Horst Kasner?
He died last year (85), a protestant pastor that moved with his family 1951 to the DDR on request of his bishop (because there were so few pastors left there), was openly sympathetic to the socialist regime, was later openly against the reunification of Germany and is suspected to have been a western agent for decades...
Good call, but I'ld put my money on lands a bit farther south.
WWIII should be starting up before them.
Unless the PTB can think of some other play from the elitist playbook that works better at shutting up the serfs and gaining "acceptance" through fear and common enemies.
Bad winds this way come. Maybe they start in "defaulted" EU nations, maybe they start in the sandy Middle East.
But come they will.
Happy thoughts.
Germany will act exactly like Captain Francesco Schetinno, who was the first one to bail out of the sinking Costa Concordia.
In the same way, the germans, who engineered and duped the rest of the euro countries to join the nefarious euro experiment, shall be the first to jump of the ship when TSHTF.
May be they do..
Hey, I'm first.
What a pitty,now I am second...