“In 2010 Bild ran a headline ‘Sell your islands, bankrupt Greeks’. Now Germany itself has a huge ‘black hole’ in its budget”
On the occasion of the recent decision of the Constitutional Court on the budget, the Süddeutsche Zeitung comments: “Basically the government coalition does not have one finance minister, but three. The first, Olaf Solz, previously held the office, the second, Christian Lindner, currently holds it, and the third, Robert Habeck, would like to have taken it himself (…) The only problem is that the three men do not want to the same. Very different are their fiscal principles, perceptions of what is the appropriate fiscal line with economic and political criteria. Until now they bridged their differences with shadow budgets, which is now impossible after the devastating decision of the Constitutional Court. For the governing coalition this could be a cause of dissolution, even before the next elections.”
Germany, like… Greece?
It would probably be too much to compare the fiscal impasse in Germany with Greece in 2010, however there is no lack of relevant reports, especially after the interview of former minister Panagiotis Lafazanis in Bild and his urging that the Germans should… sell their islands to increase government revenue.
THE Tageszeitung (taz) publishes a parody photo of what it claims are advertisements for the sale of six islands in the North and Baltic Seas and notes: “Contact the real estate agency Christian Lindner.” The newspaper’s sarcastic comment: “In 2010, Bild published an article with the title ‘Sell your islands, bankrupt Greeks.’ Now Germany itself has a huge ‘black hole’ in its budget and Panagiotis Lafazanis, minister in Greece at the time, advises us to get rid of some islands. That’s a good idea!”
“Glee for the German debt crisis” finds the financial review Handelsblatt in southern Europe. “Should we sell the island of Sylt or Helgoland?” asks the columnist. “These tips are rather between serious and funny, but they show how effective Berlin’s admonitions continue to be in times of crisis. Unforgettable was the – popular in Germany – recommendation to sell the Greek islands, in order to clean up the derailed budget of Athens. But also the hated troika of international inspectors, who controlled the countries of the crisis, has been deeply embedded in the collective memory of Southern Europeans”.
Source :Skai
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