The German press is divided on the account of Schäuble’s impact on the EU and the euro. Also, a comment from FAZ on the looming accession of Sweden to NATO.

Yesterday (December 27) it became known that Wolfgang Schäuble died at the age of 81. Leading German politicians expressed their condolences, recalling at the same time his tireless and uninterrupted contribution to German and European politics over a period of 50 years.

President Steinmeier commented that Schäuble was “fortunate for German history”Chancellor Soltz praised his keen political mind, his passion for politics and his fighting spirit for democracy.

“A loss for German politics” is the title of the Süddeutsche Zeitung report, while in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung we read: “Democracies need politicians who embody their institutions. […] And Schäuble was a phenomenon precisely for this reason. […] Whatever office he assumed, it was certain that he would not use it to enhance his profile, but that he would retreat in front of the greatness and purpose of his work, marching in accordance with the constitutional imperatives. That is why “Wolfgang Schäuble is a politician we will miss”.

The tageszeitung, however, seems to have a completely different opinion. “Schäuble was a convinced European. […] But he was also the one who almost destroyed Europe – through his narrow-minded austerity policy during the euro crisis, which left behind a loss of hundreds of billions of euros, while at the same time strengthening the AfD.”

The Berlin newspaper refers in particular to the management of the Greek issue: “There was no doubt that the Greek state had to be reformed. But Schäuble was acting too much like an idiot. In the south of Europe, including France, he was thus the personification of the arrogant German”.

During the euro crisis, Schäuble “acted on the basis of the slogan “whoever has debt, is to blame”. He was thus convinced that the Greeks, Portuguese, Spanish and Italians should be punished for their excessive debts and forced to save money. But the constant orgy of cuts produced nothing: while the economies of the countries in crisis collapsed, the debts grew even more, instead of reducing.
The unprecedented case of Greece

“Especially the collapse of Greece was unprecedented”, taz continues. “In the meetings secretly recorded by Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, it becomes clear that both Christine Lagarde (then head of the IMF) and Schäuble were well aware that the austerity programs were a disaster for Greece.

[…] Moreover, Schäuble himself had openly stated that the austerity program was “bad” for Greece and development. But he had other plans. He wanted to force the Greeks to temporarily leave the Eurozone. […] Schäuble thus saw the euro as the revolving door of a department store: one can enter, exit again, and at some point re-enter. But the single currency doesn’t work that way.”

Although Greece never eventually left the euro, “Schäuble’s threat was enough to cause Europe-wide chaos and billions in damages. When it became clear that one country could leave the Eurozone, investors began to wonder if there was a chance that other states could also be at risk. That is, they started to get rid of their Italian, Spanish and even French securities, which in turn led to an increase in interest rates for those states. Italy in particular suddenly found itself facing bankruptcy, even though it had improved its financial management.’

As taz concludes, Schäuble was a politician “beloved by the Germans, but who seriously damaged his country and Europe”.
Sweden: Another step towards joining NATO

After months of negotiations the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Turkish National Assembly approved the protocol of Sweden’s accession to NATO and the protocol is now expected to be passed by the parliament.

“The Commission’s decision is an important step,” observes FAZalso emphasizing that “the prospect of Sweden’s accession, as well as Finland’s accession months ago, are a gain for the security of Europe”.

In this way, “something that no one in Europe thought possible before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will become a reality. During the Cold War, Sweden and Finland have always maintained a neutral stance. Not even after the fall of the Soviet Union was there any indication that joining the North Atlantic defense alliance would ever be necessary. But Vladimir Putin overturned all these supposed certainties. However, as he considers himself to be at war with the entire Western world, he will perceive the new situation more as a clearing of the fronts, than as a failure of Russian policy”, concludes the Frankfurt newspaper.

DW, George Passas