Merkel – Steinbruck TV Duel on Greece: does it really matter?

I can tell you right away: no, it doesn’t! It doesn’t really matter what the Christian-Democrat, conservative and neo-liberal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and her Social-Democrat challenger Peer Steinbrueck exchanged on clever and quick statements, announcements and criticism last night, during their TV-duel. It doesn;t really matter what they said over Greece and its debt crisis.

It doesn’t really matter that “Steinbrueck sought to score points against the chancellor on the crisis that dominated her second term, saying he’d shift away from her application of austerity in “deadly doses” to southern Europe.

Merkel, who said for the first time that Greece may need more aid, countered that narrowing bond spreads in the euro area show her course is right for Europe and for Germany.

Merkel championed her steering of Germany through the crisis that spread from Greece, saying her stance of tying aid to conditions forces the euro area to become more competitive.

The German economy is “strong” with more in employment than ever before and higher tax revenue than at any time, she said, warning that Steinbrueck’s platform of tax increases threatened to put German prosperity at risk.

“We can ensure the economy continues to move upwards,” Merkel said. “Naturally the job isn’t over. Naturally there are many worries and problems, but we have demonstrated that we can cope in a difficult period.”

Some of the sharpest clashes came on the subject of Europe, a topic that had played only a small role in the campaign until a debate flared late last month over whether Greece might require a third bailout after the German vote.

Steinbrueck said that Merkel was applying austerity in “deadly doses” to southern Europe and that far more emphasis must be placed on bolstering economic growth and stemming record unemployment. Referring to a program to tackle youth joblessness announced by Merkel earlier this year, he said “the question is what’s come of it.” There is “only the savings club battering Greeks over the head.”

Steinbrueck dismissed Merkel’s European policy as a “failure” because of continued recession and sky-high unemployment in the southern euro countries that have had to swallow deep spending cuts in exchange for bailouts.

“I would have followed a different crisis strategy. Of course there must be budget consolidation in these countries, but not a deadly dose,” Steinbrueck said.

“Germany once got help too and we must not forget that,” he said. “Germany was massively helped after the Second World War with the Marshall Plan.”

Merkel retorted that it was under SPD chancellor Gerhard Schroeder that Greece had been allowed to join the euro in the first place.

Nobody knows precisely how things will develop in Greece,” Merkel said. “My job as chancellor is to ensure that the reform pressure on Greece doesn’t let up.” She said “it’s possible that there will be a new aid package for Greece. Nobody knows how big.”

Steinbrueck asked “whether, with the announcement of a third Greek package, we shouldn’t admit to ourselves that the crisis strategy to date — largely put forward by this government — has failed.” He argued that “what is lacking is a rebuilding program, what is lacking is a growth impulse, what is lacking is the fight against youth unemployment.” (full article)

What Merkel defended on her Greek and the European-South austerity policy was not new. We know that she considers a new ‘rescue’ package for Greece, the continuation of a nation-strangulating austerity measures, while she rejects an additional debt haircut.

Germans are economically conservative people. What Merkel says about Greece sounds like a Costa-Cordalis Ohrwurm (ear-worm/catchy tune) to the ears of the country’s taxpayers.

Merkel, Schaueble and their conservative friends from CDU, CSU and FDP are plain-cloth undercover populists.

And they will win the elections that will take place on September 22nd.

So it really doesn’t matter what Merkel and Steinbrueck said yesterday. It doesn’t really matter either who won the duel. The whole show was meant for German voters, anyway.

What they said, did not and will not positively surprise my pocket and my very tight budget.

We wish Germany all the best 🙂

PS I even consider to migrate to this wonderful, prosperous paradise on earth  where a waitress can earn 10 euro/hour while in China of EU South – that is Greece–  she would be happy to earn 5 euro per hour without insurance and feel really blessed to keep the job more than a month.