Germany

ruggedtoast

They wanted a single economic area to sell their goods in, and they got it.

Then they wanted to rebrand the deutschmark as a single European currency that everyone else would use, and they got that.

Then they wanted a vastly expanded EU market based around countries who wanted a lot of the things that Germany made, and they got that too.

Then they wanted those countries to be able to borrow vast amounts of money they clearly couldn't pay back to buy the goods that German businesses make, and by diddly they got that as well.

Then, when those countries can't pay back their debts they want their citizens to undergo insufferable austerity rather than jeopardise in any way the financial system that benefited Germany in bringing all this about. And darn my socks, they are getting just that as well.

Germany seems to be doing rather well out of all this.

ILW

Clever aren't they.
Just shows how inadequate some of the other EU leaders are though.
Pretty basic model the Germans used since the war though.

Work hard
Plan long term
Encourage some savings
Invest in growing businesses rather than just speculating on property.
Etc etc

chris_m

The European Union commissioners have announced that agreement has been reached to adopt English as the preferred language for European communications, rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, Her Majesty's Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a five-year phased plan for what will be known as EuroEnglish (Euro for short).

In the first year, "s" will be used instead of the soft "c." Sertainly, sivil servants will resieve this news with joy. Also, the hard "c" will be replaced with "k". Not only will this klear up konfusion, but typewriters kan have one less letter.

There will be growing publik emthusiasm in the sekond year, when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced by "f". This will make words like fotograf" 20 persent shorter.

In the third year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkorage the removal of double letters, which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horible mes of silent "e"s in the languag is disgrasful, and they would go.

By the fourth year, peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" by "z" and "w" by " v".

During ze fifz year, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou", and similar changes vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters.

After zis fifz yer, ve vil hav a reli sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubls or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech ozer.

Ze drem vil finali kum tru.

CLAPTON

Best go over to the loan or the debt free wannabe board and sympathise with all those people who were 'forced' to take out 'irresponsible lending' loans.

The unfairness here is that a lot of ordinary people are caught in a nightmare not of their making.

However they are all democracies than can leave the EURO if they so determine.

ruggedtoast

ILW wrote: »

Clever aren't they.
Just shows how inadequate some of the other EU leaders are though.
Pretty basic model the Germans used since the war though.

Work hard
Plan long term
Encourage some savings
Invest in growing businesses rather than just speculating on property.
Etc etc

Yes, that f3ckless southern European stereotype is rather enduring isn't it? Lazy so and sos, sleeping half the day, on vacation for half the year and barely lifting a finger when they so turn up to their employment, not like those grafters in Germany, marching ever towards progress, barely seeing daylight due to the endless toil for the greater good.

Until we discover this is all load of complete cobblers and Germans work fewer hours than practically any other EU country whilst receiving state benefits that would even make Alex Salmond blush.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18144319

michaels

German workers have slaved away building BMWs and Mercedes that have been bought on credit and driven by Greeks and Cypriots who will never pay for them.

Yep - those Germans certainly got the best side of the deal and I think we should try and emulate them.

Thrugelmir

ruggedtoast wrote: »

They wanted a single economic area to sell their goods in, and they got it.

Then they wanted to rebrand the deutschmark as a single European currency that everyone else would use, and they got that.

Then they wanted a vastly expanded EU market based around countries who wanted a lot of the things that Germany made, and they got that too.

Then they wanted those countries to be able to borrow vast amounts of money they clearly couldn't pay back to buy the goods that German businesses make, and by diddly they got that as well.

Then, when those countries can't pay back their debts they want their citizens to undergo insufferable austerity rather than jeopardise in any way the financial system that benefited Germany in bringing all this about. And darn my socks, they are getting just that as well.

Germany seems to be doing rather well out of all this.

Sounds like the front page of the Daily Mail. Totally ill informed.

The UK has dug its own hole with its love of property at the expense of investing wealth creating assets.

grizzly1911

As one commentator pointed out over Cyprus.

Germany want their banking sector "shut down" , the Cypriot's largest element in the economy. How would the Germans have reacted if someone told them they had to shut down their car industry?

We may have an unnatural affinity with property but many also have to much affinity with BMWs, Mercedes, Audi/VW. Not sure the government influenced or controlled that choice though.

Thrugelmir

grizzly1911 wrote: »

We may have an unnatural affinity with property but many also have to much affinity with BMWs, Mercedes, Audi/VW. Not sure the government influenced or controlled that choice though.

Also with BMW's. During the credit boom. The UK was BMW's largest export market globally.

PaulF81

grizzly1911 wrote: »

As one commentator pointed out over Cyprus.

Germany want their banking sector "shut down" , the Cypriot's largest element in the economy. How would the Germans have reacted if someone told them they had to shut down their car industry?

We may have an unnatural affinity with property but many also have to much affinity with BMWs, Mercedes, Audi/VW. Not sure the government influenced or controlled that choice though.

Erm, they didnt want them to shut it down, they HAVE shut it down. The thing is, the Cypriot politicos were too thick to see what the ECB (Bundesbank) were up to; in effect they have destroyed their own Financial services Industry.

Interesting they are now talking about a 20% levy (read theft) by the central bank to guarantee the bailout.

I think they should just leave the euro. I used to love the chance of buying bottles of Kio brandy for less than a fiver a bottle, it makes perfect brandy sour!

Thrugelmir

PaulF81 wrote: »

what the ECB (Bundesbank)

For the record. Draghi is Italian not German. Draghi was also France's choice not Germany's. So the ECB is more independent than one might imagine.