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Old 01-04-2013, 14:37   #1323
Osem
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Re: Eurozone will collapse...

Here's an interesting read:

Quote:
In Germany, the citizens feel aggrieved. They perceive their country as a generous donor of hard-earned cash to peoples who have let their finances go to ruin.

German taxpayers donate, the argument runs, to help those less industrious than themselves. And what, they wonder, do they get in return? Nothing but ingratitude and insult. So it seems to some Germans.

Outside the country, on the other hand, it does not seem like that at all. Perceptions are inverted. Instead of gratitude for the gifts donated, Germans feel the coldness of ingratitude for the strings attached...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21974496

Quote:
... Or the heat of angry insult. The Spanish daily El Pais published (and then apologised for) a piece which said that conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel "like Hitler, has declared war on the rest of the continent".
I've long thought that this sort of discontent was inevitable as both sides understandably take a rather biased view of the same situation. Yes the Germans have stumped up loads of money but their economy has been by far the biggest beneficiary of EU policy whilst other, weaker economies have been further damaged by the lack of economic policy options open to them. If the Euro were to collapse and the DM be readopted then the German economy would soon be subject to the sort of pressures on exports which come with a currency that is strong. How long before jobs start getting shed and Germany's finger of blame was pointed at those 'ungrateful' nations who 'sabotaged' the grand EU plan? For there to be such discontent in Germany at a time when they've been doing well (for the most part) just goes to show how much more unrest there would be if the German economy really faltered and unemployment, etc. there started to climb.

Let's hope it doesn't escalate to the point where extremists on either side succeed in exploiting the situation and setting off a tinderbox of resentment and recriminations in Europe.
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