Sure. Every country in the Eurozone needs to spend even less money, then we'll all be richer and then nobody starves. They're just not cutting hard enough.[/Troika]
I hope everyone comes to their senses really soon but I fear they will suggest more cuts before they admit that we're ruining the south, as if the existing problems weren't bad enough. Even the IMF doubts austerity is helping a whole lot but it seems to be falling on deaf ears. Angela "there is no alternative" Merkel isn't going to change HMS Neo-Liberalia's course unless it blows up in her face. She's nothing if not pragmatic. If it's not threatening her position she won't do shit. Polls say that Germany loves her, no doubt in part because she's being tough on the "lazy South" and 'doing pretty well' during the crisis.
The only real opposition (SPD) is worthless (think New Labour) so she's probably going to get re-elected. The only ones who have even remotely sensible opinions on the matter are the far left and they're being ostracized by the other parties, so they have no chance of even forming coalitions with anyone. But who knows, maybe people will flock to them instead of the new Euro-sceptic, 'back to the Deutsche Mark, bugger the consequences' protest party that's popped up and been likened to a German Tea Party movement, but I doubt it.
Reading the news is more agitating than usual, for sure. A dubious study comes out showing that German households have less money than Cypriot, Italian and even Spanish households? Ha, see! Make 'em pay, make 'em pay! Oh, domestic demand is slowing (17% fall in new car registrations), hm, what a mysterious development. Cars must be too expensive these days. Never mind the whitewashed poverty report that showed how more and more Germans are coming near or falling below the poverty line. Never mind the millions of workers on benefits because they don't earn enough to live. Never mind the fact that Germany has the highest income equality in the EU and that we've been wage dumping these last ten years to build up this absurd export industry which violates stability pacts in its own way and is hence not exactly helping the other members of the Eurozone. We're doing the right thing here.
/rant
edit: Merkel just identified minimum wages as part of the problem in the affected countries.
Can you say "class warfare"? She's strictly against a universal minimum wage in Germany as well, because it would (supposedly) endanger our economy. Even 8,50€ has already been shot down. What a sick joke.
