NYT Reporter Condemns Gold-Hoarding 'Dragon' Germany Proposing Path of 'Suffering' for Greece
New York Times Berlin bureau chief Nicholas Kulish was harsh on his hosts in his “Memo From Germany” on Wednesday, “Success and Advice Cast a Giant as a Villain, Not a Model, in Europe.” Germany’s leadership has had the gall to fix work-force rules and institute pension reforms and are insisting that bailout help for free-spending, sclerotic Greece must be contingent on similar requirements, or as Kulish calls it, “austerity and suffering.”
Throughout the crisis in the euro zone, as governments have fallen, debt burdens have mounted and economies have stagnated or shrunk, Germany has floated above the fray. While its economy has hummed along nicely, its leaders have steadfastly insisted that the path to redemption for the debtors lies in austerity and suffering.
When Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday described the debt crisis as Europe’s “most difficult hours since World War II,” she was describing something most Germans had only read about in newspapers or watched on television. The German economy once again surprised experts on Tuesday, growing an unexpectedly healthy 0.5 percent in the third quarter and 2.5 percent higher than the year before.
....
Germany’s continued prosperity has helped fuel growing anger in countries like Greece and Spain against what is increasingly viewed as harsh German domination. More and more, Germany is cast in the role of the villain, whether by protesters in the streets of Athens or by exasperated politicians in the halls at the recent Group of 20 meeting in Cannes, France.
“The Germans often don’t sufficiently appreciate how wrenching the economic changes are that they’re prescribing,” said Philip Whyte, a senior research fellow at the Center for European Reform in London.
Kulish didn’t seem offended by comparisons of today’s Germany to the Nazi regime:
Greeks in particular have been outraged at demands for change dictated by Berlin that impinge on their sovereignty. Some Greek protesters have even carried blue European Union flags with yellow swastikas in the middle and compare the debt deals to the occupation of Greece during World War II.
The European crisis has often been likened to a morality play -- sinful southerners, virtuous northerners -- but at times in Germany it has taken the shape of Wagnerian opera, with Germany cast as the dragon guarding its hoard of gold.
Reporter Kulish inserted a value judgment into his copy.
Last week, Germany was awash with reports of a proposal floated at the Group of 20 meeting that might have allowed the International Monetary Fund to draw on German gold reserves to bolster Europe’s rescue fund.
The condemnation was swift and disproportionately harsh for a suggestion that was basically doomed from the start. “The German gold reserves must remain untouchable,” said Philipp Rösler, the economy minister and vice chancellor.
Who said it was "disproportionately harsh" besides Kulish himself? He finally got to Germany’s side in paragraph 19 of 22.
As the overall health of Germany’s economy and its fiscal position widen the rift with Europe’s poorer periphery, Germans have a ready response. They say that they already made the structural changes in work-force rules and pension reforms that they are now recommending for the slow-growth countries, and that, by the way, they actually pay their taxes. So if the laggards want Germany’s money, they have to play by German rules.
Kulish does not write like a fan of fiscal disicpline. In September 2011 he joined the line of reporters suggesting the rioters who burned and looted shops in London for shoes and smart phones were actually alienated victims of budget cuts engaged in political protest.
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Comments
Typical leftie.
Submitted by NeoKong on Thu, 11/17/2011 - 9:30am.
He condemns success while he demands that the successful bail out the losers with absolutely no conditions attached.
Of course!
Submitted by almostacowboy on Thu, 11/17/2011 - 9:44am.
It's the progressive way.
So,
Submitted by almostacowboy on Thu, 11/17/2011 - 9:44am.
The Greeks are offended that Germany is impinging on their sovereignty, but accepting their money is no such impingement? Hey! Germany! Let them exercise their sovereignty. Let them rot!
Offended?
Submitted by Cappmann1962 on Thu, 11/17/2011 - 10:19am.
How is Germany NOT opening their vaults to Greece "impinging on their sovereignity"? What they're offended about is Germany not giving them the keys to their gold treasury for the EU to use as they see fit. Disregard that the EU has pissed away probably trillions of dollars on their frivolous social programs, obscene retirement plans, free medical and college, and so forth. Why is it so difficult for these morons to understand that when you flush ALL your money down the toilet, it's GONE? And what's their answer? Find another country that still has money and railroad them into giving you all THEIR money so you can do some more flushing. It appears to be too simple for Lefties to figure out that their philosophy doesn't work, while those nasty Righty's ideas are proven effective time and again.
Damn straight!
Submitted by Morganfrost on Thu, 11/17/2011 - 9:51am.
How dare anyone suggest that Europeans don't have a fundamental human right to live well beyond their means in perpetuity!
Glad to see Germany
Submitted by helomech on Thu, 11/17/2011 - 9:53am.
Glad to see Germany attempting to get the EU house in order. Seems like those bitching about it are those governments who didn't responsibly take control of their countrys' financial issues when they had the chance. Too bad for you; no need to hate ze Germans....
Sounds familiar!
Submitted by malefecent928 on Thu, 11/17/2011 - 10:02am.
This reminds me of the child's story of the grasshopper and the ant! Unfortunately, Odummy and his cronies want the same for the USA....[sarc on] "Gee...you're rich and have scrimped and saved and struggled all your life - now it's time (since you're finally financially secure) to give all you've earned to some entitled "yoot's" and aging hippies that are running amok in the streets and violently protesting how unfair their lives are!" Because, after all, you know how hard it is to earn all that wealth. Why would you condem these poor entitled kids living in their parent's basements (and now on the streets and in our parks) to the same hardships that you endured? You should want better for them since you know how hard it is to get a job in this economy that Odummy created and when you've borrowed and spent $30,000 on your advanced degree in Brazillian Bongo! And heaven forbid you go to N. Dakota to work so very hard in the newly found oil industry there! Because it's hard and dirty! Everything's just so hard! [sarc off] If they don't wake up soon, all the worthwhile people that have lives and carreers will find a way to leave or barricade themselves from the unwashed rabble wanting what they have but unwilling to work for it!
Which reminds me of the
Submitted by dscott on Thu, 11/17/2011 - 9:37pm.
Which reminds me of the parody on that story: http://newsbusters.org/forums/topic-discussion/ant-grasshopper-21058
Gremany`s Proposed path of suffering for...
Submitted by NVRAT on Thu, 11/17/2011 - 10:15am.
Well shi# Howdy Greece, move over here comes the "United States of Obama" complete with Social Leches" and Self Serving Politicians. We just hit 15.4 Trillion in debt and the Administration along with the Progressive Democrats do not care. This whole world wide disaster has been caused by the Democrats, Republican RINO`s and the Federal Reserve. Wake-up America before it`s to late. Judgement day is November 3, 2012. Are you ready?
Remember the Golden Rule
Submitted by Galvanic on Thu, 11/17/2011 - 11:06am.
"Whoever has the gold, makes the rules." (With a tip of the hat to cartoonist Johnny Hart of the Wizard of Id).
It's Germany's treasure they're begging for, so Germany gets to set the terms.
Hear, hear.....well put!
Submitted by helomech on Thu, 11/17/2011 - 11:56am.
Hear, hear.....well put!
the grasshopper and the ant
Submitted by wizardjr on Thu, 11/17/2011 - 12:12pm.
a story completely wasted on these ass biscuits
of all the nerve...
Submitted by Rackie on Thu, 11/17/2011 - 12:46pm.
keine Schmerz, kein Gewinn
Ant and Grasshopper
Submitted by Emrys on Thu, 11/17/2011 - 12:49pm.
Another case of the grasshopper hating on the ant because he was thrifty in good times in order to ride out the bad times. In the modern world, the grasshoppers outnumber the ants and vote grasshopper leaders into power to take from the ants and give to the grasshopppers. Think any type of welfare you want, think taxing the rich to give it to the poor, etc.
One day the ants will pull a John Galt and say "Screw You" to the grasshoppers and leave them to finally learn how to fend for themselves or die.
Whiskey tango foxtrot?
Submitted by drsamherman on Thu, 11/17/2011 - 1:38pm.
Greece is a sovereign nation that got into this mess of its own volition. It voluntarily entered the European monetary union that created the Euro and assumed all of the responsibilities entailed in that agreement. It made legally binding obligations to support the terms of the treaty and failed to live up to them. If they are "suffering" now, it is because their own government failed them and those on the other side of the contract known as the treaty are holding them to account for their failure.
This is not the fault of Germany, France, the Netherlands or any other European monetary union country. This is the fault of Greece for lying to the other treaty members about their internal finances. The Greek voters got the government they voted for, and if they don't like the terms of the European bailout, they can opt out and allow their government and culture fall into chaos. Those decisions have to be made on their national sovereignty, not some deus ex machina miracle from Germany.
Want to talk Wagnerian? How about a whining Eurosocialist who advocates dodging responsibility? What an epic fail on Kulish's part.
0.5%?
Submitted by ckc1227 on Fri, 11/18/2011 - 4:06am.
"The German economy once again surprised experts on Tuesday, growing an unexpectedly healthy 0.5 percent in the third quarter and 2.5 percent higher than the year before."
0.5% ain't nothing to write home about. Germany might want to keep any help they're willing to extend socked away in a rainy day fund for themselves.