Behind all the technical language and the common theme of bashing bankers, there remains the Great Divide between Germans and the rest.
To Angel Gurria of the OECD, Michael Hudson of the University of Missouri and many others, the key lesson for the EU is that cutting the deficit too quickly does not work, that temporary QE is according to the book, and so on. To Germans such as Kai Konrad from the Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance, the key lesson is that we thought all countries in Europe had responsible governments with well-functioning institutions, but then found out we don’t. Economics versus politics if you like. Or technical finance versus trusting The Other. Can they be reconciled?
