Who supports merkel?

The opposite occurred in Germany. The capital outflows made the domestic economy lose impetus and led to a slump in real estate prices. Consumer prices and wages rose only marginally, much more slowly than in the neighbouring countries. From 1995 to 2008, Germany underwent a real internal devaluation of 18% compared to its EU partners. This devaluation made Germany’s export surpluses possible. Such surpluses were a welcome substitute for the deteriorating domestic economic activity. But they were not an indicator of economic strength; instead, they were the result of an internal weakness brought about by years of bleeding. This is the crucial misinterpretation of those who assert that Germany was a winner of the euro.
The German capital outflows were not the result of the euro alone. In the past few years, I have repeatedly raised the issue of Germany’s weaknesses as a location for business and industry, in particular its excessive regulation of the labour market and its welfare policies. These weaknesses were exacerbated after the introduction of the euro, since it created a single capital market in Europe and wiped out the hitherto large interest rate differences.
Capital could now flow unhindered across borders, and apparently free of risk, in order to finance higher-yield projects abroad. That brought an enormous advantage to the capital importing countries. German investors profited as well, or so they thought at least. But the German workers, whose productivity and wage levels depend crucially on domestic capital investment, suffered painful losses that placed enormous strains on the German society.
Now the European debt crisis shows that some of the promised yields will not materialise. Many German investors will never see their money again. This has led them to think again. Interest spreads are rising, and savings are being invested at home once more. A construction boom is just starting in Germany, and the country’s economic growth, after a long time, again tops the league in the Eurozone.
Now the opposite of what happened in Europe’s south-western rim over the past fifteen years is occurring. While the former capital importers stagnate, Germany booms. However, wages and prices will, as a result, rise faster in Germany in the coming years. This will decrease Germany’s competitiveness and reduce the country’s export surpluses, with no need of prodding by the EU or the US Finance Minister.

ascanbe wrote: »

You're not taking into account the ludicrous debt we've been saddled with as a result of the bank guarantee, Anglo-bailout/Nama heist.
If anyone will lend to us, which is unlikely, we'll be borrowing money just to pay the interest on the preposterous, unmanageable debt we're in.
Our fiscal problems in terms of public spending, would have been easily manageable, through austerity measures, if not for our corrupt goverment's decision to bail out their friends in Anglo, their developer friends and foreign bondholders instead of thinking about the country.
As it stands, the austerity measures combined with the insane debt we find ourselves lumbered with, courtesy of the government, will ensure default/collapse.
We simply cannot afford to continue on this path.
At the very least, we need to face up to our creditors, that now includes the ECB courtesy of our government, and negotiate a payment with them we can actually manage; we should have told them to **** off in the first place, as Iceland did.
I have no particular faith that FG/Labour have the guts or good sense to do so.
But i do know that there's a better chance of them doing it than the corrupt bastards in our current govt, whose only concern is covering their tracks and their friends in Anglo, and who will drag this country over the cliff, before risking that any incriminating evidence is uncovered.

ascanbe wrote: »

Some in FG, Varadker i think, and in Labour, Richard Bruton, have at least made noises that suggest they'd be amenable to doing so.
It won't even be a choice soon; it will have to done.
If the country is truly to get back on its feet it will have to be done in conjunction with bringing the fraudsters in Anglo etc. to justice.
No idea if they'll do that, though.
The danger is that FF, through fear of others getting in and conducting a proper investigation into themselves and their friends in Anglo, will drag the country over the cliff in order to avoid such a scenario.