Do As They Say, Not As They Want To Do

Ted Bromund / March 30, 2009

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, March 14, 2009:

If we want to actually strengthen the effect of such [stimulus] packages you simply have to implement them and not talk about the next one before the first has actually taken effect.

Bloomberg, March 26, 2009:

Chancellor Angela Merkel is injecting 82 billion euros ($110 billion) into the economy, the biggest stimulus package in Europe. . . . Germany’s spending spree came after Merkel exasperated European Union leaders, who wanted her to endorse a collective 200 billion-euro rescue package for the 27-nation trade bloc last November. . . . [The] package amounts to about 1.5 percent of GDP in 2009.

And there goes the last tiny shred of consistency in Europe. The story that has dominated the run-up to the G-20 summit has been about the split between the U.S. and Britain, united behind the supposed need for more stimulus bills, and the Europeans, who wanted global economic governance instead. (more…)