Seems like the only non weak kneed man in the G8 meeting with cojones to stay the austerity course is a woman
Here’s the thing. Before Merkel....was Schroeder, who was a liberal of sorts, but he was smart enough to rebuild the German social welfare system, which saved the nation billions. There’s nothing else of value that Schroeder did. So Schoreder leaves, and Merkel walks into the 2008 downfall of the economy. She preaches austerity from day one. German businesses and the government in the best position of any country in Europe....and they use this to their advantage.
So Germany looks great today. If the US had done some things to its social programs back in the last decade....we would have been in just as good a position as Germany, but we didn’t. I think Merkel wins this weekend...hands down.