Germany on defensive as criticism of economic course mounts

Germany on defensive as criticism of economic course mounts: "German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble put on a brave face at the end of IMF meetings in Washington this weekend, dismissing suggestions Berlin had come under pressure to shift its economic course as “spin doctoring”.
However the reality is that Germany has not looked this isolated over its policy prescriptions for Europe since the height of the euro zone financial crisis two years ago.
In Washington Mr Schauble endured lectures from longtime critics such as Larry Summers, the former US treasury secretary.
In an unusually frank panel discussion he accused Germany of leading Europe down a path of Japanese-style deflation with a misguided focus on budget consolidation.
Traditional allies
He also had to listen to advice from traditional allies such as Finland’s Jyrki Katainen, a future vice-president of the European Commission, who warned that Germany could not remain strong forever if it failed to invest more in its own infrastructure and education system."



'via Blog this'