Profiteering:Crisis Has Saved Germany 40 Billion Euros

 

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has every reason to smile.

Germany has profited from the euro crisis to the tune of 41 billion euros in reduced interest payments. Strong demand for its debt has cut yields and made it cheaper for Germany to borrow. Meanwhile, the crisis has only cost Germany a mere 599 million euros thus far.

Germany is profiting from the debt crisis by saving billions of euros in interest on its government debt, which has enjoyed a steep drop in yields due to strong demand from investors seeking a safe haven.

ANZEIGE

According to figures made available by the Finance Ministry, Germany will save a total of €40.9 billion ($55 billion) in interest payments in the years 2010 to 2014. The number results from the difference between actual and budgeted interest payments.
The information was released in response to a parliamentary inquiry from Social Democrat lawmaker Joachim Poss.


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Steinbrueck Says Merkel Misleading Voters on Euro Debt Crisis

By Arne Delfs - Aug 8, 2013 1:52 PM CT

German chancellor candidate Peer Steinbrueck criticized Angela Merkel for misleading voters over the true cost of the European debt crisis, saying he’ll be upfront about the policy decisions needed after fall elections.
Steinbrueck, whose campaign to unseat Merkel on Sept. 22 has been riddled by gaffes and missteps, sought to use the first rally of his campaign to make a virtue out of his reputation for straight talking. Addressing a crowd of about 3,000 in Hamburg today, he contrasted his approach with Merkel’s “lulling” of voters, citing her stances on energy, the economy and on Europe.
“Germany will have to come to Europe’s help and foot the bill if necessary,” the Social Democratic Party challenger told supporters, many eating sausages and drinking beer. “But that’s something Mrs. Merkel won’t tell you. It’s not enough to simply beat other countries over the head with the cudgel of saving; we need growth too.”
Steinbrueck, 66, has little more than six weeks to persuade voters he is better able to steer Europe’s biggest economy than Merkel, 59, as polls show Germans approve of her handling of the crisis. Recent surveys suggest he has begun to whittle down the lead held by Merkel’s Christian Democratic bloc. She returns to official engagements on Aug. 13 after her vacation, and is due to hold her first rally the next day in Hesse state.

‘Straight Talking’

The SPD challenger, who was Merkel’s first-term finance minister, chose Hamburg, his hometown and the only one of Germany’s 16 states where the SPD has an absolute majority, to try out his new format “Open Air Straight Talking” tour.


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