Merkel's racist lies | 133 comments (133 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: taz commentary (4.00 / 5)

I continue the review of the German media reaction going further right, to SPIEGEL. First from an op-ed by Jakob Augstein (the adopted son of the magazine's onetime founder), who is decidedly to the left of SPIEGEL editors:

S.P.O.N. - Im Zweifel links: Merkel tauscht Europa gegen Stammtisch - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten - Politik		S.P.O.N. - In case of doubt left: Merkel exchanges Europe against bar room - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International
...Merkels chauvinistische Parolen sind gefährlich. Sie können den ohnehin erstarkenden Rechtspopulismus im Land befördern. Darüber hinaus sind sie aber auch bigott. Die Exportüberschüsse, auf die sich die Deutschen so viel einbilden, bedingen die Leistungsbilanzdefizite der anderen geradezu. Andersherum: Entweder die Deutschen erzielen Exportüberschüsse - oder die anderen tragen ihre Schulden ab. Beides gleichzeitig geht nicht. Da ist eine große Unaufrichtigkeit am Werk, die das Wesen des Populismus ist. Es wäre die Aufgabe der Kanzlerin, hier für Klarheit zu sorgen. Und nicht das Ressentiment zu befördern.		... Merkel's chauvinistic slogans are dangerous. They can advance the already strengthening right-wing populism in the country. In addition, they are also bigoted. The export surplus of which Germans are so smug about downright necessitate the current account deficits of the others. The other way round: either the Germans achieve export surpluses - or the others reduce their debts. Both at the same time won't go. There is a great dishonesty at work that is the essence of populism. It would be up to the Chancellor to provide clarity in this. And not to advance the resentment.
Deutschland hat seine Löhne und seinen Lebensstandard rabiat gesenkt und sich dadurch Wettbewerbsvorteile verschafft. In Frankreich sind die Löhne in den vergangenen zehn Jahren um 14,5 Prozent gestiegen. In Deutschland sind sie um sieben Prozent gesunken. Es ist schon schlimm genug, dass die Deutschen zu dieser sonderbaren Selbstkasteiung bereit waren. Gewerkschaften, Sozialdemokraten und Medien haben hierzulande versagt, als es darum ging, die Interessen der Beschäftigten zu vertreten. Daran sind die Deutschen selber schuld. Aber es ist abwegig, im Ernst zu glauben, Deutschland könne seinen unsinnig asketischen Lebensstil ganz Europa aufzwingen. Am deutschen Wesen will die Welt nicht genesen.		Germany has reduced its wages and its standard of living brutally and achieved competitive advantage thereby. In France, the wages in the last ten years have increased by 14.5 percent. In Germany they fell by seven percent. It's bad enough that the Germans were ready for this strange self-flagellation. Unions, Social Democrats and the media in this country have failed when it came to represent the interests of employees. For this the Germans have themselves to blame. But it is absurd to seriously believe that Germany could impose its nonsensically ascetic lifestyle on all of Europe. The world won't recover on the German character.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Fri May 20th, 2011 at 04:29:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: taz commentary (none / 0)

Am i discerning Der Spiegel shedding its neo-lib recent history?

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Fri May 20th, 2011 at 07:53:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: taz commentary (4.00 / 2)

Far from it, that's just the quota lefty columnist. They also have the other side of the spectrum (deep black) and some mixed up people in between.

_{Schengen is toast!}

by epochepoque on Fri May 20th, 2011 at 10:03:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: taz commentary (none / 0)

Before, they did not even have a quota lefty columnist, so I definitely sense a shift. But true, overall, they are still neolib and neocon. (Just read the Emmanuel Todd interview quoted in the Salon: some of the questions could have been asked by Daniel Pipes.)

The other article I wanted to quote last night was actually just a press review, and what caught my eyes originated in this:

Merkel -- populism never takes holidays | Presseurop (English)

In arguing that Greeks, Portuguese and Spanish shouldn't have more holidays, Angela Merkel is not only spreading disinformation based on cultural stereotypes, but undermining the very foundations of the EU, argues a Portuguese columnist.

Other than that and the Jakob Augstein piece, there is only an article on the SPD and Greens criticising Merkel, there is no factual debunking like in SZ and taz.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Sat May 21st, 2011 at 03:39:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: taz commentary (none / 0)

Actually, I found a de-bunking article in Spiegel. It is even more thorough than SZ's. However, the debunking is preceded by a dissection of irrelevant economic weaknesses of the three countries (among others, unit labour costs), so that they can answer their own question, "Is Merkel right?" with a "Jein" (combination of Yes and No that doesn't translate)... This may be worse than not doing any debunking.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Mon May 23rd, 2011 at 11:22:21 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: taz commentary (none / 0)

In Germany they fell by seven percent.

And then they "allocated" the generated surplus to irish and spanish housing market. Now they want to rob irish and spanish labour as they have done to germans. And "the left" drives these policies..

by kjr63 on Sat May 21st, 2011 at 04:50:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Merkel's racist lies | 133 comments (133 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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