HBG

I watched the news conference from Berlin today, and though I'm not an expert on body language, it was obvious that far from being good friends, they patently don't even like each other.

The spectacle of the Old Etonian Eurosceptic with his begging bowl, and the chubby Hausfrau, a former communist from East Germany and now the most powerful lady in Europe made me laugh. While Cameron intently stared at Merkel, she never looked in his direction and frequently used the Spanish dismissive arm motion as though flicking away an insect.

I don't know what's going to happen next, I just pray for the pound going up, but to suggest that we are good friends with Germany is a myth.

jackytoo

One newspaper today likened Cameron to Neville chamberlain...I fear they may be right

Dick Dasterdly

Yet most reports and the body language suggests that the exact opposite is the case.

rugbymatt

Germany has a foreign debt to GDP ratio of 176%, it owes us over £140 billion, it has over £4 trillion Euros worth of debt itself.... People need to stop thinking that Germany is this perfect country, one that has shown the world how to manage its economy, its not.


Its an interesting fact that Italy has one of the largest gold reserves in the world, but because its all held within the European Banks as part of their Euro commitment they cant touch a penny of it to help bail them out.

bil

And yet again I say, I don't think anone has a sodding clue as to what is going on or what we can do to stop it.

I still think we sould have a campaign to wipe all sovereign debt now.

HBG

And they're both Conservatives. And tomorrow Spain will get a Conservative government. Do the Socialists and Liberals disappear down a drain in times of trouble?

I think people will tolerate the dreamers and inept during the good times when it doesn't really matter who runs the country, but when austerity is needed to get a country back on track they turn to the upper classes, the people who know better.

Benefits get reigned back, house prices fall, people get evicted if they don't pay up (even if they can't), and the national flags start fluttering again.

We've got the Dunkirk spirit, the Germans remember when they couldn't even go to work on an egg (the few chickens who survived the war didn't live long enough), and the Spanish have started to grow things on their fincas again.

The upper classes will sort it, they're trained to lead us, it's their destiny.

jimenato

Well said - great post. Karma coming.

bil

Or is it simply that people seek to punish those in charge, regardless of who that might be?

Bear in mind that the Great British Public didn't exactly rush to vote in the Tories, did they?

agoreira

Yes, a few have been pointing out lately the Germany's debt is bigger than Spain's, but I fancy Germany is in a far better situation to pay it back. Unemployment levels dropping rather than increasing, triple A rating and those that hold the purse strings are still prepared to lend them money at the lowest rate, around 1.78%

http://www.publico.es/internacional/...-nadie-lo-dice

Dick Dasterdly

Well said,sir

...and as soon as the Socialists get back in they'll be able to get back to doing what they really do best.

Spending OPs money.

bil

Gosh. So let's see, socialists spend other people's money? Then presumably all that the Tories are spending is their own funds? I had absolutely no idea they were so public spirited.

Dick Dasterdly

Well the point is that the Tories generally know how to create wealth whilst that other lot normally don't have a clue.
Just cos most of it ends up in their own pockets,....well I suppose they're entitled to look on it as their own little reward . :sunglasses:

bil

Yes, nicely put. Doesn't that work on the trickle down theory? The idea that if you hose down the people at the top with huge amounts of money, some of that will eventually trickle down to those at the bottom.

That's a bit like saying that if you feed the horse enough oats, there will be some in its shit for the sparrows.

Dick Dasterdly

Couldn't have put it better myself bil.
At least it's better than the poor little spuggies starving to death.

bil

They have to eat an awful lot of shit to get any oats tho......

Perhaps they should form a union.