At a time when the EU and the United States were wrestling with massive national debt and crippling trade deficits, Germany had worked to balance its budget, and enjoyed strong manufacturing and exporting sectors.
Other nations began to look to Germany, and to its chancellor Angela Merkel, because it was one nation which seemed stable while others were floundering. Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Ireland became symbols for the EU’s economic woes.
The United States expanded its national debt in the years after 2008, hobbling its opportunities to provide prosperity for its own citizens or leadership for other nations. Germany’s foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, writes:
Some politicians, such as the former Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski, have described Germany as Europe’s “indispensable nation.” Germany has not aspired to this status. But circumstances have forced it into a central role. Perhaps no other European nation’s fate is so closely connected to the existence and success of the EU. For the first time in its history, Germany is living in peace and friendship with France, Poland, and the rest of the continent.
Germany’s leadership in the EU, and in the world, shows the way for other nations to move toward fiscal responsibility. Balancing national budgets is one step. Austerity – the word itself has become a political symbol – in social spending is another step.
To the extent that other nations can adopt German national virtues – industriousness, diligence, punctuality, craftsmanship, thrift – to this extent they will enjoy prosperity and stability they are so eager to mimic.
