Quote:
Originally Posted by Damien
The thing is remember is this is not a problem Germany wanted. They are not helped by a weak and failing Eurozone and they do not want to be the Eurozone's bankers. Rather than telling Greece what to do they would rather not have to bail them out in the first place. They would rather Greece be fine and mind their own business. So when Germany try to dictate Greek policy this isn't to make Germany a stronger country but to lessen the damage Greece can do to them.
No one has shown how Germany have benefited from this crisis. They have just suffered the least because they managed their economy considerably better than, it seems, anyone else. It was very stupid of them to suggest a referendum to the Greeks but it's a reality of the situation there, the Greek people need to know the consequences of rejecting austerity and hence the bailout money.
In the context of this discussion it's ironic that Germany are the ones people suspect of a financial conspiracy  [COLOR="Silver"]
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The extent to which Germany, or anyone else, eventually benefits or suffers as a result of this crisis is as yet unknown. I don't recall arguing that the Germans engineered or somehow welcomed the crisis because it would suit them. My point was that the EU seems to have been constructed and since developed in a way which suits the Germans far more than many other member states. The German economy has benefitted in all sorts of ways from Eurozone policy and when other nations needed higher or lower interest rates they weren't usually forthcoming because, IMHO, of the huge German influence over matters financial and economic. You say they have been successful in managing their economy better but their ability to do so is linked heavily to wider Eurozone policy so it's hard to argue that they've been successful in spite of that policy when they were so heavily involved in establishing it.
Conspiracy? Who knows, but what I know that in a competitive world, I see no obvious reason why a major economic power like Germany wouldn't use the huge influence it has clearly enjoyed in Europe for decades, to suit its own needs and ambitions first and foremost. Perhaps you could explain why you seem to find that notion so outlandish.